catalyst-chicago.org

Odds are that white students will have an edge in getting into Chicago’s strongest grammar schools, a Chicago Reporter analysis of enrollment data found.

To snag a freshmen seat this fall at Payton College Prep, close to half of those accepted — 45.125 percent to be exact — had to earn an amazing, minimum 896 of the 900 points possible under the system’s complicated college prep admissions formula. (Sun-Times)

Some CPS students will meet Nobel Peace Prize laureates as part of a larger social justice initiative to introduce them to human rights heroes. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, is in Chicago this week, hoping to finalize details of students' participation in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which the city will host April 23-25. (Tribune)

A student’s death at an alternative school may force the Chicago school district to look more closely at schools it contracts with. (WBEZ)

IN THE STATE
School boards in Cary Elementary District 26 and Fox River Grove Elementary District 3 have begun a preliminary discussion on joining the two districts. (Daily Herald)

IN THE NATION
Two new studies from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College have found that community colleges unnecessarily place tens of thousands of entering students in remedial classes — and that their placement decisions would be just as good if they relied on high school grade-point averages instead of standardized placement tests. (The New York Times)

The number of black and Latino students who were accepted at one of eight highly selective high schools in New York City increased from last year, according to admissions statistics released on Wednesday by the city’s Education Department. The uptick for the two groups reverses a years-long decline in admissions to the schools, where admittance is based on a single test.  (The New York Times)

Almost a year after the District of Columbia began investigating schools for possible cheating on standardized tests, parents are still waiting for the findings, but the school system's leader says there was no widespread cheating. (USAToday)

One-fifth of new principals leave within a year or two, leaving their school to continue on a downward academic slide, according to a study released by the RAND Corp. on behalf of New York City-based New Leaders. (Education Week)

A Senate committee Thursday killed a bill that would allow Virginia’s tens of thousands of home-schooled students to play sports at their local high schools. (The Washington Post)