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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Things to Watch for in Obama’s Education Budget
As you probably know by now, the president’s budget for fiscal year 2014, which starts on Oct. 1, is to be released this week. Yes, it’s late. The budget typically comes out in February. And this year, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have already completed their own budget blueprints, so the president’s ideas pack less of a punch than they might normally. (Education Week – Politics K-12)
California high school graduation rate creeps up to 78 percent
California education officials announced Tuesday that despite years of budget cuts to schools, the state’s high school graduation rate inched up last year. (Southern California Public Radio)
Math ‘Publishers’ Criteria’ Aim to Guide Common-Core Materials
With educators on the lookout for instructional materials that fit with the content and vision of the common-core standards, a new set of “publishers’ criteria” aim to influence decisions by both the developers and purchasers of such offerings for high school mathematics. (Education Week – Curriculum Matters)
View Point:
Robert Pondiscio: Let’s Set a National Standard for Our Students—a Really Low One
When the alarm is sounded over the poor performance of our schools, we usually hear about children’s baleful performance in reading, math, and science. On the most recent round of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, for example, only one in three U.S. 8th graders scored “proficient” or higher in those three essential subjects. But if that’s a crisis, our performance in history and civics is near collapse: a mere 22 percent of 8th graders score proficient or higher in civics; in history, only 18 percent. (The Atlantic)
It’s Not the Test That Made Them Cheat
News came down, or up, earlier this month about the indictment of the former Atlanta schools chief Beverly Hall and 35 other current and former officials for their alleged roles in a massive cheating scandal that has rocked the city for the past three years. (Education Week)