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See what you know about the news of the day.    

This word has appeared in six New York Times articles in the past year.    

A new state system will include teachers of subjects that are not typically evaluated.    

Students in air-conditioned classrooms have an unfair advantage over roasting peers.    

After the Maryland General Assembly approved legislation to overhaul the Prince George’s County public schools two months ago, residents were left wondering what changes would be in store for the 123,000-student system.

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Steve Stuban visits his wife and son at Arlington National Cemetery about once a week. They are buried there together, in Section 64, grave plot 2301.

He lost his son in 2011, when the 15-year-old committed suicide amid the fallout of a serious discipline infraction that upended the teenager’s life at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax County.

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When Divesh Rizal laced up his roller skates during Senior Fun Day, the next few moments would speak volumes about the young man’s perseverance and determination.

“It was clear he had never been on skates before, but that didn’t matter,” said Marsha Williams, Rizal’s counselor at Parkdale High School in Prince George’s County. “He didn’t care that he fell. He kept on going. Then the kids were cheering. But that speaks to who Divesh is. He doesn’t give up.”

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Does "the great majority" of Americans really support the Common Core? How do we know? Here's a piece on the subject from P.L. Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina. He edited the 2013 book "Becoming and Being a Teacher," and wrote the 2012 book, "Ignoring Poverty in the U.S.: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education." This was published on @the chalk face.

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Here is a new piece from award-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York. Burris was named New York's 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and in 2010, tapped as the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is the co-author of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student test scores. It has been signed by more than 1,535 New York principals and more than 6,500 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens. You can read the letter by clicking here.

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While newly minted university graduates face a tight job market, skilled vocational school graduates are in high demand.    

Millions of young people are seeking hands-on instruction in market-friendly skills. Private academies offering short, practical courses are filling the gap left by formal colleges and universities.    

The system, in which teachers will be rated in part on their students’ test scores, brought New York City in compliance with state law.    

After August, Texas’ curriculum support system, known as Cscope, will no longer be a source of lesson plans for the 875 school districts that rely on it.    

More than 80 University of Virginia faculty signed a letter last week that called upon school leaders to promptly respond to what they called “false and injurious” remarks made by major donor Paul Tudor Jones on campus this spring about the lack of women at the highest levels of trading.

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It isn't called a "doomsday" budget for nothing: Philadelphia's School Reform Commission approved a budget this week that includes cuts so drastic that if they are implemented, schools will be forced to open in the fall without funding for things such as paper, new books, athletics, arts, music, counselors and more.

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Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp actually published the following tweet on the same day that Philadelphia's School Reform Commission approved a budget without funding for things such as paper, new books, athletics, arts, music, counselors, assistant principals and more.

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Yes, there is an official U.S. government position on mermaids and the existence thereof.

Mermaids were in the news in recent days after Animal Planet broadcast a show called "Mermaids: The New Evidence," a follow-up to last year's "Mermaids: The Body Found." The new show earned the station its largest audience ever, my colleague Lisa de Moraes reported here. And, of course, that means Animal Planet won't leave the subject alone and is now considering the next twist in the story.

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US - CA - Palo Alto, Political Science Department - Full TimeReporting to the Administrative Services Manager, this position manages communication projects both internal and external to the department. The administrator

The winning word in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night was, as it turned out, "knaidel," a Jewish version of a dumpling.The boy who got it right -- on his fourth successive appearance in the national event -- was Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Bayside Hills, N.Y.

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Because of the high cost, some colleges do a lot more than others to find and enroll low-income students, which critics of race-based affirmative action see as a way to encourage diversity.