Big Stories Of The Day

'No Child,' No Problem Washington Post
Last spring, all 184 students in the third and fourth grades at Ocean City Elementary School passed the Maryland School Assessment, or MSA, a battery of tests given by the state every year since 2003 to satisfy the law. PLUS: Vermont Schools struggle with No Child Left Behind law Vermont Public Radio

Reading Scores Get 'Bump' From Student Incentives, Study Finds EdWeek
School-based reward programs that offer students such incentives as cash, free MP3 players, or other gifts appear to produce improved reading achievement across grade levels.

Schools substituting field trips with video links Sacramento Bee
Call it a 21st century field trip. Fifth-graders at Kingswood Elementary School peered into tide pools, listened to crashing waves and peppered a park ranger with questions – all without leaving their classroom in Citrus Heights.

Schools' unrest over the AP test Christian Science Monitor
Elite schools are dropping it, striking a blow to public education.

Turning Schools From Death Traps Into Havens NYTimes
Despite some progress to make schools safer, vulnerability prevails around the world’s seismic hot spots, from the Pacific Northwest to the Philippines.