Delaware Governor Touts Early Childhood Education Progress.

The AP (12/20) reports that Delaware Gov. Jack Markell says his state “is making progress in improving early childhood education, particularly for low-income children,” saying that the “proportion of low-income kids in high-quality early learning programs has grown from one in 20 to one in three” over the past three years. The AP notes parenthetically that Delaware won a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant in 2011.

Los Angeles Officials Reduce Number Of iPads Requested For Testing.

The Los Angeles Times (12/20, Blume) reports that officials in the Los Angeles USD “have sharply reduced the number of iPads they say are needed to carry out new state standardized tests,” noting that despite the $25 million in savings from the move, “examination of the testing plan has raised more questions about the $1-billion effort to provide the devices to every student, teacher and school administrator in the nation’s second-largest school system.”

Mississippi Schools Adapting To Common Core.

Hechinger Report (12/23, Mader) reports on classroom-level changes taking place in Mississippi under the Common Core Standards, “which are slowly transforming the approach to teaching and learning” in the state. The piece explains that most districts in the state are phasing in the standards “just in kindergarten, first- and second-grades over the past two years” to avoid “the pressure of standardized testing, which begins in third grade.” The piece notes that Mississippi is likely to face added challenges because “its old standards are so weak compared to those in other states.”

Common Core Debate Intensifies In North Carolina.

The Statesville (NC) Record & Landmark (12/23) reports that the debate over whether to withdraw from the Common Core Standards “kicked into high gear this week” in North Carolina, noting that the state legislature’s Research Commission Common Core Study Committee “met for the first time Tuesday in Raleigh.” Witnesses on both sides of the issue “presented their thoughts and research,” the paper reports.

Many Ohio Districts Lack Technology Capacity For Common Core Tests.

The Columbus (OH) Dispatch (12/22) reports that over a third of Ohio districts recently surveyed “say they are not ‘technology ready’” to give online tests aligned with the Common Core Standards. The piece notes that a group of state lawmakers are drafting language to “push back the start of online tests so schools can address technology issues.” The article describes schools with both a dearth of computers and unreliable Internet access.

Maryland Parents Complain Standardized Tests Are Outdated.

The Washington Post (12/23, George) reports that parents in Montgomery County, Maryland are complaining that their children are taking “outdated exams that no longer reflect their classroom teaching,” and are calling for the cancellation of next spring’s Maryland School Assessments. The piece describes the grassroots opposition to the tests, which critics say “lack purpose — and take away time that could be used for instruction — because they do not reflect the Common Core standards now being taught.”

Idaho Students To Take SBAC Exam In March.

The Idaho Statesman (12/21) reports that Idaho students will take “the hardest, most demanding and likely longest statewide assessment ever given” in the state in three months’ time, as districts implement the test crafted by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The piece notes that a group of superintendents with concerns about technology issues and the length of the tests met with state Superintendent Tom Luna last week “to air their worries and ask for changes to the exams.”

Mississippi Executive Order May Have Eased Common Core’s Implementation.

An AP (12/22, Amy) analysis reports that Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant “may have been doing supporters of the Common Core standards a favor” by issuing a recent executive order “inveighing against a possible federal takeover of education in Mississippi.” The piece explains that the order did nothing to stymie implementation of the standards, and may have lessened pressure on “fence-sitting lawmakers, blocking progress on legislation that would reverse or stall Mississippi’s implementation of the standards.”

Mathews: Many Teachers Give More Homework Than Necessary.

In his “Class Struggle” column in the Washington Post (12/23), Jay Mathews writes about complaints that teachers often give larger or more burdensome homework assignments than are necessary to reinforce lessons, noting that even seasoned educators are critical of giving too much homework, saying that it can be an attempt to persuade parents that they are teaching with rigor.

Utah Teacher Pay Highest In Decades.

Pay The Provo (UT) Daily Herald (12/23) reports that according to recent teacher pay data, “Utah’s teacher pay is the best it’s been since 1980.” The piece explains that the average teacher in Utah earns $49,393, noting that this is still “18th below the national average.” The piece notes that while this is lower than the national average, it is “on par when compared to the region.”

Paper Laments Low North Carolina Teacher Pay.

The Hampton Roads (VA) Virginian Pilot (12/23) editorializes that though North Carolina was “once a beacon of education in the South,” NCES data show that the state ranks 48th in the nation in teacher pay. Moreover, NEA data show that average teacher pay in North Carolina “declined 15.7 percent between 2002 and 2012,” leading to “the highest departure rate in five years.”

IBM, Exxon Criticize Texas For Backing Away From Math Standards.

Bloomberg News (12/23) reports that Texas in 2006 “became the first state to require advanced algebra for high-school students,” noting that the policy resulted in “higher average test scores” and less need for remediation in college. The piece notes that other states followed suit, but that Texas now is “rolling back the requirement for Algebra II under pressure from lawmakers, some educators and business trade associations.” However, “a coalition of corporate interests including IBM Corp. (IBM), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and the Texas Association of Business” oppose the move.

New York School Goes Fully Digital For Textbooks.

The AP (12/23, Fitzgerald) profiles Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, where “nearly every book—from freshman biology to senior calculus—is now digital, accessible on students’ laptops and tablets.” The article reports that the per-student cost of books dropped from $600 to $150, and notes that with some exceptions, “all the texts the school uses are part of a digital bookshelf kept on an Internet cloud.” The piece quotes Vice Principal Frank Portanova saying, “We went to digital because it makes for better learning. This is the way kids learn today. And the online content is a lot richer. You’ve got assessments, you’ve got virtual labs, you’ve got blogging.”

Philadelphia Taking Part In Early Literacy Campaign.

The Philadelphia Daily News (12/23, Leach) reports that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Superintendent William Hite have announced that the city “has signed on to take part in a national campaign to boost literacy in the early grades.” The piece explains that the goal of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is “to double the number of students reading at grade level by the end of third grade...by 2020.”

Missouri Legislator Calls For September To May School Calendar.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (12/23) reports on a bill in the Missouri Legislature to “ensure schools don’t start until September and end before June.” Moreover, the bill would “make summer school attendance mandatory for students who score less than proficient on statewide tests.”

Education Experts Concerned About GED Overhaul.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/23, Vitez) reports that as the GED test is overhauled at the beginning of the year, with a focus on promoting better job skills, “many experts fear thousands, especially older Americans, will have little hope of passing the new test.” The paper notes that there has been “a mad rush across the region of people trying to pass all five parts of the exam before it expires.”

California Struggles With Hispanic Achievement Gap.

The AP (12/23) reports that though Hispanics outnumber white Californians next year, many education experts say that California is “a model of what not to do” when educating students of color. The article says that California Hispanic students “in general are getting worse educations than their white peers,” with lower funding and higher class sizes. Moreover, while state test scores “have gone up in the past decade, the achievement gap hasn’t changed.”

California Struggles With Hispanic Achievement Gap.

The AP (12/23) reports that though Hispanics outnumber white Californians next year, many education experts say that California is “a model of what not to do” when educating students of color. The article says that California Hispanic students “in general are getting worse educations than their white peers,” with lower funding and higher class sizes. Moreover, while state test scores “have gone up in the past decade, the achievement gap hasn’t changed.”

New Mexico Testing Opt-Out Movement Grows.

The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News (12/23) reports on the “new yet growing movement in New Mexico of parents who opt their students out of state standardized tests,” noting that parents of advanced students complain that the tests are not valid measuring tools, while others complain of the stress the tests bring or object to using student test scores to evaluate teachers.

Recession Leads To Low Staff-To-Student Ratio For Many Districts.

The New York Times (12/22, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports that districts that laid off teachers and other employees during the recession are now facing “unwieldy class sizes and a lack of specialists” for special-needs students. The article relates anecdotes of overworked teachers and counselors, noting that according to Department of Labor data, schools across the country “employ about 250,000 fewer people than before the recession.” The Times reports that these challenges come as “schools are raising academic standards and business leaders are pushing schools to prepare a work force with better skills.”

Recession Leads To Low Staff-To-Student Ratio For Many Districts.

The New York Times (12/22, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports that districts that laid off teachers and other employees during the recession are now facing “unwieldy class sizes and a lack of specialists” for special-needs students. The article relates anecdotes of overworked teachers and counselors, noting that according to Department of Labor data, schools across the country “employ about 250,000 fewer people than before the recession.” The Times reports that these challenges come as “schools are raising academic standards and business leaders are pushing schools to prepare a work force with better skills.”