Catholic schools lead rush for voucher approvals in Indiana

Catholic educators raised a strong voice for a school voucher program–and now that the state is starting one, schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis are quickly signing up, Courier-Journal.com reports. Most of the 80 schools approved so far by the Indiana Department of Education to receive public money to help families pay private-school tuition are faith-based schools, and most of them are Catholic schools, including six in Southern Indiana…

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Kentucky to be first to endorse national education standards

Kentucky schoolchildren in grades K-12 will see new standards for math and English next year, as part of a collaborative effort among 48 states to more clearly specify what knowledge and skills students need to succeed in college and in the workforce, reports the Courier-Journal. On Wednesday, the state will become the first in the nation to endorse the so-called “Common Core State Standards Initiative,” during a meeting of officials from the state Department of Education; the Council on Postsecondary Education, which coordinates the state’s higher education system; and the state’s Education Professional Standards Board, which certifies that state’s teachers and school administrators.

The idea is to align coursework and materials in every state, and to establish clear, consistent expectations of what students have to learn at each grade level in preparation for college and the workforce. As part of the effort, new tests will be developed, based on the common standards, which will eventually allow state-by-state comparisons…

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