Current News

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi has announced that the state will withdraw from testing through the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which is aligned with the Common Core standards.

The Louisiana Education Department says enrollment in its Course Choice mini-voucher program has grown to 1,500 students, using about 75 percent of the $2 million allotted to fund the program.

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna says 11 schools will share a $3 million state grant to test technology in the classroom.

Hawaii has cruised through its policy actions and program development lists as part of its Race to the Top to-do list, including transitioning all grades to Common Core standards for the 2013-14 school year, providing intense teacher professional development aligned with the new standards, and improving and completing a longitudinal data system.

Under a new model effective July 1, Florida districts must pay college tuition for high school students taking dual enrollment courses, but districts say they cannot use per-student funding to support college courses on top of paying for the students' books.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is moving into its third year of the recognition award, with both school and district award categories.

During a speech at the American Society of Newspaper Editors, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the recent criticisms of the Common Core State Standards have spread misinformation, marring the implementation of the standards in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn announced that preliminary state-level data found that more than 93 percent of the state's 12th-grade students in the Class of 2013 passed both the state reading and writing high school proficiency exams (HSPE), or state-approved alternatives, prior to reaching their respective graduation ceremonies.

In a unanimous vote, the Vermont State Board of Education adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), joining four other states -- Rhode Island, Kansas, Kentucky, and Maryland.

Oklahoma has become the 19th state to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills' P21 State Leadership Initiative, pushing the use of P21's Framework for 21st Century Learning to ensure student readiness for college, career, and citizenship.