Although Abilene and Big Country educators weren’t able to make it Monday to Austin to provide input to Texas legislators about the upcoming new standardized test, some shared their concerns with the Reporter-News.

“I appreciate what they feel and try to accomplish, but the reality is that it’s a jumbled mess,” Novice ISD Superintendent Dale Freeman said of the implementation of State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). “We’ve spent an unbelievable amount of money — and we get this test this spring.”

“It’s just way too rushed. It’s just unbelievable, but it’s the Legislature,” Freeman added.

The House Public Education Committee heard testimony from school officials and educators about the new test’s implementation and its impact on the state’s public schools. Lawmakers were particularly interested in learning about any recommendation changes and ensuring schools wouldn’t rely too much on the test.

This spring, STAAR replaces the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). T

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Universities will be forced to axe teacher training courses thisyear, lecturers’ leaders say, causing job losses across thecountry.

This follows a move to switch to school-based training of teachers. In addition, the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) which administers teacher training has said the number of places for trainee secondary school teachers will fall.

The news emerged as the deadline for 2012 university applications expired last night. Universities expect a fall of 5 to 6 per cent due to fees rising to up to £9,000 a year – a fall of between 25,000 and 30,000 in the number of applicants compared with last year.

But it is teacher training that worries union officials. They said Liverpool Hope University had already made job cuts ahead of the cutbacks. In a letter to universities, Tom Glover, director of marketing at the TDA, said: “The reduction in secondary places and the Department for Education’s strategy to increase school-led provision may result in some providers having to consider their involvement in initial teacher training.”

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “These changes will inevitably lead to job losses in every university where teacher training is taught.”

Institutions were also bracing for university applications for 2012. A

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Carmel High School junior middle hitter Lauren Pitz has made a verbal commitment to play at Georgia Tech, according to a release from a Team Indiana release. Pitz plays club volleyball for Team Indiana.

Pitz is a member of Team Indiana. Pitz was selected to The Stars Super Team after this past season. Pitz had 257 kills, .430 hitting percentage, 72 solo blocks, 59 block assists, six ace and 23 digs for the Greyhounds (26-3).

Saras D. Sarasvathy (“Entrepreneurial Thinking”) wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal and the Journal of Business Venturing, she also acts as an advisor to education programs on entrepreneurship in Asia and Europe. In December 2010, Darden awarded Sarasvathy a Wachovia award for excellence in research development. Earlier, in September 2007, Fortune Small Business magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship.

Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been an associate professor at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alu

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What: McMurry University 2011 Fall Commencement

When: 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: Radford Auditorium, on campus

Total grads: 79 (all undergrads)

Next up: Hardin-Simmons graduation (Friday)

Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Alaisha Guerra is graduating from McMurry University on Saturday with a degree in business.

Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News McMurrys Alaisha Guerra (right) rounds the turn on the final lap of the womens 1,500 m run on her way to third-place finish at the 2010 American Southwest Conference Championships in April at the Hardin-Simmons Track and Field Complex. Guerra graduates Saturday with a degree in business.

For Alaisha Guerra, cross-country runner and soon-to-be McMurry University graduate, there’s nothing like the end of a race.

“Your body is drained, your mouth is dry, you feel like you’re about to fall over,” Guerra said, as if describing a warm bubble bath.

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Primary school pupils could be banned from using calculators until they have learned basic sums, ministers said, amid concerns that an over-reliance on the devices is damaging children’s arithmetic.

Nick Gibb, the Schools minister, suggested calculators should only be used once a child masters basic maths.

Figures show 18 per cent of pupils in England aged from seven to 11 failed to make the progress expected of them in maths.