Testing

Here in California we love to brag about our abundance of wonderful seasonal ingredients and how that makes good food easy. That's more or less true, but I have to confess that I've also always had a sneaking admiration for those cooks who can whip up something from nothing. Sure, it's wonderful to be able to just pick up a sack of Ojai Pixie mandarins and a box of medjool dates and call it dessert. But you've really got to admire someone who can take a couple of wilted zucchinis, a sprouting onion and some canned tomatoes and turn that into something delicious - the real-life equivalent of the proverbial stone soup.

Times technology writer Salvador Rodriguez is at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, testing apps and smartphones in between catching sets. One of the things Rodriguez will be keeping tabs on is how good cell service is at the festival. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are all trying to make a good impression with their customers there. The four major wireless carriers say they're going out of their way to make sure there is enough network capacity for their customers to make calls, send texts and upload photos and videos to their social networks.

A recent op-ed article in the Washington Post warned against overusing students' standardized test scores in evaluating how well teachers are doing their jobs. There would be no surprise about that - if it had been penned by the leader of a teachers union. But it was written by Bill Gates, arguably the most influential voice over the last few years in pushing for the use of test scores to rate teachers. Gates' warning was based on a study released in January that his foundation funded.

Here's what they're saying in academic circles across the country: California wrecked its public schools decades ago, and now it's starting in on its colleges. That may be an exaggeration, but few would deny that this is a pivotal time for the state's much-admired public colleges and universities, which have been underfunded for years. In their efforts to expand access without spending more money, education officials and state lawmakers will no doubt offer all sorts of bad proposals for how to do more with less, and those who care about the system will have to be vigilant in protecting it. Already, there's legislation to create a fourth college system - in addition to the community colleges, the California State University and the University of California - with no classes, just tests.

Indiana 7-footer Cody Zeller and two point guards were among the latest standout underclassmen to make themselves available for the NBA draft. Joining Zeller were Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams and Missouri's Phil Pressey. Zeller, a sophomore who led the Hoosiers in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (8.1), was a second-team All-American and is projected to be a top-10 pick in the June draft. He is the second Hoosiers star to leave school early. On Tuesday, junior swingman Victor Oladipo announced he, too, was declaring for the NBA draft.

Are you smarter than a Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant?  In a new twist on an already challenging contest, spelling bee whiz kids will be expected not only to spell words but also to know what they mean.  Corrigible. Indocile. Intestate.  Those are just a few of the examples the competition's directors have included on a sample test. To qualify for the semifinal and championship rounds of the contest -- to be held May 28-30 in Oxon Hill, Md. -- kids will be judged on live spelling , computer-based spelling questions and computer-based vocabulary questions.

About 10% of married couples suffer from infertility - the inability to conceive a child naturally. Through the better part of the 20th century, physicians considered this a minor and perhaps irrelevant problem, one that contributed overall to society by keeping the birthrate down. British biologist Robert Edwards thought differently. He was among the first to fully appreciate the frustration and depression the condition engendered in its victims and the benefits that could arise from reversing it. Along the way, he met resistance from religious conservatives who insisted that life must begin only through intercourse, not artificially, and from fellow scientists who resented the fact that he spoke frequently with the media about both his research and the ethical implications.