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Thursday, December 19, 2013

12-19-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:






Pittsburgh school board drops $750,000 Teach For America contract
Here’s some education news that you don’t hear every day: The Pittsburgh school board is rescinding a $750,000 contract with Teach For America, and keeping open an elementary school slated to be shuttered. The board’s four new members, taking a new reform tact, drove the decision to drop the contract by a 6-2  vote with […]    


Maryland takes on new Common Core role as ‘favor’ to Obama, Gov. O’Malley says
How’s this for messy? Top Maryland officials approved a contract making the state the “fiscal agent”  for one of two multi-state consortia developing  standardized tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards despite objections that the contract has no minority business participation and concerns about testing obsession. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) acknowledged the lack of […]    
12-18-13 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: What’s wrong with this headline?The New York Times  published a story on Hanna Skandera, New Mexico’s highly controversial education secretary-designate (she’s been “designate” for three years because Democrats refuse to hold a hearing to confirm her)  under this online headline: “A Push for Teacher Accountability Meets Resistance in New Mexico.” What’s wrong with this headline s