Gov. Newsom signed law replacing four-criteria local process with automatic reclassification based on ELPAC score. Research cited found half of unreclassified ELs already proficient and no academic benefit to extended status.
Read the full story: California’s AB 2555 makes single state test the sole bar for reclassifying nearly 1 million English learners
The revised Local Alternative Assessment guidelines, approved September 24, 2025, categorize subjects without SOL tests into mandatory and permissive categories, setting reporting and scoring standards while allowing division flexibility.
Read more: Virginia Board revises alternative assessment guidelines, adds mandatory-permissive split
The district eliminated 10 jobs at its Newcomer Academy after new multilingual learner enrollments fell from about 600 to fewer than 150 in a five-month period, while overall multilingual population stayed flat.
Read more: JCPS cuts 10 teaching positions at Newcomer Academy as new immigrant student arrivals drop sharply
The National Assessment Governing Board voted May 15 to update the civics framework for the first time in 30 years, while the 2028 test will allow state-by-state comparisons for the first time.
Read more: NAEP 8th-grade civics to produce first state-level results in 2028; framework overhaul underway for 2032
Lawsuit revives a constitutional challenge rooted in a 1975 case and arrives as a RAND study and pending legislation target the same funding formula.
Read more: ACLU-WV asks state Supreme Court to declare 44-year-old school aid formula unconstitutional
Multiple Washington districts are cutting teaching and support positions for 2026-27 as enrollment drops 4 percent from the 2019 peak and state funding lags costs.
Read more: Washington districts cut staff for 2026-27 as enrollment falls 4 percent from 2019 peak
The Arizona Department of Education reset cut scores after a field test with 600 native English speakers found nearly half failed. The statewide reclassification rate jumped from 12% to 26%.
Read more: Arizona lowered AZELLA passing scores, doubling reclassification rate and removing about 30,000 students from EL servicesThe district eliminated 10 jobs at its Newcomer Academy after new multilingual learner enrollments fell from about 600 to fewer than 150 in a five-month period, while overall multilingual population stayed flat.
The revised Local Alternative Assessment guidelines, approved September 24, 2025, categorize subjects without SOL tests into mandatory and permissive categories, setting reporting and scoring standards while allowing division flexibility.
Gov. Newsom signed law replacing four-criteria local process with automatic reclassification based on ELPAC score. Research cited found half of unreclassified ELs already proficient and no academic benefit to extended status.
U.S. 15-year-olds' reading scores fell 14 points on the 2025 PISA, matching a broad OECD decline, while math and science held steady.
Two lawsuits challenge the withholding of nearly $1.9B in congressionally appropriated education research funds and the dismantling of the Institute of Education Sciences, raising constitutional questions about executive spending power.
The county projects a $231 million cash shortfall by November 2027 for the nation's second-largest school district, which educates about 390,000 students. The board faces escalated oversight if it does not comply.
A UCLA analysis of state data shows homeless K-12 enrollment rose 10 percent above the pre-pandemic peak, with sharp racial disparities and widening gaps in achievement. California's new $116 Million grant program replaces expired federal aid.
The data collection includes new fields on nonbinary students, but the numbers were replaced with a suppression code, citing President Trump's executive order. The release is the first without a First Look Report in over a decade.
Third-grade proficiency fell nearly 14 points after a double-digit gain the year before. The swing has testing experts questioning whether the state exam is measuring real change.
Cincinnati, Fresno, LAUSD and others adopt furloughs, layoffs, and attrition strategies to close budget gaps driven by expiring federal aid, falling enrollment, and rising special education and insurance costs.
An Education Week review of federal spending reports shows unobligated funds were 7.5 times the combined total for the same eight accounts over the prior decade. The pattern extends into the current fiscal year.
A nationally representative survey of 753 educators finds student absences tied to enforcement fears nearly doubled since fall 2025, following DHS rescission of school protections.
The national rate surpassed the prior record by nearly five percentage points, driven by an on-time cycle opening, streamlined processes, and universal FAFSA policies in nine states. State-level gaps remain wide.
A compilation of Education Department OIG cases from 2019 to 2026 found roughly 90 instances of fraud and abuse totaling $225 million. Only 3 of the 20 largest school districts appeared in the records, suggesting a broader problem.
SB 1067 would require all public schools to assess K-2 students in math starting 2028-29 and provide interventions, mirroring the state's 2023 reading screening law. The governor has until September 30 to act.
The Chicago Board of Education is set to vote July 30 on a budget that eliminates nearly 1,000 teaching positions, with WBEZ analysis showing predominantly Latino high schools losing 7% of classroom teachers.
Houston ISD's state-overseen reform campuses saw end-of-course gains of 30 percentage points since 2023, far outpacing non-NES schools. But thousands fewer students sat for some exams under new pathway rules, and researchers say compositional changes may be inflating results.
Maryland's largest school district eliminated psychologists, counselors, tutors, and English-language assistants in a budget that is the largest ever, amid rising health insurance and pension costs and a funding shortfall from the county.
The American Psychological Association's inaugural report synthesizes evidence that rising classroom temperatures impair cognition and recommends heat thresholds, monitoring, and a shift in scheduling.
Spring 2026 results for NJGPA-Adaptive will not reach districts until late summer or fall, upending summer planning for remediation and alternative pathways; pass-rate gaps of 40 percentage points between wealthiest and poorest districts mean the disruption falls hardest on lower-income communities.
Texas regraded brief typed answers on reading exams, finding 1.7% of reviewed responses deserved more credit. The error rate affected accountability ratings for 11 schools and districts.
The August 24 vote is the first step in a broader overhaul after an Auditor General audit found Arizona's grading system was the only one among states reviewed that used bonus points and that more than 77% of schools received A or B grades.
A district-commissioned Year 1 evaluation of Philadelphia's K-8 EL Education curriculum found widespread concerns about phonics instruction, teacher preparedness, and support for struggling readers, while state test scores fell. The district has made adjustments; second-year results remain pending.
The framework assigns letter grades on a 0-100 scale, primarily using test scores and growth measures. DESE estimates first-year costs at $518,000, with additional annual costs. The system would not replace the existing Annual Performance Reports.
Alabama's second annual educator preparation report card shows 3,413 unfilled teacher positions in 2025-26, up 23% from the prior year, with early childhood education vacancies increasing 39%.
National data show teacher attrition rose above pre-pandemic levels in 2021-22. High-poverty and STEM classrooms were hit hardest.
In the first year of Arkansas's mandatory third-grade reading retention, most students scoring below the promotion threshold received good-cause exemptions, with actual retention rates below 13 percent in large districts.
A state task force’s report provides the first comprehensive dataset on the driver shortage and the disproportionate impact of the “impractical to transport” declaration on community and nonpublic school students.
The Tennessee Department of Education proposes combining its federal ESSA and state letter grade systems, raising questions about how to balance growth, proficiency, and subgroup accountability.
A constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot would replace Minnesota's interest-and-dividend-only payout from the $2.3 billion Permanent School Fund with a 4.5 percent distribution. Minnesota is the only state with that restrictive model.
Just 38.2% of third-graders scored proficient in ELA, the lowest in the exam's history. The state has passed major literacy and dyslexia laws, but officials say their effects are not yet in the test scores.
New data from the NYC Department of Education shows that about 3.5% of offers went to Black students and 6.5% to Latino students, while Asian American students received 56.5% and white students 23.5%.
A WestEd evaluation of eight early-adopter districts found positive academic effects in three where rigorous analysis was possible, at costs comparable to traditional contracts. The model's independent contribution remains uncertain.
A two-year study finds that a revenue-neutral weighted formula would cause most districts and charters to lose money, while the 2026 state budget creates a work group to study the transition.
The 2025 Education Accountability Act requires districts to administer interim assessments in math and English language arts three times a year for grades K-8. About one-third of districts must switch vendors, and the law sets performance growth targets across eight goal areas by 2029-30.
The law requires universal math screening for grades 2-5 three times per year, with intervention plans for students below the 30th percentile, and allocates funds through a weighted formula.
State review flags statistical patterns at 37 charter and 15 traditional public schools spanning at least 16 counties. Schools must respond by September 18.
The 2026 biennial report finds that maintaining current services would cost $13.8 billion; fully meeting quality goals would cost $16.2 billion. Lawmakers have never fully funded the commission's recommendations since the model began in 1999.
Grades 3-8 proficiency inches up 1 point each in ELA and math, but SAT math remains flat and achievement gaps persist far below pre-pandemic levels and state targets.
New state-by-state analysis shows a third straight year of decline, but roughly 95 percent of students still attend districts where absenteeism exceeds 2019 levels, and the pace of improvement is slowing.
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