State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that 227 school sites, including 33 in LA Unified, will share nearly $27 million in Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grants (BIIG) to help school districts increase their ability to administer the state’s new online tests this spring. “These state grants provide the critical last step needed to...

Responding to a barrage of requests from district superintendents around the state, including a recent appeal from LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, state education officials will consider a delay in using the results of the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced computerized test as means of measuring academic growth next year. “This will be a public discussion beginning...

Last week’s election for California Schools Superintendent, was widely framed as a battle between the teacher unions that backed incumbent and victor, Tom Torlakson, and refomers who supported Marshall Tuck. But a new survey suggests voters were more interested in how public schools are funded. The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of the American...

While this year’s students fared better than last year, LA Unified kids scored below the state average on the California Physical Fitness Test. According to figures released yesterday by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, the LA Unified fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders who participated in the six-part test during the 2013-14 school year are significantly...

Steve Zimmer was the only member of the LA school board with a public response to yesterday’s victory by Tom Torlakson, who won a second term as state Superintendent for Public Instruction. In it, Zimmer makes clear his disdain for the wealthy funders who backed the losing candidate, Marshall Tuck, congratulating the state teacher unions...

Marshall Tuck, who lost a close race to incumbent Tom Torlakson for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, had this to say after the votes were counted: “Sixteen months ago we set out on this journey to do one thing: put children first and ensure that every child has equal access to a quality education. And...

Tom Torlakson was re-elected yesterday as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, with 52.1 percent of the vote to 47.9 for Marshall Tuck, making it the closest of all statewide races. This was his victory statement: “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. They were strong, but we were stronger. They were tough, but we were tougher. After...

According to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, 28 percent of likely voters were still undecided on the State Superintendent of Public Instruction race going into today’s election. This is despite roughly $30 million in combined campaign spending for Marshall Tuck and Tom Torlakson, both Democrats, and with education as the top priority for many California...

In a race still too close to call, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction election between incumbent Tom Torlakson and Marshall Tuck may come down to an unlikely pairing of minorities and Republicans. “There’s going to be a coalition of Republicans and minority voters if Tuck is going to do well on election day,” said Michael Madrid,...