Afternoon Announcements: Standardized Tests Could be Halted in California

The District has allocated $2.8 million to help city high schools plan for nine new “career academies” meant to help students gain the skills they will need to enter the workforce after graduation, Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced Wednesday. The Washington Post

In Oakland, Calif., some programs are working to better help African-American boys graduate from high school and improve their social and academic outcomes. Special correspondent Joshua Johnson of KQED reports on the push to change the way these students think about school by offering them more support. PBS

Boston public schools will begin serving free lunches to all students this school year even if families have the financial means to pay, school officials are expected to announce Tuesday. The Boston Globe

A deal in the works in the California Legislature would bring the current system of standardized tests to an immediate halt, clearing the way for a new way of assessing the state’s 3.3 million students, officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles Times