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State Schools Chief Urges Cut in Number of Tests Next Year
Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson says second-graders would not be tested in math and English, and most high school tests would be dropped. L.A. Unified chief expresses reservations. LA Times
See also: KPCC, LA Daily News
Student Test Scores Can Identify Effective Teachers, Study Finds
Student standardized test scores can accurately identify effective teachers, especially when combined with classroom observations and pupil surveys, according to a major national study released Tuesday. LA Times
See also: Ed Week, WSJ, Washington Post
Democrats Refuse to Endorse a Candidate in Los Angeles Mayor’s Race
Democrats also refused to endorse Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Monica Garcia as she defends her seat against five challengers. KPCC
Parent Demand Leads Mojave Desert Elementary to Convert to Charter School
A Mojave Desert school district has unanimously approved the new operator of the nation’s first school to be converted to a charter by parent demand. KPCC
Activists Want Guidelines for L.A. School Police
Call for “parameters” as city police, post-Newtown, sent to check in on Los Angeles grammar schools. Center for Public Integrity
Second Phase of L.A. Arts Fundraising Plan Begins
‘Art Matters’ campaign has brought in more than $750,000 in the last three months for arts in the public schools. LA Times
Cassandra McGrath’s Stories to Make You Cry
There’s no silver linings playbook when more than half of your students transfer, drop out, join gangs or get pregnant before their 16th birthdays. The LAUSD system is not a Michelle Pfeiffer movie with a Coolio soundtrack. LA Weekly
Politics Doesn’t Make for Great Public Safety Policy
After a long winter’s break, students arriving to schools across Los Angeles this morning were greeted by police officers – a feel-good change in the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. LA Daily News Editorial