North Carolina officials' switch in reading-test vendors just weeks before the new school year got underway is spotlighting the often murky process of contracts and procurements for K-12 services.

Elementary school teachers in the Peach State are using "game-based" formative assessments to take a pulse on their students' learning.

As the two big groups of states craft common-assessment systems, experts warn that the smallest details could undermine their work.

This isn't the first time states and schools have turned to projects, portfolios, exhibitions, and essays to measure students' learning. Here are lessons from the last go-around.

Since learning is so nuanced, so too should be the means in which we assess it. Let's offer students the opportunity to be seen as whole people who can demonstrate different skills and knowledge in a plethora of ways over a period of time.

Group projects founder when students don't work well together. Here's the latest thinking on evaluating students on both content mastery and collaboration skills.

The PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments have evolved since they were launched in 2015. Here's a guide to understanding them now.

Here's a handy glossary on terms like project-based learning, competency-based learning, and standards-based grading.

The arts, geography, economics, and foreign languages will lose their place in the testing line-up as the National Assessment of Educational Progress is being streamlined to cut costs.

The U.S. Department of Education sees two specific challenges potentially undermining the quality of the international assessment program, writes Mark Schneider.

AP has managed to dodge the partisan pitfalls that have felled other ambitious curricular efforts—so far, write Chester E. Finn Jr. and Andrew E. Scanlan.

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and clinical professor of law at Penn State Law at University Park, is the recipient of the 2020 Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award.

When Penn State Law in University Park transitioned its annual Careers in the Law event to a virtual one due to COVID-19 concerns, Assistant Dean of Career Services Magen Mihok offered the sponsoring firms a choice: to receive a full refund of their registration fee, or to consider a donation to Penn State Law’s Future Fund to support students impacted by COVID-19. The result was a true embodiment of the "We Are" spirit.

Rebecca Mattson, head of faculty and research services for the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library, Penn State University Libraries, and professor of legal research at Penn State Law at University Park, has been elected vice chair/chair elect of the Research Instruction and Patron Services Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and Clinical Professor of Law at Penn State Law in University Park, has written a chapter on immigration law in a new legal textbook covering issues surrounding the current global COVID-19 pandemic, published by Columbia Law School.

Selected poems of Rachelle Bowser, Rachel Mennies, Erin Murphy and Eleanor Stanford have been chosen to represent the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s 2020 Public Poetry Project, with poetry interpreted into art posters for the annual event.

Visual Art Studies program seniors Andrea Regalbuto and Gary Weyandt are showcasing their respective exhibitions “Flap/Flutter” and “MEDIAted” online via websites, Instagram, and virtual exhibits.

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, through a program funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, has selected five proposals for the development of inter-domain courses that include the performing arts at their cores.

The Penn State New Kensington Office of Admissions and Student Aid is available remotely for appointments, as well as scheduled virtual events for prospective students and families.

The Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center at Penn State has a slate of programming for Financial Literacy Month this April and is offering help to anyone in the University community who is anxious about their financial future.

The Nittany Neighbors program created at Penn State New Kensington in response to the coronavirus pandemic is testament to the fact that, as campus director of student affairs Theresa Bonk said, "we are a family, and like any family, we take care of our own."

Penn State New Kensington student-athletes from seven varsity sports teams were recognized virtually for academic and athletic performance during the 2019-20 academic year.

In 2019 alone, Corner LaunchBox had 10 accelerator program graduates, supported five new startups anchored in Pennsylvania, and helped create 20 new jobs. More than 900 individuals utilized the facility for a variety of free and low-cost activities, including the 10-week Corner Opportunity accelerator program, an Idea TestLab, small business and entrepreneurship workshops, free legal clinics, weekly information sessions, and networking events.

A faculty member at Penn State Wilkes-Barre will be part of a collaborative fellowship program.

The Penn State Wilkes-Barre Alumni Society provided lunch for local, hardworking medical professionals as a way to thank them for their efforts during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and working to keep local residents safe.

Dylan Fredricey, a senior majoring in rehabilitation and human services, has been chosen as the recipient of the Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year award for Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

You@PSU is a new wellness portal designed to provide customized content to students around topics ranging from career readiness to personal wellness to involvement.

Penn State faculty are going beyond using traditional video in their courses by incorporating virtual-reality immersive experiences. They are discovering how those experiences help enhance active learning and focus students' attention on critical lessons in their courses.

Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas P. Jones has shared a message updating the University community on steps being taken to monitor the evolving worldwide coronavirus outbreak and prepare for the safety and well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Autumn Sabo, assistant professor of biology, and Yi-An Burleson, assistant professor of psychology, will present on their respective areas of research for the Academic Affairs Faculty Speaker Series.

Debra Roach, director of workforce development and continuing education at Penn State Beaver, has been honored with the 2020 Shirley Hendrick Award, presented by the Penn State Commission for Adult Learners for service to adult learners.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact communities throughout Pennsylvania, Penn State staff members are fighting food insecurity by donating to food banks and organizations across the state.

Prime Day is over but there are still some great deals available. AirPods, Apple Watch Series 4, Samsung Galaxy S10e, Google Pixel 3 XL are discounted right now.

The Washington Post report may force the White House to reconsider relaxing trade restrictions on Huawei, which is currently blacklisted from sourcing components from US technology suppliers.

You may be able to save money and get faster speeds by buying a cable modem instead of renting one from your ISP. Here's what you need to know.

Are you connected to Wi-Fi on one device, but need the password to log in on another one? Here's how to find Wi-Fi passwords in Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

Follow these simple steps for configuring your router and wireless network the right way.

The company's goal is to launch six to eight additional batches of satellites over the next months so that the broadband service has sufficient coverage for the US market.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reportedly announce the news before year's end, in a move that could disrupt relationships between the UK and US government.

Satellites could transfer data directly to Apple's devices and reduce dependency on wireless carriers, Bloomberg reports. It's another sign Apple wishes to replace most outside partners with in-house technologies in the next decade.

The Netgear M5 is the 5G hotspot we've been waiting for, but it isn't coming out until the second half of the year. A separate Netgear CES announcement, meanwhile, showed another weakness of 5G in the US right now.

Team reporter Joe Walker has watched Portugal throughout UEFA EURO 2016 and explains how the coach masterminded his side's first triumph at a major tournament.

More than 100 third-placed teams have advanced from group stages in UEFA and FIFA international tournaments over the years, but Portugal have become the first to actually win the trophy.

Portgual's A Bola gave every player ten out of ten, L'Équipe were "devasted" and Cristiano Ronaldo was naturally a focus: we round up the world media reaction to the final.

Members of EURO2016.com's crack reporting team in France named their highlights of the past month, including their favourite match, moment and song.

"You won with courage, determination, fighting spirit and humility," said the president of Portugal, as Fernando Santos, Cristiano Ronaldo and the team brought the Henri Delaunay Trophy home.

"We have a key word from day one: 'winning'. We are going to keep fighting hard to keep doing that," said Fernando Santos as he prepared for four more years as Portugal coach.

Gábor Király, 40, has won UEFA.com Save of the Season for his stop to keep out Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick during Hungary's UEFA EURO 2016 game against Belgium.

The official UEFA EURO 2016 website has been nominated for two categories in the sixth Annual Lovie Awards which honour the best of the European internet.

In this first extract from the new UEFA EURO 2016 technical report, the expert panel reflect on the decreasing proportion of goals scored from counterattacks.