August 7, 2014
Local News
Technically Delaware
Delaware STEM Council readies new program for new school year
Now entering its third full school year in operation, the Delaware STEM Council is in the process of launching two initiatives that will be the council’s “hallmark type programs,” according to program manager Daniel Suchenski. In a very pro-business state like Delaware, there’s a strong desire to create synergies between education and business. The STEM Council was established in 2011 as part of Markell’s “Race to the Top” education reform effort.
The News Journal
Delaware awarded $1 million to bolster home-visit programs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Delaware a $1 million grant to support maternal, infant and early childhood home visiting programs throughout the state. Three home visit programs in Delaware will receive funding: the nurse-family partnership, Smart Start/Healthy Families America and Parents as Teachers. Parents as Teachers reaches 1,400 children and there are 9 nurses working with the nurse-family partnership, each managing 25 families.
National News
Education Week
U.S. review of standards, tests enter new phase
As the Education Department prepares to release new guidance on its peer-review process for standards and assessments, K-12 educators and testmakers worry about how their systems will be judged under the new criteria.
Indiana agrees to $3M settlement in school test hitch
Indiana’s state schools superintendent says she has reached a $3 million settlement with CTB/McGraw-Hill after disruptions to standardized tests last year. An overloading of CTB’s testing servers caused thousands of students to be kicked off their online Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus tests in spring 2013.
Inside Higher Ed
Study questions critique of graduation rates at minority institutions
New research from professors at Florida State and Vanderbilt Universities questions the assumption that minority students will be less likely to graduate at minority-serving than at predominantly white institutions.
Governing
Does raising high school grad requirements work?
If the goal of adding more math and science courses to high school graduation requirements is better preparing students for in-demand technical fields, states may have to do more to produce results, according to a new report looking at test scores in Illinois.
The Daily Signal
Ohio could be next state to buck Common Core
A commentary by Lindsey M. Burke, Will Skillman Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Leadership in the Ohio House announced hearings on the national standards and tests are slated to begin Aug. 12, and the state could consider a potential withdrawal from Common Core later this year.
The Times-Picayune
Bobby Jindal seeks court injunction to stop use of Common Core tests: UPDATED
In the latest salvo in the ongoing fight over Louisiana’s use of the Common Core education standards, Gov. Bobby Jindal has amended his lawsuit and is now seeking a court injunction to immediately stop the state from using the tests tied to Common Core.