Claudio Sanchez

The College Board is announcing new revisions to the SAT college entrance exam. NPR correspondent Claudio Sanchez lays out the Board's proposed changes.

The president of the largest U.S. teachers union is calling on school districts to delay adopting the Common Core education standards. The union's the latest group to voice concerns over Common Core.

In the 1970s, two-year and four-year colleges started replacing full-time faculty with part-time instructors. Since then, disputes over pay, benefits and working conditions for these adjunct instructors have ballooned into big problems on many campuses.

President Obama is expected to propose an expansion of preschool programs in his State of the Union Address. Most states have bought into the idea and restored funding for the programs. What's less clear is where the long-term funding is going to come from, and whether the quality of these programs are worth the investment.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a meeting with college presidents and organizations involved in raising the number of low-income students who pursue a college degree. No more than half of low income high school graduates apply to college right after graduation, compared to 82 percent for high-income students. The administration says it's intent on closing that gap.

The Obama administration wants public school officials to rethink how they discipline and punish students who misbehave. In the mid-1990s, states put in place harsh "zero-tolerance" policies in response to a rise in violence, bullying, drug use and school shootings. But studies show that too often kids are being punished just as harshly for minor offenses. Black, Latino and disabled students are disproportionately affected. Now the departments of Education and Justice are issuing new guidelines to help schools re-evaluate their disciplinary policies.

Ten years after education researchers began focusing on big city school systems and monitoring their math and reading scores, there's good news to report. Today, fourth and eighth graders in many of the nation's largest cities have made impressive gains. Surprisingly, school systems with large numbers of low income children have exceeded the national average in both subjects .

In a new poll, parents of girls were more likely to say no when asked if schools were sufficiently preparing students for the world of work. And with many well-paying trades still dominated by men, girls may have a harder time succeeding in the workplace without some kind of higher education.

One of the nation's largest school systems has been pushed to the brink of insolvency. Not long ago, Philadelphia was touted as a "laboratory of innovation," a promising model for urban public education. But something went wrong. So who is responsible for the district's descent into academic and financial ruin?

Pitbull is just one of a growing number of celebrities who've lent their names and opened their wallets to the charter school movement. His Sports Leadership And Management Academy opened in Miami this fall.

Roughly 6 in 10 college-bound high school students who took the SAT in 2013 performed poorly. The sponsor of the test wants to work with schools to help students do better, but some say the group is really concerned with trying to keep the test relevant.

The Common Core initiative would standardize academic goals nationwide. Forty-five states have signed on, but lawmakers in some states are rethinking their support. While both sides are stepping up their messaging, a poll out this month shows 62 percent of Americans have never heard of Common Core.