Students benefit from assessments designed by their own teachers, according to Brandon Lewis, an analyst at the nonprofit Bellwether Education Partners. In this commentary, Lewis writes about his experience as a teacher and the need for assessment-literate teachers who have access to data coaches and professional development to create assessments and analyze the results.
Marketers can develop a more in-depth understanding of their audience by offering prospects incentives to complete surveys and by employing social listening, Hassan Mansoor writes. Google Analytics helps marketers glean insights from user behavior on their sites and marketing automation can help deliver content based on prospects' interests.
Several schools in Grand Island, Neb., have opened their libraries to students during summer break. Officials said the effort seeks to keep students reading during the summer, allow students to check out books and engage in story times and crafts at the schools.
Negotiators have agreed on core aspects of a deal to raise the US debt limit and to establish a $1.3 trillion level for agency budgets, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says. The debt-limit increase would cover two years, he says.
An unlimited burger-and-fries offering at Krystal has sparked customer curiosity and sales -- so much so that the company is extending the offer through August. Krystal's all-you-can-eat promotion is part of a larger effort to innovate and improve operations, says CEO Paul Macaluso.
Newly published Drug Enforcement Administration data tracks 380 million transactions from 2006 through 2012 and three-quarters of total shipments of oxycodone and hydrocodone pills to US pharmacies, shedding light on the scope and distribution of opioid use amid a rising epidemic of abuse. For example, the data show that six companies accounted for distribution of 75% of the pills, three companies manufactured 88% of them and some counties were more heavily affected than others.
Digital advertisers are spending the majority of their budgets on paid search, paid social, display, YouTube and mobile/in-app ads, respectively, and are prioritizing brand awareness and enhancing customer experience, according to Marin Software's May/June survey of digital marketing decision-makers. Google, YouTube and Amazon topped the list of trusted publishers, and while 60% plan to increase Amazon budgets, many cite its campaign management and reporting tools as a hindrance.
Deutsche Post DHL Group CEO Frank Appel recently told a German newspaper that the company will start informing consumers of precise delivery times via email ahead of delivery and follow up initial communications with a second notice 15 minutes prior to package arrival, based on data gleaned from delivery van GPS tracking. DHL has been testing the service and plans to roll it out by 2020.
The Senate has unanimously passed legislation that would make it a federal crime to hack an election system. The bipartisan bill came in response to a Justice Department report that under current law, it would be difficult to prosecute someone for hacking voting machines.
⋅ FDAnews
The World Health Organization has released an updated model list of essential medicines, which now includes 12 new treatments for diseases such as leukemia, melanoma, multiple myeloma, and prostate and lung cancers. The revised list, which is recommended internationally for public health systems, now contains 460 products due to the addition of 23 medicines for children and 28 for adults, and also includes new uses for 26 products already included in the list.
Recent deals with IBM and Microsoft allow AT&T to connect with an expanding cloud market and could lead to technology vendors altering how they work with partners, according to analysts at global research and advisory firm Gartner. "It raises the customer expectation that there will be greater interoperability between different service providers," says Ed Anderson, research VP with Gartner.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week signed a plan into law that requires the state to get all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. Solar capacity would have to reach 6,000 megawatts -- five times what it is now -- in six years, and new building codes would mandate efficiency measures.
Six criteria used to measure pollutants in the air decreased from 2016 to 2018, per a report from the Environmental Protection Agency, and the agency attributes these changes to President Donald Trump's administration. Measurements of the six key pollutants, excluding greenhouse gases, decreased by 74% since 1970.
Columnist Josh Ocampo writes to warn airline passengers that they might need to re-check their bags on long or international trips. Passengers who fail to pick up a bag and re-check it to their next destination risk having luggage arrive late, or not at all.
On Saturday passengers at their departure gate in London learned suddenly that British Airways and Lufthansa were unexpectedly canceling flights to Cairo due to an increased risk of air-related terrorist attacks over Egypt. British Airways likely will remain out of Egypt for a week or more as it monitors and assesses the security situation.