Las Vegas Review Journal – Laura Myers, Ed Vogel and Benjamin Spillman

“CARSON CITY — State spending on education would be cut by 6.9 percent under a budget deal Democrats and Republicans reached late Saturday, a source who had seen the draft budget document said.”(more)

Last Vegas Sun – Steve Green

“The Henderson International School on Friday said the recession is forcing it to close two of its three campuses and eliminate its high school program. The private school is owned by Meritas LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and last reported pre-K through 12th grade enrollment of 850 students.”(more)

Indianapolis Star – Eric Weddle

“WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The amount of money Purdue University spends on scholarships is coming under scrutiny as campus leaders look for ways to close a projected $67 million funding gap.”(more)

Seattle Times – Katherine Long

“A panel of more than a dozen Bellevue teachers, parents and administrators wrestled with the results of a trial of two math texts, but came to no conclusions Thursday about which series of books would do the best job helping teach students algebra and geometry.”(more)

Time – Ramesh Ponnuru

“We may be close to maxing out on the first strategy. Our high college drop-out rate — 40% of kids who enroll in college don’t get a degree within six years — may be a sign that we’re trying to push too many people who aren’t suited for college to enroll. It has been estimated that, in 2007, most people in their 20s who had college degrees were not in jobs that required them: another sign that we are pushing kids into college who will not get much out of it but debt.”(more)

Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington

“What is the underlaying cause of the college drop out rate and the disconnect between college cost and post college income? The basic problem is that the primary and secondary education system in the US is not providing kids with the necessary skills for 21st Century employment. As a result, young people go to college to become “job ready”. However, most 21st Century jobs require analytical abilities (math skills). Today, even historians and public policy analysts use statistics, build databases and incorporate math formulas into spreadsheet analyses. By the time kids reach college it is nearly impossible to learn a sequential subject like math. So sady these young people are routed to college courses that do not require math skills. Then reality hits. The number of jobs that can be filled by people without analytic abilities is shrinking, so an education that does not include math does little to improve job prospects. This new reality means many young people leave college with large debts and few job prospects.”

Denver Post – Jeremy P. Meyer

“About 57 percent of Denver Public Schools’ 75,000 students attend schools that fail to meet district performance standards, according to a study by a charter school organization.”(more)

Education Next – Chester E. Finn, Jr.

“If these standards and assessments end up representing a huge improvement over those in use in most states today, then much that’s good may reasonably follow from their installation and use. But what if they don’t? And even if they do, what about those (few) states that have done a creditable job on their own and for which CCSSI may represent either a lateral move or a step backward? In any case, would it not be prudent to appraise their safety and efficacy before demanding that they become the center of America’s new education universe?”(more)

Las Vegas Sun – Emily Richmond

“For a second consecutive year, the Clark County School District is reporting an improvement in its dropout rate – to 4.6 percent in 2009, from 5.8 percent in 2008. The improvement is the equivalent of about 1,127 students, equal to the enrollment of the district’s average-sized middle school.”(more)

New York Times – Crystal Yednak

“In the end, few seemed satisfied. Parents, reform organizations and others expressed concerns that the school district has embarked on yet another failed reform effort. But school officials remained committed to the district’s turnaround strategy.”(more)

New York Times – Robbie Brown

“Children from the 450 houses in our subdivision were being bused all across the city,” said Ms. Wilson, for whom the final affront was a proposal by the Wake County Board of Education to send her two daughters to schools 17 miles from home.”(more)