Current News

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz visited Fort Wayne on Aug. 21 and met with Allen County education leaders to drum up support for the Department of Education's new outreach division for school improvement.

Kentucky was the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards in reading and math, and the state is expected to adopt the Next Generation Science standards as well, despite push back from critics who warn the standards represent a federal take over of education.

Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen announced Aug. 16 that he will resign effective Sept. 12 to take a job with the Council of Chief State School Officers. Gov.

The U.S. Education Department recently approved Pennsylvania's application for a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver, just in time for the 2013-14 school year.

School districts across Tennessee must create teacher pay plans that factor in more than years of experience and degrees earned, and State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman thinks Putnam County's Putnam Achieving Student Success (PASS) model serves as a good example.

Reading scores for the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) exam fell by double digits after a new, tougher test was introduced this year, said the Virginia Department of Education. Virginia's new on-line standardized tests, which align with revised academic standards, represent a shift from emphasizing minimum grade-level skills to higher-order thinking skills and knowledge. "We are asking students to meet higher expectations so that when they graduate, they will be ready for college and the workforce," said Patricia I. Wright, superintendent of public instruction. "Raising standards is difficult, but well worth the effort."

Speaking before teachers and employees of Etowah County Schools, Alabama Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice urged them to "purge all that the state department has told you over the last 25 years."

Louisiana has been preparing for the full implementation of the Common Core State Standards since 2010, and State Superintendent of Education John White thinks the standards will upgrade public education and level the playing field. White says implementation is being done in phases, with students taking the online tests in 2015 and the tests increasing in rigor this year.

The U.S. Education Department has granted Maine a No Child Left Behind waiver to give school districts across the state greater flexibility in meeting the law's requirements and avoid penalties.

According to the latest high school graduation rate figures, 82.5 percent of North Carolina students graduated in four years this year, up from 80.4 percent in 2012.