Morning Announcements: July 6, 2011

Illinois high school juniors will no longer be tested on writing skills during the state's standardized tests every spring, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution elaborates on the investigation into Atlanta Public Schools’ cheating.

More states are defiant on NCLB compliance; some say they’ll flout the 2014 deadline on AYP, writes Education Week.

When asked about his role in overhauling England’s national history curriculum, famed historian Simon Schama understates his contributions by telling the Huffington Post, “It’s not a very sexy field.”

The New York Times reports that after several years of state and local budget cuts, thousands of school districts across the nation are gutting summer-school programs, cramming classes into four-day weeks, or lopping days off the school year.

The Huffington Post writes that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s authority over No Child Left Behind is questioned in CRS memo.