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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
I’D like to tell you what was wrong with the tests my students took last week, but I can’t. Pearson’s $32 million contract with New York State to design the exams prohibits the state from making the tests public and imposes a gag order on educators who administer them. So teachers watched hundreds of thousands of children in grades 3 to 8 sit for between 70 and 180 minutes per day for three days taking a state English Language Arts exam that does a poor job of testing reading comprehension, and yet we’re not allowed to point out what the problems were. (New York Times)
Amid a nationwide backlash against testing, states were expected to jump at the chance to design accountability systems that judge schools on measures other than test scores alone—from specific offerings such as Advanced Placement courses to systemic factors such as school climate. (Education Week)
The Kalamazoo Promise pays for the higher education of students in the Michigan school district’s public education system. It’s the latest chapter in Tell Me More’s series about paying for college. (NPR)
The Department of Justice has prevailed — at least in part — in a long-running and politically charged battle with Louisiana over the state’s private school voucher program. (Politico)
New York
Just days after students finish shading in answers on the state math exams next month, many will sit down for another round of official assessments. (Chalkbeat)