Two Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) students took first place in their respective fields at the 49th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference competition for high school students. Hailey King, 2013 Rock Bridge Senior High School graduate, won the culinary arts competition and Heather Pitt, 2013 David H. Hickman High School graduate, won the commercial baking competition.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is issuing guidance to Missouri school districts following the Breitenfeld v. School District of Clayton ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court last week. The guidance document will assist districts in managing requests from parents for student transfers from unaccredited to accredited districts.

Members of the State Board of Education (SBE) and Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) attended a joint meeting Monday to discuss collaborative efforts and the future of Missouri education. The work study session included discussion around the Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced assessments.

The State Board of Education reviewed Missouri's progress on implementing new assessments to help prepare future teachers for the classroom at its meeting Tuesday in Jefferson City.

The new assessments for the state's educator preparation programs are being phased in over the next two years for prospective teachers, as well as guidance counselors, librarians and school administrators.

At its June meeting, the State Board of Education adopted an instrument for early childhood readiness in Missouri after reviewing the results of a year-long pilot. In May, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education wrapped up a pilot of three readiness tools, which were tested in a variety of programs across the state serving children ages 3 through their kindergarten year.

The Spanish School (TSS), an elementary program of the St. Louis Language Immersion Schools (SLLIS), received the 2012 Academic Excellence in Spanish School of the Year Award by the Education Office of the Embassy of Spain.

Individuals with disabilities who are eligible for assistance through Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation no longer have to wait for services to help them enter the work force.

State officials say efforts to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness, coupled with additional federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), have enabled the agency to eliminate a waiting list for individuals seeking career counseling, vocational training, job placement and other services.

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed O. Victor Lenz, Jr., Ph.D., from the 2nd Congressional District, St. Louis, to the Missouri State Board of Education.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has selected a new high school equivalency test. The state's current test, the GED®, is set to expire at the end of 2013.

Beginning January 2014, Missouri's new high school equivalency test will be the HiSET test developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Missouri ranks eighth in the nation for graduating 80.7 percent of its high school students in 2010, according to the Diplomas Count 2013 report released today by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center. This is the second year the state has been in the top 10 and the fourth consecutive year the state has seen growth in its graduation rate.