MIAMI (Reuters) - Nearly half of Florida high school students failed the reading portion of the state's new toughened standardized test, education officials said on Friday. Results this year from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test showed 52 percent of freshman students and 50 percent of sophomores scored at their grade levels. Students in the 10th grade must pass the exam in order to eventually graduate but can retake it if they fail. The results came days after the Florida State Board of Education voted to lower the standards needed to pass the writing part of the test, known as FCAT. ...

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The Oregon state board of education has banned public schools from using American Indian names and mascots for their athletic teams, out of a concern they disparage native American people. The move is believed to be one of the nation's most sweeping prohibitions of its kind in favor of native Americans who say their culture is stereotyped by a number of sports teams. It follows years of controversy surrounding a range of teams, from the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball to the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. ...

President Obama’s re-election campaign is courting voters in Florida and Nevada with a new, positive 30-second TV ad on higher education. The spot, which began airing Friday, features pictures of a young Obama with his mother and at school as the narrator paints a picture...

New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is proposing to offer buyouts to hundreds of teachers who don't have permanent jobs.

Dr. David Dockterman is chief architect, learning sciences at Scholastic Education and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is an educational software pioneer and has designed dozens of award-winning instructional technology programs.

Seattle—Nick Hanauer toddled through his early years in a cramped Greenwich Village apartment. His mother waited tables at the Bitter End. His father worked low-level jobs on Wall Street and as an editor at a publishing house. When Nick was 5, his folks left New York to join a family pillow-making business in the Pacific Northwest. They raised their three sons in a three-bedroom house in the suburbs and sent them to public schools. After Nick, the eldest, earned a philosophy degree at the University of Washington, he went to work for his father. ...

Budget negotiators said Wednesday that proposals to increase spending on Kansas public schools and other government programs are joined at the hip to a pending compromise on tax cuts.

The New Hampshire's House and Senate passed similar plans Wednesday to give businesses a tax credit for donating to scholarship organizations to send students to private or public schools.

Kids are expensive--it's a fact of life. If you're like many parents, you may just grin and bear it while forking over a hundred or more dollars for the latest, greatest toys. After all, you could argue that they're worth it. However, your money could be put to better use by saving for your kids' college education, saving for retirement, or paying off debt. But luckily for your kids, you don't have to stop feeding their toy habit completely in order to save some dough.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said on Wednesday he would not oppose a delay to the start of a trial of four prominent Kenyans, including two leading presidential hopefuls, accused of fuelling post-election violence in 2007. The group, including former Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former Higher Education Minister William Ruto, are charged with masterminding the bloodshed that killed more than 1,200 people. All have said they are innocent. ...

Tornadoes battered their school and homes, and spring break was spent cleaning up. Henryville has only begun to rebuild, but for one night, its high school students will get to put aside their worries for a private show by one of country music's biggest acts.

According to the Associated Press, the Illinois Senate voted 40-11 on a bill that would add miniature horses to the list of services animals that can accompany individuals with documented disabilities. If signed into law, the horses could undergo special training to accompany disabled people into public schools, stores and other locations. Here are some facts about House Bill 3826.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said on Wednesday he would not oppose a delay to the start of a trial of four prominent Kenyans, including two leading presidential hopefuls, accused of fuelling post-election violence in 2007. The group, including former Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former Higher Education Minister William Ruto, are charged with masterminding the bloodshed that killed more than 1,200 people. All have said they are innocent. ...

Students Matter, a non-profit group dedicated to changing the way the Golden State hires and fires teachers, issued a press release alerting of a lawsuit it filed on behalf of eight minors who are students in California public schools. The defendants include the Los Angeles Unified School district and the Alum Rock Union School District.

COMMENTARY | According to US News and World Report, billionaire Mark Cuban has predicted an upcoming "destabilization" of the nation's college education system in his blog. For those considering college nonetheless, the outspoken entrepreneur, best known for his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, provided advice on how to pick the best college deal. Cuban is critical of the high tuition rates of colleges and universities and predicts they will not change until students stop taking such loans, thereby forcing schools to make changes.

Hawaii's teacher union members begin voting this week on a contract they rejected earlier this year, despite warnings from the state that the agreement is no longer valid.

A meltdown is coming to the higher education sector, billionaire computer magnate and NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban warned in a blog post on May 13. With education costs that rise each year, a hungry market of students plied with easy-to-get loans, and little incentive for colleges to make meaningful changes, the arena is ripe for a major shakeup, the entrepreneur writes.

(Reuters) - During her tumultuous three years at the head of the Washington D.C. public schools, Michelle Rhee set off a lot of fireworks. She's still doing it - on a national stage. Rhee has emerged as the leader of an unlikely coalition of politicians, philanthropists, financiers and entrepreneurs who believe the nation's $500 billion-a-year public education system needs a massive overhaul. She has vowed to raise $1 billion for her national advocacy group, StudentsFirst, and forever break the hold of teachers unions on education policy. ...

Under a new pilot program, Georgia will give students as young as 5 years old a say in grading their teachers on their knowledge and abilities

(Reuters) - During her tumultuous three years at the head of the Washington D.C. public schools, Michelle Rhee set off a lot of fireworks. She's still doing it - on a national stage. Rhee has emerged as the leader of an unlikely coalition of politicians, philanthropists, financiers and entrepreneurs who believe the nation's $500 billion-a-year public education system needs a massive overhaul. She has vowed to raise $1 billion for her national advocacy group, StudentsFirst, and forever break the hold of teachers unions on education policy. ...