Current News

Florida's graduation rate climbed 23 percentage points from 2000 to 2010 and currently stands at 72.9 percent, according to Education Week's Diplomas Count report. Its graduation rate for Hispanic students is nine points higher than the national rate at 77.1 percent.

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, states are now turning to the new Next Generation Science Standards. Alabama Superintendent of Education Tommy Bice says, "Are we going to look at those standards? Absolutely, we are."

CCSSO’s 2013 Summer Institute, Leading toward State Education Agencies of the Future, will provide chiefs and deputies with an exciting opportunity to engage in shared learning.

The Next Generation Science Standards were finalized in April, and teachers across the United States have been working to integrate them into classroom instruction.

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has said the states have all the power they need to smooth out the transition between No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

New York Education Commissioner John King, Jr., stands behind the state's adoption of the Common Core State Standards as a means of improving academic standards and raising graduation requirements.

Data released by the Nebraska Department of Education show that writing test scores for the state's eighth- and 11th-graders improved this year. The department publicly released the writing test scores as part of the Nebraska State Accountability Writing Assessment (NeSA).

Idaho Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna says, "Our goal is that by 2016 we want 60 percent of our adult population in Idaho to have some form of post high school degree of certification. Today that number is 34 percent."

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson says students, educators, and parents should check out the Smarter Balanced Practice Tests (available here) to acquaint themselves with the computer-based assessments that will be taken by students in the 2014-15 school year.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for the FY 2013 Safe Schools/Healthy Students State Planning, Local Education Agency, and Local Community Cooperative Agreements.