Today’s education news includes a report showing that NY State won’t be punished for its 20 percent testing opt out rate (statewide), plus more coverage of public polls on annual testing and NOLA anniversary examinations:
Department of Education Won’t Punish N.Y. for High Opt-Outs, Report Says PK12: Federal law requires each school to test at least 95 percent of its students or else the district or state could face sanctions. See also NYT.
Two Polls Span Two Poles On Testing NPR: Does the public support or oppose federal standardized tests? Depends how you ask. See also LA Times: When Parents Are Asked Multiple-Choice Questions More white Americans dislike standardized testing than blacks and Latinos, according to a new poll. Also EdWeek.
Analysis Finds Higher Expulsion Rates for Black Students NYT: While black students represented just under a quarter of public school students in the 13 Southern states studied, they made up nearly half of all suspensions and expulsions.
Did Obama come through for New Orleans schools after Katrina? Hechinger Report: Overall, though, test scores, per pupil spending, and state rankings have all surpassed pre-Katrina levels. The Obama administration has doled out billions of dollars in federal funding to rebuild and repair Gulf coast schools… We rate Obama’s efforts in education as a Promise Kept.
Eight States Add Citizenship Test as Graduation Requirement EdWeek: Advocates have plans to push more state legislatures to pass laws requiring high schoolers to pass a citizenship test in order to graduate in coming years.
Tim Cook on Apple’s Initiative to Change Lives in the Classroom ABC: Robin Roberts sat down with Apple CEO to discuss how the company is changing the way children learn in the classroom.
School starts in D.C. amid jitters over summer crime wave Washington Post: A volunteer patrol and assurances from city leaders help calm concerns about uptick in shootings.
As school resumes, state tests up in air Toledo Blade: This school year will be the third in a row with new assessments, which makes apples-to-apples comparisons of results difficult.
How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest Kids NPR: The authors of a new book argue that efforts to raise achievement for students at the bottom have come at the expense of the most gifted and talented.
