Thursday AM News: Next Steps On NCLB, NCTQ Database, & More

'No Child' Law on Track, Spellings Says WashPost
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said yesterday that she welcomed proposals to "perfect and tweak" the No Child Left Behind law as Congress prepares for what could become a divisive debate on renewal of the landmark education initiative.

Online database opens a window for parents USAT
Want to know how early your son's second-grade teacher has to arrive at school each morning? Whether she hands in lesson plans each week?

Why China wants you to learn Chinese CSM
Many Americans are eager to learn, but some are concerned about China's motives behind 'Confucius Institutes.'

Teachers' math skills are targeted Boston Globe
The push follows years of concerns that elementary school teachers are passing on limited math skills to their students.

A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School NYT
The one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education. It is more important than race; it obliterates any effects of income.

For Va. Kids, Success From An Early Age WaPo
To any parent who has wondered which children are most likely to succeed in life, a new national report offered an answer yesterday drawn from selected measures of economic affluence and academic achievement: the kids of Virginia.