PRE-K LOGISTICS
Less than half of the children seeking a free prekindergarten seat in New York City were assigned one in their top-choice public school next year, and around one-third weren’t assigned a seat at all. (New York Times)
BURIED IN PAPERWORK
Speaking from personal experience, a college student makes an appeal for better programs to help kids from immigrant and low-income families navigate the financial-aid process. (Hechinger Report)
ASSESSMENT UPDATE
By Education Week’s count, just 42 percent of U.S. K–12 students will take a Common Core–aligned assessment designed by PARCC or Smarter Balanced. (Curriculum Matters)
STUDENT-DATA CONTROVERSY
Policymakers have renewed a push to build a federal “unit record” database, originally proposed by the Bush administration and killed by privacy advocates, which would track students through college and into the workforce and would be administered by the U.S. Department of Education. (Inside Higher Ed)
ED TECH
While some district leaders are becoming savvier consumers of ed-tech products, many simply don’t understand the technology, hampering entrepreneurs from getting from “idea to selling.” (For more on ed tech, see Education Week’s special report on “Navigating the Ed-Tech Marketplace.”)
FORDHAM IN THE NEWS
- Politico: “Schools spotlighted in D.C. mayoral race”
- Washington Post: “How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution”
- CNS News: “Opposition to Common Core Mounts As Two More States Pull Out”
