Georgia’s AP Pass Rate Climbs to 15th, Returns to 2018 Level

Data from the College Board shows that Georgia’s Advanced Placement pass rate has climbed to 15th in the nation.

While that’s an improvement from 17th place the past three years, the ranking has been more or less stagnant in recent years, according to numbers the Georgia Department of Education provided to The Center Square.

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Associated Press and Reuters Team Up with Twitter to Patrol Political Dissent as ‘Misinformation’

Person on phone with Twitter open

Two of the largest news publications in the country, the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters, have teamed up with one of the leading tech giants, Twitter, in a new partnership to crack down on “misinformation” and “elevate credible information,” the Daily Caller reports.

Twitter confirmed the new alliance in a blog post, saying that the two publications would be responsible for identifying “misleading” information, and to help Twitter expand its efforts to mediate trending stories, “especially where facts are in dispute.” The websites will also help Twitter staff whenever they lack “sufficient expertise or access to a high enough volume of reputable reporting.”

“This program is just part of our ongoing efforts to help people understand the conversation happening on our service,” the Twitter blog post continued. “People experience a range of public conversations on Twitter every day, and we’re committed to continuing our work to elevate credible information and context.”

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Record High 300,000 Gun Sales Blocked by Background Checks in 2020

Hand gun with ammunition

The U.S. background check system prevented over 300,000 gun sales in 2020, a record high, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Background checks blocked almost double the number of sales in 2020 compared to the year before, with 42% of rejections due to felony convictions, according to FBI data obtained by the AP. The data also shows that the rate of barred would-be gun owners increased from 0.6% to 0.8% over the past two years.

The rate increase could be because a number of people buying guns for the first time did not realize they were unable to purchase a gun, Adam Winkler, a UCLA Law professor specializing in gun policy, told the AP. “Some may have a felony conviction on their record and not think about it,” he said.

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Testing Giant College Board to Sever Financial Ties with China after Blackburn Letter

College Board, the entity responsible for developing SAT and AP tests, will sever financial ties with the Chinese Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) at the end of the year.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and six other U.S. senators sent a letter to College Board CEO David Coleman last week, asking for clarification of the board’s financial relationship with Hanban and the extent of Chinese government influence on test development and guest teacher placements in the U.S.

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