Ed News Around the Web

Common Core Tests in Works for Students With Severe Disabilities

Summary:

Two groups of states are working on creating alternate assessments for students with severe cognitive disabilities.

Education Department Gives 3 More States Waivers

Summary:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that three more states would be given permission to ignore parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law in favor of their own school improvement plans.

Teacher Sparks Interest in Reading

Summary:

Educators from across the Wilson County School District want to start a discussion about what can be done to change the district's Accelerated Reader policy and what can be done to generate interest among middle school students in reading.

EDITORIAL: Why Johnny Can't Read...or Write, or Do Math

Summary:

Graduating from high school, it's all too likely that a student can't read, can't do basic math, or expect to succeed as a community college freshman -- or in the workplace, or in life.

Students Say They Are Unprepared for Test

Summary:

Some Providence, Rhode Island high school students are complaining that the state is testing them on subjects they have not been taught.

Panel: NYC Teacher Rant Didn't Warrant Firing

Summary:

A panel rules that a NYC teacher shouldn't have been fired for ranting on Facebook that she "hated" her students.

Michigan School District Can't Make Payroll, Lays Off Staff

Summary:

Budget woes forced a Michigan school district to lay off most of its staff, including teachers, and cut benefits.

Why We Should Teach Kids How the Web Works

Summary:

More and more experts are arguing that today's students must learn computer programming, and, more specifically, how to use HTML code in order to be fully literate.

OPINION: Moving Education Theory from the Lab to the Classroom

Summary:

The critical need to translate education research into practice is not lost on members of the American Educational Research Association, the primary conduit for taking education theory from the lab and moving it into the classroom. What they are talking about now will likely wind up as fodder in education-policy debates in the near future.

Computer Glitches Derail School Tests in Four States

Summary:

School districts across several states are rescheduling high-stakes tests that judge student proficiency and even determine teachers' pay because of technical problems involving the test administrators' computer systems.