Opportunities abound for software designers and developers to create impactful tools for teachers, school leaders, students, and their families. This guide for developers, startups and entrepreneurs addresses key questions about the education ecosystem and highlights critical needs and opportunities to develop digital tools and apps for learning.

Kaplan Test Prep survey highlights pressure on officers to admit certain students By Tara García Mathewson | April 6, 2015 Sometimes, it’s who you know. Kaplan Test Prep recently surveyed admissions officers at 400 top colleges, and 25% of respondents said they had been pressured to admit students who didn’t meet enrollment standards “because of who that applicant was connected to.” Surprise! The idea that well-connected students make it further along in the admissions process is not new. And scandals about it aren’t either. But Kaplan’s questions about such pressure are a 2014 addition to its annual survey of college admissions officers. Kaplan Test Prep gathers information about trends in higher education that it can pass on to clients making decisions about colleges. Besides reporting pressure to admit certain students, 16% of admissions officers who responded to the survey said applicants with alumni parents or siblings have a better shot …

Dr. Berger: Audrey you are known for your transparent and honest approach to education in general. If I am a school/district leader what should I glean from the continued and overwhelming investment being poured into edtech and how should I frame my school’s needs in relation to the costs of these ventures and innovation?

by Daniel Goleman

by Yasmeen KhanNext week, students across New York will take the standardized tests in English, followed a week later by the tests in math. The exams are difficult for most children, with results showing that the large majority of students are not meeting grade-level standards. The numbers are worse for students with disabilities. Statewide, just a tiny fraction of students passed the tests: about 5 percent received high enough scores to be considered on grade level in English; about 9 percent did in math.Many educators and disability rights advocates have said that the standardized tests offer frustration and stress, rather than opportunity, for special needs students. In fact, they may do a better job testing students’ disabilities than abilities, said Richard Lavoie, a special educator based in Boston.Read the rest of the story at WNYC.org.

Dave Ramsey is considered America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored five New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, EntreLeadership and Smart Money Smart Kids. “The Dave Ramsey Show” is heard by more than 8.5 million listeners each week on more than 550 radio stations, “The Dave Ramsey Show” channel on iHeartRadio and a 24-hour online streaming video channel. Ramsey Solutions offers a suite of products and services to help people get control of their finances and other aspects of their lives. Follow Ramsey on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS APRIL 2, 2015The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has begun an investigation into four for-profit colleges over concerns about students’ dropout and loan-default rates, and the ways in which students are recruited in the first place.For-profit colleges have been under increased scrutiny at all levels of government in recent years, amid growing concern that many of their students are left shouldering unwieldy debt but unable to find good jobs, and that tax payers are being debited in the process.“What we are concerned about,” said Julie Menin, the commissioner of consumer affairs, speaking about problems within the industry at large, “is that predatory, for-profit colleges are taking advantage of the ambition that so many New Yorkers with low incomes have for a better life, and cheating them out of their dreams and their money.”Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

I n a dramatic conclusion to what has been described as the largest cheating scandal in the nation’s history, a jury here on Wednesday convicted 11 educators for their roles in a standardized test cheating scandal that tarnished a major school district’s reputation and raised broader questions about the role of high-stakes testing in American schools.On their eighth day of deliberations, the jurors convicted 11 of the 12 defendants of racketeering, a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison. Many of the defendants — a mixture of Atlanta public school teachers, testing coordinators and administrators — were also convicted of other charges, such as making false statements, that could add years to their sentences.Judge Jerry W. Baxter of Fulton County Superior Court ordered most of the educators jailed immediately, and they were led from the courtroom in handcuffs. Judge Baxter, who presided over a trial that began with opening …

R ob Grimshaw, CEO of TES Global, talks with Dr. Berger about the opportunity to engage millions of TES educators with new opportunities and resources. Grimshaw discusses the challenge education companies face when looking to convert communities into passionate supporters and customers. We also learn about the global education market and how current trends will inform the next generation of educator communities and professional development implementation.

Dr. Stephen Fink is the executive director of the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), and affiliate associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies in the University of Washington College of Education.Dr. Fink is co-author of Leading for Instructional Improvement: How Successful Leaders Develop Teaching and Learning Expertise.

by James Marshall Crotty M y late mother had a pet peeve about the proper use of “me” and “I.” She measured your mental acuity, not to mention your socioeconomic standing, by whether you implicitly understood when to say either.Incorrect: Mark Williams and me are going to see Southside Johnny at the Music Box Correct: Mark Williams and I are going to see Southside Johnny at the Music Box.Looking back, I don’t blame mom. No other aspect of cultural capital more readily marks an educated person than his or her ability to consistently speak and write grammatically correct English.As the author of How To Talk American (Houghton Mifflin), I am all about spicing up one’s speaking and writing from a wide vernacular palette. However, if you say “we wuz” or “I be” without your learned tongue planted firmly in cheek, then you will struggle to maintain credibility in all but the most mercenary …

Richard Gerver, former educator and principal from England, shines a bright light on educational leadership and vision. I first met Richard after I had interviewed his mentor, Sir Ken Robinson, on Facebook. I was immediately surprised at his giving nature to someone he had yet to meet. We Skyped and shared email conversations about our visions for education.en.

I had the opportunity to spend time with NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garcia. We spent almost an hour talking about everything from her roots in education to the upcoming election cycle and the opportunity education has to inform future directives.

By Michael Stratford – WASHINGTON — DC T he U.S. Department of Education plans to name the colleges whose access to federal money it has restricted because of concerns about the risk they pose to students and taxpayers. And most of the institutions placed on those financial sanctions in recent years have been for-profit colleges, newly disclosed federal records show.Officials will release the list of colleges currently subject to extra scrutiny known as heightened cash monitoring at some point next week, according to Dorie Nolt, the department’s press secretary. Read the rest of the story

by Jennifer Chambers D etroit can’t keep its schoolchildren: Each day, an estimated 25,000 school-age children go to suburban districts, leaving seats empty in classrooms citywide.More than 8,000 attend traditional districts in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, while 17,000 are in suburban charters, state data from 2013-14 show.Some suburban districts, especially those in financial distress, now rely on Detroit’s children — and the state aid they bring with them — to survive.These reciprocal ties played out publicly this past week when East Detroit Public Schools, just north of Detroit’s Eight Mile border, reversed its decision to end participation in the state Schools of Choice program for students outside Macomb County.Read the rest of the story at the Detroit News