Weekend Reading: Test scores won't count against teacher ratings for four years in New York

In a big shift, the New York Regents vote to exclude state tests from teacher evaluations until 2019. (Chalkbeat)
A ‘rapid response’ public relations campaign launched to counter criticism of Teach For America. (Washington Post)
Chicago teachers vote to authorize a possible strike for the second time since 2012. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Thousands of kids skipped out on standardized tests in Illinois last year. (Chicago Tribune)
Education comes out on top in the big spending package Congress just approved. (U.S. News and World Report)
As Tennessee’s Race To the Top money dries up, what’s left are mixed feelings about the ramped up teacher evaluations that came with it. (Chalkbeat)
Louisville considers raising class sizes to the max to shift teachers to needier schools. (Courier-Journal)
Cincinnati parents worry that the school district’s preschool expansion will lead to overcrowding. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Will Ohio decide to grade charter school sponsors just like school districts despite objections? (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Lonny Rivera, son of a migrant worker, picked as Ohio’s interim state superintendent. (Columbus Dispatch)
A former Arizona lawmaker is the pick to become Colorado education commissioner. (Chalkbeat)
Only one fourth-grader in Detroit’s lowest-performing schools passed Michigan’s new state math exam. (Detroit Free Press)
Jack Lessenberry: Detroit’s public school system is slowly dying. (Michigan Radio)
Newark schools cut a deal with federal officials to halt an investigation into alleged civil rights violations. (Newark Star-Ledger)
Districts across the country got a terror threat this week. Los Angeles drew criticism for being the only one to shut down. (L.A. Times)
Read the email that shut down schools in L.A., now considered a hoax. (San Jose Mercury News)
Investors vote down an executive pay plan for K12, the operator of online charter schools. (BuzzFeed)
Why for-profit charter schools are on the decline. (Slate)
The graduation rate in the U.S. ticked up to 82 percent. (AP)
Schools are often more segregated than their neighborhoods, new research finds. (New York Times)
Go inside some of the programs that are trying to mint more black male teachers. (Hechinger Report)
Dozens of people with links to a sweeping test-fixing scandal in India have died under mysterious circumstances. (Guardian)
One teacher’s take on what works with group work — and what doesn’t for him, despite what’s in vogue. (NYC Educator)