Rise & Shine: Computerized tests lead to new fights against cheating

COLORADO

• Denver’s charter high schools have better retention rates than their traditional school counterparts; they’re also keeping students longer to graduate. EdNews Colorado
• A state task force recommended that Colorado colleges and universities move to a system based on what skills a student can demonstrate rather than their course loads and grade point averages. EdNews Colorado
• Douglas County’s differentiated pay scale is very unusual in the country, but some other school districts say it should be a model. Reuters via Yahoo
• Colorado Springs School District 11’s new budget reflects a massive reorganization. Gazette
• The St. Vrain Valley School Board is set to approve its new agreement with its teachers union. Longmont Times-Call

NATION

• New computer-based tests are prompting new ways of cheating and new ways to combat cheating. Wall Street Journal
• Texas students struggle with the state’s standardized tests, including some that will be eliminated under a new law. Dallas Morning News
• Chicago Public Schools’ new five-year plan focuses on increased accountability. Chicago Tribune

OPINION

• Editorial: The Denver Post argues that the newest Democratic rewrite of No Child Left Behind “hits the sweet spot.”
• Commentary: A CU-Boulder education professor argues that a New York Times article was in error when it said that there was no academic consensus that tracking students is harmful. Washington Post

Rise & Shine

Each weekday morning, we search websites of various media, comb through RSS feeds and peruse Google alerts to bring you a roundup of the day’s top education headlines, in Colorado and across the country, by 8 a.m. If you’d like to suggest a story we’ve missed or a source we should add to the list, please email us at ednews@ednewscolorado.org.