By Winnie Hu, The New York Times, June 25, 2008 

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — With the increasing emphasis on standardized testing over the past decade, large urban school systems have famously declared an end to so-called social promotion among youngsters lacking basic skills. Last year, New York flunked 6 percent of its first graders, and Chicago 7.7 percent.

By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2008 

The number of students graduating from Los Angeles public schools has declined for two straight years even as enrollment in the 12th grade has been rising sharply, new state data show. The graduation slump began when California started requiring students to pass an exit exam before they could receive a diploma.

By Rachael Bogert, Sacramento Bee, June 6, 2008  

Kirkendall, outreach coordinator for the Sacramento Zoo, stood with a macaw named Julio in front of some 140 fifth-graders Wednesday night after the zoo's gates were padlocked. 

By Katy Murphy, Alameda Times-Star, June 19, 2008 

A new report by EdSource, a nonpartisan educational research group based in California, found that public, independently run charter middle schools and high schools did much better than their noncharter counterparts on 2007 state tests.