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Common Core Budget Approval Put Off for Another Week
The LA Unified school board voted, again, to delay its final decision on crafting and approving the $113 million Common Core budget for at least another week. The money comes from the state and is intended to help school districts transition over the next two years to the new curriculum. It appeared to be a...
By Hillel Aron | September 10, 2013
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CA Getting ‘Smarter’ with New Tests to Probe Critical Thinking
When California’s new statewide tests are in place by the spring of 2015, an 11th grade student might be asked the following: “Pretend you are preparing a report for a congresswoman on the pros and cons of using nuclear power to generate electricity. Gather some evidence, then write an essay arguing for either using nuclear...
By Brenda Iasevoli | August 27, 2013
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School Board Meeting Wrap Up: More Discussion Than Votes*
What began as a breezy LA Unified School Board meeting on Tuesday turned, not surprisingly, into a long, tedious, sometimes rancorous session, with a host of issues discussed but rarely resolved. A number of key votes were postponed, and Superintendent John Deasy’s highly anticipated budget presentation was postponed until the Sept. 10 board meeting so it could...
By Hillel Aron | August 20, 2013
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LA Unified Survey Finds Teacher Satisfaction with iPad Training
A survey by LA Unified has found that teachers and school staff “gave high marks” to the training they had on the iPads and digital content that are being phased into district schools this year. The overall degree of the satisfaction with the training was 5.5 out of 6, which was the highest score possible,...
By LA School Report | August 19, 2013
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Aquino Sees Deeper Thinking but Falling Scores with Common Core
Five years ago, as Jaime Aquino was leaving his post as chief academic officer of Denver public schools, a reporter asked him his thoughts on how to improve public education. His response: national standards, coupled with national assessments. But Aquino told the reporter, “I will never see this in my lifetime.’” Fast forward to 2013....
By Brenda Iasevoli | August 14, 2013