Afternoon Announcements: October 27, 2011

A National Council on Teacher Quality report released Wednesday identifies Maryland as a leader in teacher evaluations, writes the Baltimore Sun.

The common core state standards in English/language arts and mathematics are generally aligned to the leading state, international, and university standards at the high-school-exit level, but a new report says they are more rigorous in some content areas, writes Education Week.

The Chicago Tribune offers four tech tips for parents to embrace digital education.

The MinnPost reports that in a recent visit to Patrick Henry High, Sen Al Franken mixed “math, mirth, and education-bill backing.”

Education Week reports on the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund’s model of awarding bigger grants in return for greater evidence of program effectiveness, saying it may become the new norm for federal education and social programs, if a wide-scale interagency initiative proves successful.