Time Tested

The Department of Education announced that it was taking steps to decrease the amount of time public school students spend preparing for and taking standardized tests -- and called for Congress to follow its lead as it rewrites the nation’s federal education laws.

The DEA laid out new guidelines for standardized tests, eased federal rules on testing, and promised new commitments to states and local governments to help them reevaluate their testing programs. The new recommendation to school districts is that testing should take up no more than 2% of classroom time.

Chicago Schools Chief Indicted

 

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and superintendent, was indicted on federal fraud charges that accuse her of taking bribes and kickbacks for steering more than $23 million in no-bid contracts to a former employer.

Byrd-Bennett resigned in June amid a federal probe charging her with 15 counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud. She was cooperating with prosecutors and has agreed to plead guilty, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said during a press briefing.

Fardon said Byrd-Bennett abused her position "to line her own pockets and those of her co-defendants." The 43-page indictment alleges Byrd-Bennet her co-defendants -- Gary Solomon and Tom Vranas -- began scheming almost immediately after she was hired for Chicago's top schools spot in 2012. 

If convicted, Byrd-Bennett faces up to 20 years in prison, mandatory restitution, and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count of mail and wire fraud.

Duncan Bows Out, King Steps In

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will step down by the end of the year. Deputy, John King, will replace him as acting secretary until the close of President Obama’s term. Many of his policies mirror Duncan’s.

John King, 40, a Brooklyn native, was New York’s education commission from May 2011 through December 2014. He was appointed by the state Board of Regents as the first African American official to serve as the state’s education chief. King battled the New York’s teachers’ union, which called for his removal in April 2014.

King will likely focus on implementation of the administration's NCLB rewrite which has yet to make it through Congress

Students Bombed the SAT This Year

According to several news reports, students in the high school class of 2015 turned in the lowest critical reading score on the SAT college entrance exam in more than 40 years, with all three sections declining from the previous year.

 

The mean score on the math portion of the SAT, 511, is the lowest since 1999. The highest possible score on each section is 800. The reading score of 495 is the worst since 1972, according to data provided by the College Board. The test administrator reported the lowest score for the SAT's writing section since it began in 2005.  

Student Lectures Teacher

Jeff Bliss lectures at teacher at Duncanville High

Atlanta Cheating Ring

Eight Atlanta educators have been sentenced to between one and seven years in prison for participating in a massive cheating ring, Reuters is reporting.

The former principals, teachers and administrators were accused of trying to boost their bonuses by conspiring to cheat and falsely raise student test scores. Initially, dozens of educators were charged and many have since pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation in exposing the scandal which first came to light in 2008.

"There were thousands of children that were harmed in this thing. This was not a victimless crime that occurred." Judge Jerry Baxter said during sentencing. "It's the sickest thing that's ever happened to this town."