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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The companies that create the most important state and national exams also publish textbooks that contain many of the answers. Unfortunately, low-income school districts can’t afford to buy them. (The Atlantic)
President John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” This message has apparently been lost on some people in our teachers unions who used their recent national conventions in Los Angeles and Denver to argue against desperately needed changes in our public schools. (Wall Street Journal)
Former elementary school teacher Lily Eskelsen García will become president of America’s biggest labor union, the National Education Association (NEA), on Sept. 1. In the meantime, she already has plenty of work to do. (MSNBC)
Maryland
Reading and math scores on state tests for Maryland elementary and middle school students have dropped to their lowest levels in seven years, according to a Washington Post analysis of 2014 test data released Friday. Some Maryland officials expected the drop because schools are transitioning to new national academic standards that do not align with the tests. (Washington Post)
New Jersey
Brian Osborne said he couldn’t sleep some nights this spring as he wrestled with the idea of leaving his superintendent’s post in a growing New Jersey district to accept a job offer in New York. (Wall Street Journal)