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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Confused about whats going on post-State of the City? A rundown:

• An overview of the education content (a lot of it!) in Mayor Bloombergs address.
• First reactions — mostly negative, but not DFER and Cuomo — to the surprises.
• Why the mayor thinks the city can get federal dollars the state had said were blocked.
• A glimpse into life inside one of the 33 schools that may or may not lose half its staff.
• How the UFT plans to resuscitate negotiations, and why it thinks Bloombergs wrong.
• A TV news appearance gave GothamSchools the chance to condense the day into 90 seconds.
• One word to summarize diverse characterizations of the speech: chutzpah.
• A rundown of previous promises Bloomberg has made in States of the City past.
• UFT: Many schools on the list of those the mayor wants to overhaul have strong staffs.

And our usual Remainders fare:

• Fred Wilson, venture capitalist, on how he came to fund a new software-themed high school.

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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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A 13-point victory is nothing to sneeze at, and coach Joe Scott and the Denver Pioneers weren’t showing any disdain at stretching their Sun Belt Conference record to 4-1 Sunday at Magness Arena.

But junior guard Chase Hallam did say that a 78-65 victory over Western Kentucky also provided a learning experience as the 14-4 Pioneers continued the best Division I start in DU basketball history.

The learning experience came after Western Kentucky (5-14, 1-5) came back from a 27-point deficit at halftime to at least give the Pioneers something to think about.

The Hilltoppers cut DU’s lead to 67-54 with 5:39 left.

“I think we’ve gotten a little too comfortable in the past with big leads, and that’s why we have to learn from this experience,” Hallam said.

“It never got to within single digits, so we always felt comfortable with the lead, but we have to turn 27-point leads into 30-point victories.”

For a time, it seemed the Pioneers might win by 30 points.

Led by sophomore Chris Udofia, who finished with a strong 20-point, 11-rebound performance, the Pioneers put one of their best performances of the season together in the first half.

Western Kentucky didn’t break into the scoring column until Teeng Akol made a field goal 6:22 into the game.

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Here are the latest CIF-SS Division 1 rankings.

1. Aliso Niguel

2. Corona del Mar

3. San Clemente

4. Foothill

5. Harvard-Westlake

6. Mission Viejo

7. Villa Park

8. Dana Hills

9. Flintridge Sacred Heart

T10. Canyon

T10. Los Alamitos

T10. Mater Dei

T10. Saugus

T10. Chaminade

To view other divisional rankings, please click the following:

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

Division 5

Division 6

Division 7

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).