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A Compelling or Distracting NCLB Waiver?
Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s approval of the CORE districts’ waiver from unattainable provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, exposed some old and some new internecine disputes in California education. EdSource

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State Begins Work Revising Teacher Preparation Based on Common Core
The state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing has approved a two-year plan for updating educator training standards – the first comprehensive review in more than a decade. The plan comes forward as public schools in California are already transitioning to new curriculum standards based on a set of national goals in math and English language arts – with new common science standards soon to be ready for adoption. SI&A Cabinet Report

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American Education’s Path Back to Greatness
This week, New Yorkers are likely to suffer a mix of disappointment and frustration when the state releases the results of the rigorous new testing regime that New York State has adopted as it joins the national Common Core movement to raise standards of American education. Kentucky, the first state to adopt Common Core-aligned testing, saw its initial scores drop by as much as 33 points, or nearly 50%. New York Daily News

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States’ Common-Core To-Do Lists Topped by Tests, Curricula
On the heels of its latest survey taking states’ temperatures about the political environment surrounding the common core, the Center on Education Policy has released a report detailing how far along state education officials think they are in implementing the new English/language arts and math standards, and what they see as the biggest remaining challenges. EdWeek

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The Pedagogical Agenda of Common Core Math Standards
Mathematics education in the United States is at a pivotal moment. At this time, forty-five states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core standards, a set of uniform benchmarks for math and reading. Thirty-two states and the district have been granted waivers from important parts of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. As part of the agreement in being granted a waiver, those states have agreed to implement Common Core. My fear (as well as that of many of my colleagues) is that implementation of the Common Core math standards may actually make things worse. Education News