Afternoon Announcements: President Obama Fills Vacancies in Ed. Dept.

President Obama filled two positions within the Department of Education this week. He nominated Catherine E. Lhamon to be assistant secretary for civil rights and James Cole Jr. to be Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s chief lawyer. Both need to be confirmed by the US Senate. Politics K-12

While the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee marked up the Democrats’ bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act today, you can still learn the ins and outs of what was expected to happen, including amendments that were suggested. Politics K-12

Between 2000-2010, Kentucky showed the nation’s third-highest improvement in high school graduation rates. The state’s graduation rate improved 13.5 percentage points in the 10 year period. Kentucky.com

It’s official: Texas high school students will now have to pass only 5 standardized exams to graduate, compared to the 15 required in previous years. Governor Rick Perry approved the bill reducing the number of exams earlier this week. New York Times