Current News

The dropout rate among New Hampshire high school students inched up slightly to 1.26 for the 2011-12 academic year, up from 1.19 percent in 2010-11 and 0.97 percent in 2009-10.

New Jersey's tenure law was modified by state education officials to reduce the role of standardized test scores in annual teacher evaluations. Test scores will now count for no more than 35 percent of teacher evaluations, down from up to 50 percent for fourth through eighth grade teachers.

Career-counseling and shop classes have decreased in Minnesota high schools, contributing to what higher education officials and employers call a skills gap.

A memorandum of understanding signed April 1 by Kansas Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker and Académie d’Orléans-Tours Recteur Marie Reynier aims to establish cooperative programs to teach French in K-12 classrooms in Kansas and English in classrooms in the region southwest of Paris, France.

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has proposed the Alaska 1-to-1 Digital Technology Initiative, which would distribute tablet computers to every student over a period of four years.

Chiefs and state policy makers from 14 states are scheduled to participate in the US-CHINA Policy Leaders Dialogue: Quality and Equity for All, held April 7 - 9, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Virginia Board of Education has adopted revised high school graduation standards for students with disabilities so that they can remain on track to earn diplomas, even as the state eliminates the Modified Standard Diploma.

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist says the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test, which could replace the NECAP exam in the 2014-15 school year as the state's standardized test, will prepare high school students for life after school.

Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis says the Internet ultimately will enable schools to tailor education to the individual needs of students.

The New York State Education Department will provide $22.5 million in School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to the Buffalo City School District.