Quick Hits (11.26.12)

Practice makes perfect. The best athletes and musicians never stop practicing. Principal Katie Yezzi says the same is true for educators: “The key to workplace satisfaction is doing a job well, and our most powerful tool for ensuring that is practice.” (New York Times)

More support for early ed. A new CALDER study links pre-K program participation in Texas with improved third-grade math and reading scores. Sara Mead breaks down the important bits here. (Policy Notebook/Education Week)

Judging teacher prep. Minnesota educators begin to use edPTA, a new teacher assessment tool that requires—among other things—teacher candidates submit footage of themselves in the classroom. (Pioneer Press)

Fraudulent licensures. For 15 years, educators in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee allegedly paid a man up to $3,000 to create fake state IDs and send hired test-takers to take state Praxis exams in their places. The man, Clarence Mumford Sr., faces more than 60 fraud and conspiracy charges. (Associated Press)