EducationPoint

This year, the state’s new graduation requirements become “real” as students in Seattle schools in the class of 2008 receive the results of their first attempt at the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Passing the 10th-grade WASL will be the avenue most students take to earn the Certificate of Academic Achievement, one of the four new statewide graduation requirements. (Students in special education programs may participate in alternate assessments and earn a Certificate of Individual Achievement.) Read full article »

All states across the United States require standards that must be met in different subjects by specific grades, especially in reading and math. End of year testing is required for specific grades to ensure schools and students are meeting these standards. Read full article »

The U.S. Department of Education changed its rules for measuring the progress of public schools during the 2005-2006 school year. The impact was devastating to the Arizona schools, which had more than 600 schools marked as “failed”. That is nearly three times as many schools as last year. Read full article »

Chicago schools educators were surprised during their teacher training session in mid-September with new state learning standards for kindergarten students. Previously, Illinois was one of 11 states that did not have learning standards for kindergarten. The state adopted standards for grades one through 12 in 1997 and even have specific “early learning” standards for preschoolers. Read full article »

An agreement was reached this past spring with Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes to eliminate all non-diet soda and other sugary drinks from most public school vending machines, unless they have a nutritious value, such as juice and low-fat milk. Read full article »

On the evening of August 31, a meeting was held for the parents, students, teachers, staff, business partners, and other community members of McReynolds Middle School, a member of the Houston schools that is located on the east side of the city. Hundreds of people filled the school’s auditorium, leaving standing room only. Read full article »

The Philadelphia schools need to improve the effectiveness and diversity of their teacher workforce. Currently, 85 percent of their students are African American, Latino and Asian, but they have only 38 percent teachers of color.
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Though public schools across the nation are improving their school environments for students, the New York schools are falling behind, according to the National Education Association (NEA). In a recently posted web page, the NEA cited many failings of the New York schools. Here are some of the challenges that the New York schools continue to face during the 2006-2007 school year. Read full article »

Nowadays, my daughter is engrossed in planning out her post secondary education. While research the different option of programs and schools available, we came across a fact that some schools offer accredited programs while some do not. Read full article »

In 2003, the Los Angeles schools implemented a new policy of graduation requirements. The intention was to graduate Los Angeles schools students that were better-educated and groomed for college and high-level jobs. Requirements included graduates to pass one year of algebra and one of geometry, or equivalent coursework. Read full article »