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State Senate Approves Eliminating Testing for 2012-13
The California Senate today approved an Assembly bill that suspends statewide testing while students acclimate to the new computer-based Common Core curriculum. The legislation now heads back to the Assembly for a final vote before it reaches Governor Jerry Brown for his signature. Sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and authored by...
By LA School Report | September 10, 2013
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Common Core Budget Approval Put Off for Another Week
The LA Unified school board voted, again, to delay its final decision on crafting and approving the $113 million Common Core budget for at least another week. The money comes from the state and is intended to help school districts transition over the next two years to the new curriculum. It appeared to be a...
By Hillel Aron | September 10, 2013
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Torlakson Rebuts Duncan, Defends State Testing Bill
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today shot back at U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who expressed opposition to a bill in the California legislature that would eliminate statewide testing for a year while districts shift to new protocols aligned with Common Core. “This legislation will continue to be guided by what’s right...
By LA School Report | September 10, 2013
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Superintendent Deasy Not Happy With Latest Testing Bill
LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy said today that he is uncomfortable with inconsistencies in the current version of Assembly Bill 484, which effectively kills the the state standardized tests, the so-called CSTs, and ushers in the new era of Common Core tests, to be taken on computers. “We had a unique opportunity in front of us...
By Hillel Aron | September 5, 2013
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California Adopts New ‘Next Gen’ Science Standards
The State Board of Education yesterday approved a new set of science standards, dubbed the Next Generation Science Standards, which emphasize “a deeper focus on understanding the cross-cutting concepts” of scientific disciplines, according to a press release by the California Department of education. The standards were developed in a collaboration with a number of states over the last 18...
By Hillel Aron | September 5, 2013
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Testing Bill Taking Shape, Would Suspend API For Two Years
A bill moving through the California State Assembly would suspend nearly all of the old standardized tests to free up money and student energy to “field test” the new computer-based Common Core assessments. But testing data from those field tests won’t be used for accountability purposes – they’ll simply be used as practice for students...
By Hillel Aron | September 4, 2013
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Hot Ticket: Teacher-Led Common Core Training Session
A teacher-led conference tomorrow focusing on the “what, how and why” of the new Common Core curriculum is shaping up to be popular with LAUSD teachers. Run by Teach Plus, a non-profit that focuses on teacher training, “Launch LA Common Core” was originally planned for 800 teachers who wanted to learn more about the new...
By LA School Report | August 23, 2013
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Latest UTLA Survey Takes Aim at Common Core Readiness*
The teachers union is asking members to take yet another online survey — this one focusing on efforts by LA Unified to acclimate teachers to the challenges of the new Common Core curriculum. The introduction to the survey appears to reflect skepticism by union leadership about how the district is going about it, questioning why...
By Hillel Aron | August 16, 2013
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Morning Read: New Rules Expose Old Rifts for CA Schools
A Compelling or Distracting NCLB Waiver? Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s approval of the CORE districts’ waiver from unattainable provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, exposed some old and some new internecine disputes in California education. EdSource State Begins Work Revising Teacher Preparation Based on Common Core The state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing has approved a...
By LA School Report | August 7, 2013
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Commentary: Understanding “Common Core” Backlash
Earlier today, veteran LAUSD teacher and Incubator School founder Sujata Bhatt posted some thoughts about the backlash against a set of new standards and tests called the Common Core: There’s been a lot of hullaballoo suddenly about the Common Core. Symptomatic of the strange political times we live in, the Tea Party Right and the...
By Alexander Russo | June 26, 2013