GNB Update

Another "hump day" has come and gone. Here's the news.

The test results are in. And they're mixed for at least two southwest Georgia school systems on Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). MySouthwestGA.com reports that while test scores in Dougherty and Lee Counties actually improved in math and science, there's controversy considering the scores in the social studies area. MySouthwestGA.com says both Dougherty and Lee Counties doubled, and tripled the failure rate in some cases. That led to state school superintendent Kathy Cox throwing some scores out.

Also see: Georgia 2009 CRCT scores, courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A federal appeals court throws out a controversial lawsuit on Tuesday. The Associated Press reports that Randolph County school member Henry Cook cannot sue registrars because of change in his voting district. Cook claims his constitutional rights were violated because his district from the majority black to majority white. In its ruling, the appeals panel says "an attempted deprivation of constitutional or statutory rights is not the same as an actual deprivation." The change in voting districts was abolished prior to the election.

Atlanta's top firefighter is President Barack Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Fire Administration. The Associated Press reports that President Obama named Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran to become the nation's fire administrator. If confirmed by U.S. Senators, Cochran will be responsible for fire prevention and safety education, as well as professional development for emergency responders.

That's the news. GNB is available online at georgianewsbeat.blogspot.com, and on Twitter at twitter.com/georgianewsbeat. Have a good Wednesday night.