SECOND ACT
Nevada and Missouri are the most recent states to contract with the SAT and ACT to ensure that every eleventh grader has access to a college entry exam. While we can all agree that increasing access to these tests is a good thing, there are also concerns about adding another test to the pile. Some wonder if the test could serve the dual purposes of college admittance and school assessment.
ELECTION SPOTLIGHT: KANSAS
Funding for schools has landed on the political map in Kansas, where Democrat Paul Davis stands an excellent chance of upsetting Republican incumbent Governor Sam Brownback. Democrats claim that Brownback’s primary fiscal agenda item, a series of tax cuts, has led to a revenue shortfall that endangers public education. The governor’s supporters point to nonpartisan analysis indicating that per-pupil funding has, in fact, increased over the last several years.
POLLING ALERT
New numbers are out on Common Core’s approval among teachers. According to today’s Gallup poll, 41 percent view the standards positively and 44 percent negatively. Beyond the top-line polling, there were interesting implications for the initiative’s continuing popularity: Among teachers employed by schools in which the standards have been fully implemented, over 60 percent took a favorable view.
SECURITY FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
On the heels of UNC’s mushrooming “shadow curriculum” scandal, which has led to NCAA critics demanding changes to the student-athlete model, the Big Ten has announced that it will shift its policy on athletic scholarships, guaranteeing them through four years. Students will no longer be in danger of losing a chance at a college education because they couldn’t fix the hitch in their swings or, worse, they were simply injured while playing for their schools. It’s about time.
