School News

Here is the actual release from the Md. State Dept. of Education regarding statewide standardized testing in Maryland for the next two school years.

MSDE says the MSA in math and reading will be given this year despite statewide calls for dropping it. Some reason might be found on both sides.

As a reminder that we writers don't really know what's going on in the schools, MSDE points parents and other concerned citizens to teachers and principals.

We are skeptical that any information we might glean from an outdated test would be valuable to anybody, but MSDE says it is.

We question whether or not the Common Core State Standards actually prepare kids for college and careers, and we have some impressive company in our skepticism.

We might learn something about federal education law (and its enforcement) from what other states have done. Here, we look at California.

As MSDE points out, the sole purpose of a field test, which PARCC will administer this year, is to improve the quality of the test itself. No value to kids this year.

The Maryland General Assembly has introduced emergency legislation that seeks to cancel the state's tests in reading and math used for accountability purposes.

The US Departments of Education and Justice issued a joint package of resources yesterday at a Baltimore high school, aimed at suggesting a new approach to student discipline across the nation.

For the first time ever, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis, white students do not make up the majority of the Illinois public school student population.