First Bell 3-6-13

yes Pamela Tatz / March 6, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

The struggle over whether or not to close Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion High, like in many school districts across the land, pits sentiments against data. (WHYY/NewsWorks)

Today, a judge plans to rule on whether Alabama governor Robert Bentley can sign into law a tax-credit-scholarship bill. (Associated Press)

In 2012, public financing for higher education declined 7 percent to its lowest level in twenty-five years, according to a new report. (New York Times and Hechinger Report)

Carmel Martin will leave the U.S. Department of Education in April for the Center for American Progress. (Politics K–12)

Researchers aim to build a principal-evaluation system that both includes test scores and accounts for how long a principal has been in her position. (Education Week)

PARCC, one of the two main groups building tests for the Common Core, says its assessments will take eight to ten hours over up to twenty days. (Curriculum Matters)

A nationwide course for Latino parents called “Abriendo Puertas” (Opening Doors) seeks to reverse the grim achievement statistics facing their children. (Wall Street Journal)

Category: First Bell