“In regards to education policy, Bill Gates ought to have a loud voice in his school district, but a quieter one in mine.” So says a father and Fordham professor who argues the Common Core learning standards, while positive, should not be imposed uniformly upon all schools and teachers.

For all the anxiety about testing and test results, the middle step of actually scoring the New York State tests, given to students in April, is getting scant attention. Yet city teachers are spending work hours grading the state tests, with a varying degree of training. One teacher said there’s a “very complicated and lengthy rubric we were given to help us score” and another described debates among scorers about how to assess student writing.

A middle school principal tells a panel on the new learning standards that in order for Common Core to succeed more money and support is needed, especially for low-income students, English language learners and students with disabilities.

“If we have a problem recruiting top college graduates to education, we should fix that problem. Testing doesn’t fix anything, and in this case, a teacher bar exam disguises the need to do something more meaningful to attract and retain the best teachers by creating the illusion of action,” says an English teacher. What do you think about a bar exam for teachers? Weigh in.

Two parents argue against the city’s proposal to modify the current preference given to siblings who qualify for the most coveted gifted and talented programs. The proposal will be voted on Thursday by the Panel for Educational Policy.

An education consultant urges newly re-elected President Obama to overhaul Race to the Top federal guidelines so they emphasize great teaching and individuals over metrics and test scores.

Despite the storm’s disruption to the school-year calendar, the Department of Education is moving ahead with tests and meetings scheduled this month and next, beginning with the first Parent Academy workshops on Saturday.

Third and fourth graders won’t have to sit as long for their state math and reading tests next spring, according to state education officials who also warned of harder tests.

After the release of statewide test results, schools are drilling down on their individual performance data. We sought teachers’ views on how to put this year’s results into context.

While all New York City students showed improvement on state tests, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday set aside special praise for charter schools, which have shown greater improvements in proficiency since 2010. Critics say it is because charters attract higher-performing students, but the chief executive of the New York City Charter School Center said the results are “cause for optimism.”