College Board redesigns the SAT.
We all have suffered through the grueling five-hour SAT exam, and soon the SAT will not look the same as when current college students took it. College board announced on Wednesday that there would be major changes made to the college-entrance exam, including making the dreaded essay section optional. Students will also not be penalized for wrong answers. The new version of the test will debut in the spring of 2016. The goal of the new test is for it to be more closely aligned with what students are learning in school, and to take emphasis away from pure test prep.
See ABC’s news report on the topic here.
Crimea considers succeeding from the Ukraine.
As of Thursday the regional parliament in Crimea unanimously voted to join Russia. Crimea is a semi-autonomous region of the Ukraine; Crimea is currently occupied by Russia. There will be a public referendum concerning the vote on March 16th. Sergei Shuvainikov, a member of Crimea’s parliament, said, “This is our response to the disorder and lawlessness in Kiev.” Kiev is the capital city of the Ukraine. President Barack Obama issued a statement saying that the succession vote is a “violation of international law. This is because the region is still technically controlled by Ukraine.
The situation between Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea explained here.
86th Academy Awards create buzz.
This year the Oscars were hosted by comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Some of the more notable moments of the evening stemmed from DeGeneres. She crashed twitter with a selfie featuring Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Kevin Spacey and Bradley Cooper, to name a few. That selfie became the most re-tweeted post in Twitter’s history. She then ordered a few pizzas for the hungry crowd of stars. 12 Years a Slave took home Best picture, while Lupita Nyong’o, from 12 Years a Slave brought home ‘Best Supporting Actress.’ Gravity had a big showing as well as the night’s top award-winner with seven Oscars.
See Oscar highlights here.