Massive news for K-12 came this week with the Senate's passage of the Every Child Achieves Act, a rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. While a consensus must now be reached between the House and Senate, followed by both chambers and President Barack Obama approving the final law, the nation is now that much closer to an overdue overhaul of its biggest education law.
In higher ed news, Udacity, the for-profit former MOOC provider, announced plans to make a 50% discount on its tuition permanent in a move that will likely increase the amount of competition its alternative credentials for professional learning bring to traditional institutions.
Meanwhile, New York found itself at the top of a ranking of states with the most difficult assessments, and a push for Massachusetts to drop the Common Core-aligned PARCC exam gained additional traction following the testing consortium's recent rejection by Ohio and other states.
Be sure to check out our look at the history of and issues tied to the debate around the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and more in this week's most-read Education Dive posts!
- Every Child Achieves Act passes Senate: Following a week of debate, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act cleared the Senate with wide bipartisan approval.
- Udacity makes half-price tuition permanent: Students who complete nanodegrees in 12 months are eligible to get half of their tuition payments reimbursed.
- New York tops list of states with most difficult tests: According to a new study, states set very different bars for how much students must know in order to pass state exams.
- Massachusetts may be next to drop PARCC: Lawmakers have introduced bills to place a moratorium on the Common Core-aligned test.
- An ed law left behind: A primer on ESEA reauthorization: As Congress moves toward reauthorization, here's a closer look at the key issues and what happens next.
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