Scantron Becomes 15th Corporation to Dump ALEC, Leaves Educational Task Force   by By Rebekah Wilce in PRWatch

Scantron Corporation, a $200 million for-profit educational testing and online tutoring company that makes, among other things, joined the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) late in 2010, but a company spokesperson told CMD that it is no longer a member. Scantron's departure makes it the 15th corporation to cut ties with ALEC. 

"The opportunity to learn-the necessary resources, the curriculum opportunities, the quality teachers-that affluent students have, is what determines what people can do in life," said Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford University.  Our analysis offers the first nationwide picture of exactly which advanced courses are being taken at which schools and districts across the country.  

Attitudes and Affect: Daily Emotions and Their Association with the Commitment and Burnout of Beginning Teachers   by Nathan Jones & Peter Youngs in Teachers College Record

 The increasing number of districts implementing mentoring and induction programs suggests that policymakers are aware of the need to increase the support available to new teachers. The argument underlying many of these programs is based, at least partly, on assumptions about beginning teachers' emotional responses to their work. Yet while considerable research has studied the effects of induction programs, few researchers have rigorously collected data on how beginning teachers' affective experiences seem to impact their career plans. 

  

 

 The Common Core Memorandum of Understanding: What a Story  by 

Mercedes Schneider, in Mercedes Schneider's EduBlog

 The question of who, exactly, is truly responsible for writing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been a matter for debate. Here is how the CCSS development:

Building on the excellent foundation of standards states have laid, the Common Core State Standards are the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality education. It should be clear to every student, parent, and teacher what the standards of success are in every school.

  

  

Determining Funding for Online Schools  by Bruce Baker, Justin Bathon and William J. Mathis,   in National Policy Education Center.

 Just what is a "fair price" for funding alternatives to traditional public schools, including online schools, has been a matter of sharp disagreement. The research literature on the question is "at best, sparse and inconsistent," Baker and Bathon write. "There exists little, if any credible peer-reviewed analysis of the costs and benefits of education alternatives."

  

  

 Deciding Who Sees Students' Data   by Natasha Singer in the New York Times Business Day

 InBloom, a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, seemed to offer a solution: it could collect information from the district's many databases and store it in the cloud, making access easier, and protect it with high-level encryption.  The company has name-brand backing: $100 million in seed money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation along with the Carnegie Corporation of New York.