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Monday, August 12, 2013

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STAR test questions and answers posted to social media at 16 schools




Education Headlines

Monday, August 12, 2013

S.J. school warned over cellphone pic of STAR test

An East Union High student in Manteca put the school on a short list of 16 statewide threatened with sanctions for snapping a cellphone picture of a standardized test question and then posting it on social media.

California Supreme Court to rule on insulin shots to diabetic students

The case pits parents who want voluntarily trained, non-nursing staff and faculty to give the shots to their children against a nurses' union claiming inappropriately administered shots could lead to harm and even tragedy.

After Sandy Hook, schools start the year with heightened security

As schools across Southern California prepare to open, teachers, parents and students will find increased security on their campuses, including surveillance cameras, more safety patrols, revised lockdown measures and fewer open gates.

Fewer local high-schoolers prepped for university

Mother Lode high schoolers are still taking fewer college preparatory classes than their peers in other regions, but many forge their own path to four-year universities.

LAUSD giving principals, teachers 'live shooter' training

Prompted by last year's massacre in Newtown, Conn., Los Angeles Unified is instructing administrators and faculty in how to keep students safe if there's a gunman on campus.

Fensterwald: Common Core poses big challenge for students, big opportunity for teachers

With an emphasis on developing verbal and analytical skills, the new Common Core standards will pose a big step up for most students. For English learners, who comprise a quarter of California’s children, it’ll seem more like a pole vault.

Volunteers rally around science center in San Pedro

When school starts Monday in the city of Los Angeles, the clock starts ticking for San Pedro's long beleaguered science center.

Galt elementary school district to offer online classes

Elementary and middle school students whose parents are seeking a customized learning pace while still enjoying on-campus activities such as band and field trips can enroll in a new online school in Galt.

School menus phasing out peanut products

The tragic death of 13-year-old Natalie Giorgi of Carmichael, whose throat swelled shut last month after she tasted a peanut-laced treat, has schools re-examining meal practices in order to keep children safe.

STAR test questions and answers posted to social media at 16 schools

State education officials remained confident Friday that the leaking of questions from a statewide test to social media did not result in massive cheating on the exam taken last spring.

Local educators help teachers prepare for launch of Common Core

As school districts across the nation prepare for the launch of a new set of national learning standards next year, local educators are taking steps to ensure that no Humboldt County teacher or student will be left behind.

California's new law has teachers paying more for school supplies

Resulting from the settlement of a lawsuit against the state, the law reinforces the California Constitution's guarantee of a free public education.
Friday, August 9, 2013

Kern, state test scores edge down slightly

Student performance on the annual Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, assessments dipped slightly in Kern County and statewide in the 2012-13 school year, a decline generally attributed to cuts to school funding and the transition to new state academic standards.

County mirrors statewide trend with STARS dip

The figures are a slip away from gains of the past couple of years, but they mirror a dip in test performance across California, and education officials point to budget cuts and a shift in curriculum standards as the reasons for the change.

Test scores above average, but no growth

San Diego County students again outpaced statewide averages in standardized test scores released Thursday, but steady gains seen in recent years locally and throughout California have leveled off.