Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

State’s new computerized exam tryout plagued by glitches
New state standardized exams, given for the first time on computers this spring, really have been a test. But not always a test of math and English. Students had trouble logging on; then many were logged off, sometimes for inactivity while they read lengthy passages. Some devices froze or didn’t save answers. Slow connections caused students to wait impatiently. LA Times

---

School groups skeptical over Brown’s rainy day plan
The state’s key education groups have yet to embrace last week’s accord between Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders over a rainy day fund, largely because details over how it would interact with Proposition 98 have not yet been released. “We’re eager to see what comes out,” said Claudia Briggs, spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association, noting that they might wait until a leadership meeting later this month to take a formal position. “Our concern is getting dollars into the classroom.” S&I Cabinet Report

---

Recruiting students for meals program pays off for East Side Union
With millions of dollars in extra state funding at stake, the staff of the East Side Union High School District spent months recruiting low-income students to sign up for the federal school meals program with the zeal of an Army recruiter. The campaign paid off. Enrollment in the meals program increased. EdSource

---

English Learner students do best mainstreamed by 5th grade
A new 10 year study of California’s two largest school districts found the earlier an English learner is moved out into regular classes, the more success that student will have later. “In both Los Angeles and San Diego, students reclassified in elementary school are among the best academic performers,” said Laura Hill, a researcher with the Public Policy Institute of California. That group conducted the study. KPCC

---

Teachers predicted to face unstable territory in job market
Teachers looking for new jobs for the next school year will find vastly different markets across the states and sometimes across school districts in the same state. Prospects range from dismal to great, even as state revenues recover from the Great Recession and many states invest more money in K-12 education. St. Augustine Record