Some of the News Fit to Print
ABOUT HIGHER ED
ACT FINDS MOST STUDENTS NOT READY FOR COLLEGE
Student performance on the ACT essentially held steady this year, with slight improvement shown in the math and science parts of the college-entrance exam. Still, 60 percent of the class of 2012 that took the test failed to meet benchmarks in two of the four subjects tested, putting them in jeopardy of failing in their pursuit of a college degree and careers. The article is in Education Week.
CAL STATE GOES ONLINE, SLOWLY
The largest public university system in the United States is finally realizing a vision of a centralized online hub -- but is doing so in a relatively contained way, at least at the start.
The California State University System is announcing today that Cal State Online will begin offering classes in January, in partnership with Pearson. The 23 campuses in the system have offered virtual courses for years, but unlike numerous other public university systems in the country -- see Penn State World Campus and UMass Online -- Cal State has been slow to coordinate those offerings in a centralized way. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
REPORT ADVISES COMMUNITY COLLEGES ON LOANS
Community colleges should participate in the federal student loan programs and, when appropriate, encourage students to borrow -- as long as they counsel students against borrowing too much, according to "Making Loans Work,” a report released Tuesday by the Institute for College Access and Success and the California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators Association. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
STATE CREATES NEW PATH TO TEACHING LICENSE
Aspiring teachers who have a college degree and some nontraditional K-12 teaching experience may pursue a new track to become a licensed educator in Wisconsin. The new pathway allows an individual with three years of teaching experience—such as in a private school, workplace training center, child care center, or postsecondary institution—to apply for a teaching license by submitting a portfolio of work. The article is in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
ONLINE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS GROWING AND SO ARE DOUBTS
Online teacher education programs have taken off in a big way, recently hitting a milestone that has them outnumbering teacher certification courses offered in a traditional academic setting. USA Today analyzed data collected by the U.S. Department of Education, and credits the growth to four universities operating mainly over the internet – three of them for-profit. These schools gave out nearly one in every 16 bachelor’s degrees in education last year and nearly one in eleven postgraduate degrees, which included master’s degrees and doctorates. The article is from EducationNews.org.
ABOUT K-12
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
An annual poll on how Americans view public education shows divisions on vouchers, charter schools, evaluating teachers by standardized test scores of students and whether President Obama or Mitt Romney would be better for public education. Yet Americans largely agree that they trust public school teachers but want them prepared more rigorously. As has been true in previous years, Americans give relatively high grades to the public schools in their own communities — this year 48 percent gave them a grade of an A or B, compared to 40 percent in 1992. But they give lower to grades to public schools in the nation as a whole. And a majority of Americans say that young people should be required to stay in school until they are 18 — not 16 or 17, as they are now. These are other issues were part of the 2012 Phi Delta Kappa//Gallup poll of American attitudes toward pubic education, which has been conducted for 44 years. The post is from The Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog.
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REMEDIAL COURSES: BROKEN BUT USEFUL
Remedial courses fail to prepare students for college-level work, but the remedial track may serve other purposes, according to a study newly released by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research found that being placed into remediation is not as discouraging for students as conventional wisdom holds. And while remedial courses’ primary effect is as a sorting mechanism for students of differing academic abilities -- rather than as preparation or discouragement -- that purpose shouldn’t be overlooked, according to the researchers. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
NEW STUDIES WEIGH COLLEGE VALUE AND COSTS
Two new studies offer emphatic answers to much-discussed questions about higher education: Yes, a college degree is worth it, but yes, it's the middle-class that's getting particularly squeezed with student debt in the pursuit of one. Both the study by Georgetown University and new study by a University of Wisconsin professor make persuasive cases, though each could be misunderstood without important context. The article is from the Associated Press.
MORE HISPANICS ARE IN COLLEGE
College enrollment has soared for Hispanic young adults in the last few years, by some measures reaching levels similar to those among young blacks, according to a study released Monday. Among Americans ages 18 to 24 with a high school diploma or equivalent, 46 percent of Hispanics were enrolled in college last year, up from 37 percent in 2008, according to the report by the Pew Hispanic Center. The report was based on data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Education. Black enrollment last year in the same age group stood at 45 percent, the first time the nation’s two largest minority groups were roughly even on that score in the decades that the information has been collected. Among whites, 51 percent of 18- to 24-year-old high school graduates were in college; 67 percent of Asians in that group were in college. The number of young Hispanics enrolled in college, which surpassed black enrollment for the first time in 2010, jumped to almost 2.1 million last year, from about 1.3 million in 2008. That is partly a product of a swelling Hispanic population, as well as the increased rate of college attendance. But it also reflects a fast-rising high school graduation rate. In the 1990s, fewer than 60 percent of Hispanics 18 to 24 had a high school diploma, but that figure hit 70 percent for the first time in 2009, and 76 percent last year. That high school completion rate, however, still remains below the national rate of 85 percent (81 percent for blacks), limiting the number of Hispanics who are eligible for college. In addition, Hispanic students, compared with other groups, are far more likely to attend community colleges and less likely to go to four-year colleges, according to the study. The article is in The New York Times.
ABOUT K-12
ENSURING STAKEHOLDERS A STAKE
As educational reform moves forward, who should be at the table? Should teachers, administrators, staff, parents, business leaders, foundations, students, etc. be involved in developing new systems? The answer is a resounding all of the above. Unless those impacted by change are involved in its development, the chances of success are greatly diminished. Good leaders know that people tend to support what they help develop and resist what is imposed upon them. The post is from Education Week’s Public Engagement and Ed Reform blog.
TEACHER RATING SYSTEMS LAGGING
All but a few Massachusetts districts will probably miss a quickly approaching state deadline to implement a new teacher evaluation system that relies heavily on student achievement. Districts are required to meet the deadline as a condition of receiving funds under Race to the Top. Roughly a third of the state's districts are at odds with their unions in negotiating changes to teacher evaluations. The article is in the Boston Globe.
SAVE OUR SCHOOLS GROUP SHIFTS COURSE
A grassroots movement of classroom teachers, parents, and educators protesting test-based education policies is facing the first true test of its mettle: whether it can make the leap from loosely affiliated network to coordinated political body. Last summer, the Save Our Schools organization held a conference and march in Washington that attracted some 3,000 people. Its second major event, a convention held here Aug. 3-5, attracted far fewer attendees—about 150—a step organizers said was deliberate as they make plans to ensure the group's long-term stability. The article is in Education Week.
EDUCATION AID EMERGING AS A CAMPAIGN ISSUE
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's selection as the Republican vice-presidential candidate could spark a national debate about the future of education spending, an issue that's gotten short shrift in the presidential campaign so far. As the two national party conventions approach, Democrats are already charging that the Wisconsin lawmaker's controversial budget blueprint, which presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney has largely endorsed, would scale back college financial aid and slash other funding for education. The article is in Education Week.
ABOUT K-12
MEDIA COMPANIES PUSH INTO EDUCATION
Conventional textbooks for kindergarten through 12th grade are a $3 billion business in the United States, according to the Association of American Publishers, with an additional $4 billion spent on teacher guides, testing resources and reference materials. And almost all that printed material, educators say, will eventually be replaced by digital versions. The article is in The New York Times.
WHY HASN’T THE HARLEM CHILDREN’S ZONE BEEN REPLICATED?
Why are so many cities waiting on federal funds to give a program like the Harlem Children’s Zone a try? The Zone is widely heralded as one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in the country, an honor it managed to achieve without the help of federal money. In fact, it started with a budget of just $6 million (slated to grow to $46 million over ten years). Additionally, much of the funding was private - about a third of the Zone's money comes directly from board members. The rest comes from foundations, private donors and government. The article is in The Atlantic.
COMPETITION WON’T WORK IN SCHOOLS
Walt Gardner blogs in Education Week’s Reality Check: Reformers assert that competition is indispensable if public schools are to improve. They like to cite examples from the private sector, where companies that had once been written off did an about face when competition forced them to implement new performance criteria. But reformers suffer from selective amnesia, as a series of articles about Microsoft demonstrate.
ABOUT HIGHER ED
STUDENT DEBT, GENDER AND CLASS
DENVER -- At a time of rising public concern about student debt, sociologists are arguing that there is not a single pattern of borrowing, but that there are important distinctions in borrowing behavior by gender, class and other factors that illustrate how the lack of funds to pay for college is affecting particular groups in different ways. These patterns, scholars argued in sessions here at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, threaten to limit educational attainment, and the ability of the United States to meet goals for having a larger share of the population earn college degrees. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION URGES JUSTICES TO UPHOLD AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration weighed in on affirmative action for the first time at the Supreme Court last week, urging that university admissions preferences for qualified black and Latino students be upheld. "Race is one of many characteristics (including socioeconomic status, work experience and other factors) that admissions officials may consider in evaluating the contributions that an applicant would make to the university," U.S. Solicitor Gen. Donald Verrilli Jr. said in his brief, siding with the University of Texas. In October, the high court will hear the appeal of Abigail Fisher, a rejected white applicant who sued the Texas university alleging she was a victim of illegal racial discrimination. The article is in the L.A. Times.
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's selection as the Republican vice-presidential candidate could spark a national debate about the future of education spending, an issue that's gotten short shrift in the presidential campaign so far. As the two national party conventions approach, Democrats are already charging that the Wisconsin lawmaker's controversial budget blueprint, which presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney has largely endorsed, would scale back college financial aid and slash other funding for education. The article is in Education Week.
ABOUT K-12
MEDIA COMPANIES PUSH INTO EDUCATION
Conventional textbooks for kindergarten through 12th grade are a $3 billion business in the United States, according to the Association of American Publishers, with an additional $4 billion spent on teacher guides, testing resources and reference materials. And almost all that printed material, educators say, will eventually be replaced by digital versions. The article is in The New York Times.
WHY HASN’T THE HARLEM CHILDREN’S ZONE BEEN REPLICATED?
Why are so many cities waiting on federal funds to give a program like the Harlem Children’s Zone a try? The Zone is widely heralded as one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in the country, an honor it managed to achieve without the help of federal money. In fact, it started with a budget of just $6 million (slated to grow to $46 million over ten years). Additionally, much of the funding was private - about a third of the Zone's money comes directly from board members. The rest comes from foundations, private donors and government. The article is in The Atlantic.
COMPETITION WON’T WORK IN SCHOOLS
Walt Gardner blogs in Education Week’s Reality Check: Reformers assert that competition is indispensable if public schools are to improve. They like to cite examples from the private sector, where companies that had once been written off did an about face when competition forced them to implement new performance criteria. But reformers suffer from selective amnesia, as a series of articles about Microsoft demonstrate.
ABOUT HIGHER ED
STUDENT DEBT, GENDER AND CLASS
DENVER -- At a time of rising public concern about student debt, sociologists are arguing that there is not a single pattern of borrowing, but that there are important distinctions in borrowing behavior by gender, class and other factors that illustrate how the lack of funds to pay for college is affecting particular groups in different ways. These patterns, scholars argued in sessions here at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, threaten to limit educational attainment, and the ability of the United States to meet goals for having a larger share of the population earn college degrees. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION URGES JUSTICES TO UPHOLD AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration weighed in on affirmative action for the first time at the Supreme Court last week, urging that university admissions preferences for qualified black and Latino students be upheld. "Race is one of many characteristics (including socioeconomic status, work experience and other factors) that admissions officials may consider in evaluating the contributions that an applicant would make to the university," U.S. Solicitor Gen. Donald Verrilli Jr. said in his brief, siding with the University of Texas. In October, the high court will hear the appeal of Abigail Fisher, a rejected white applicant who sued the Texas university alleging she was a victim of illegal racial discrimination. The article is in the L.A. Times.
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