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Jury’s still out on educational value of iPad apps
But no agency is making sure that an application labeled as “educational” really is — or that it’s appropriate for the age group it targets. That leaves many parents of preschoolers are in a quandary: to iPad or not to iPad? And what age is appropriate for a child to start swiping and tapping? KPCC

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Thousands of students show off their skills during talent show at Paramount Studios
One of the country’s largest talent shows will be held at Paramount Studios’ “New York City” backlot in Hollywood on Saturday.  The competitors include more than 2,500 students from dozens of L. A. Unified  high schools and middle schools. KPCC

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Common Core test is on track, State Board told
The head of the state-led consortium creating the Common Core tests for California and two dozen other states expressed confidence Wednesday that his organization is working closely with states and taking precautions to avoid significant problems. EdSource Today

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When the melting pot boils over
Many middle-class parents enter public schools with a dogged determination to improve them. They want to do good, while also doing right by their children. Yet when such efforts — however well-meaning — carry the taint of entitlement, it doesn’t take much for the ordinary elementary school to become an ideological battleground waged around bake sales and play structures. GreatSchools

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Mayoral candidates hide behind their kids as they avoid hot school issues – Bill Boyarsky.
Talking about their kids also gives them cover to duck tough questions about education. Still unknown is whether they will take the political risks and forcefully inject themselves in the controversial details of the debate over L.A. schools as did Riordan and Villaraigosa. That’s high-risk behavior, foreign to two decidedly low-risk candidates. LA Observed (Bill Boyarsky)