In case anyone is interested in more of a local glance at the public school system, this site offers statistics on every California District by gender, ethnic backgrounds, and by math and literacy numbers.

This article is nothing but angering to me. More and more public schools are ditching the letter grade of "F" for a more friendly rejection grade, relying on an "I" for incomplete or an "H" for held.

The title is a little misleading, because it is not necessarily "brief." However, it offers a history of teaching English. In case anyone needed more of a historical background of how teaching English was developed. The article explains how the trend shifted from the teacher as an omniscient know-it-all, to a classroom focused on the students.