News & Issues

The release of test questions from New York's new reading exam, a journalistic activity that may have been illegal, gives us an opportunity to comment.

Our response to an op-ed piece in the New York Times, which suggests a fantastical compromise on class sizes that won't be liked by anyone.

The test blueprints for PARCC assessments, which will affect both Illinois and Maryland in the 2014-15 school year, have been released after more than a year of review.

Illinois cut off funding for a charter operator, saying it failed to disclose the appearance of a conflict of interest in awarding construction contracts to the brothers of one charter executive.

Some online capacity issues may have corrupted the results from Minnesota's new statewide tests, as students were frustrated by the length of time needed to load questions onto their screens.

Illinois's state pension system, which dramatically affects retired teachers as well as those active in the profession, is in trouble. Different ideas were presented at a forum about how to solve the problem.

The Maryland State Board of Education updated a guide for emergency planning in its 24 school systems, providing new instructions for how schools should mitigate violent and traumatic events.

A pilot program may allow some Maryland schools to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students in high-poverty areas, and the new option may also reduce paperwork for eligible school districts.

A 22-state testing consortium has just released a manual telling test administrators how to accommodate students who have special needs during the tests the consortium will develop in the future.