Some of the News Fit to Print --Carnegie Foundation

Some of the News Fit to Print

Bryk Says Education Spends Less Than Other Fields on R&D [In the News]

TEACHERS: WILL WE EVER LEARN?
Jal Mehta from the Harvard Graduate School of Education writes in The New York Times: We let doctors operate, pilots fly, and engineers build because their fields have developed effective ways of certifying that they can do these things. Teaching, on the whole, lacks this specialized knowledge base; teachers teach based mostly on what they have picked up from experience and from their colleagues. Anthony S. Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has estimated that other fields spend 5 percent to 15 percent of their budgets on research and development, while in education, it is around 0.25 percent. Education-school researchers publish for fellow academics; teachers develop practical knowledge but do not evaluate or share it; commercial curriculum designers make what districts and states will buy, with little regard for quality. We most likely will need the creation of new institutions — an educational equivalent of the National Institutes of Health, the main funder of biomedical research in America — if we are to make serious headway.

posted Apr 15, 2013 10:08 am

Daily News Roundup, April 15, 2013

Some of the News Fit to Print
ABOUT HIGHER ED
FORGET MOOCS
Richard Holmgren of Allegheny College writes in Inside Higher Ed: Although massive open online courses have been gathering substantial recent attention, future histories of education will likely only note them as a harbinger of change or transitional step into an educational model that is organized around learning. In most cases, MOOCs operate on a grand scale but use a traditional form in which a faculty member (or two) is responsible for most aspects of course design, delivery, and assessment. The real threat to traditional higher education embraces a more radical vision that removes faculty from the organizational center and uses cognitive science to organize the learning around the learner. Such models exist now.
STUDY FINDS BLACK MEN’S COLLEGE SUCCESS DEPENDS ON GRIT, NOT JUST GRADES
Talent and strong high school achievement can propel young black men to college, but a new study finds their grit—the determination and ability to handle setbacks—is nearly as critical to their success at majority-white campuses. In "What Role Does Grit Play in the Academic Success of Black Male Collegians at Predominantly White Institutions?" released this week in an online preview for the Journal of African American Studies, Ohio State University associate education professor Terrell L. Strayhorn found that grit was nearly as predictive as ACT scores to the college success of young black men who attend mostly white universities. The post if from Education Week’s Inside School Research blog.
ABOUT K-12
L.A. SCHOOL REFORM DRAWS DIVERSE GROUP OF WEALTHY DONORS
They hail from New York, the Silicon Valley, Arkansas, Los Angeles and elsewhere. They are a rich and diverse lot, including Republicans, liberals, Hollywood notables and international corporate executives. Together, they smashed records for spending by outside groups in last month's L.A. Board of Education elections. These major donors poured about $4 million into the Coalition for School Reform, a political action committee spearheaded by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. On the surface, they have little in common. But this group united in Los Angeles behind education issues that have become national in scope, including the growth of publicly funded charter schools and the use of student test scores in teacher performance evaluations. Most want to reduce job protections for teachers and support the education agenda of the Obama administration. Some even want to limit collective bargaining rights for teachers. The article is in the L.A. Times.
OBAMA BUDGET FEATURES PLANS FOR STEM, HIGH SCHOOLS
The budget request President Obama announced this week calls for several new STEM education programs, as well as a high school "redesign" competition that would ramp up student opportunities to get college credit and career-related experiences. The budget document for the U.S. Department of Education also reiterates plans for "Effective Teaching and Learning" funds for STEM, literacy, and a "well-rounded" education. The post is from Education Week’s Curriculum Matters blog.

ABOUT HIGHER ED
BIG DISRUPTION, BIG QUESTIONS
These are heady times for competency-based education, which raises fundamental questions about the structure and purpose of higher education. Several colleges are taking the competency-based approach to its potential end game, by offering “direct assessment” academic programs that are untethered from both course material and the credit hour. At the same time, a small but growing group of accreditors, foundations and higher education associations have begun discussing what academic rigor might look like in this emerging model. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
EMPLOYERS PROVIDE JUST-IN-TIME EDUCATION
Rather than waiting for students with the right skills to be produced by conventional universities, which teach business subjects much more broadly, a dozen Fortune 500 companies including Walmart now offer their own in-house training classes that are eligible for college credit, in specific areas they need their workers to know now. The article is in the Hechinger Report.
DUAL ENROLLMENT
While dual enrollment serves as a means to raise academic preparation for a wide range of students, these programs may especially benefit those lower in socioeconomic distribution, according to this study. The report is from the Education Commission of the States.
ABOUT K-12
BEFORE TOUGHER STATE TESTS, OFFICIALS PREPARE PARENTS
New York City's education department launched an ad blitz to get the message out that students are being held to the new higher Common Core standards, the day before students start taking tougher state tests. State Education Commissioner John King Jr. said he wouldn't be surprised if the number of students deemed proficient in math or English dropped by 35 percentage points. The article is from the Wall Street Journal.
HIGH SCHOOL REDESIGN GETS PRESIDENTIAL LIFT
Recognition is widespread that high schools need to change to engage students and prepare them for the workforce of the future. That push goes back decades, but now momentum is accelerating, and talk is not of reform, but redesign. "What (President Obama’s ) remarks (in presenting his budget proposal) show me is that progress is being made and there are new models for high school that are emerging and producing results. The federal government is saying let's take advantage of that and step in and help," said Bob Wise, the president of the Washington-based Alliance for Excellent Education, which advocates high school improvement. The article is in Education Week.

posted Apr 17, 2013 10:08 am

ABOUT HIGHER ED
BIG DISRUPTION, BIG QUESTIONS
These are heady times for competency-based education, which raises fundamental questions about the structure and purpose of higher education. Several colleges are taking the competency-based approach to its potential end game, by offering “direct assessment” academic programs that are untethered from both course material and the credit hour. At the same time, a small but growing group of accreditors, foundations and higher education associations have begun discussing what academic rigor might look like in this emerging model. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
EMPLOYERS PROVIDE JUST-IN-TIME EDUCATION
Rather than waiting for students with the right skills to be produced by conventional universities, which teach business subjects much more broadly, a dozen Fortune 500 companies including Walmart now offer their own in-house training classes that are eligible for college credit, in specific areas they need their workers to know now. The article is in the Hechinger Report.
DUAL ENROLLMENT
While dual enrollment serves as a means to raise academic preparation for a wide range of students, these programs may especially benefit those lower in socioeconomic distribution, according to this study. The report is from the Education Commission of the States.
ABOUT K-12
BEFORE TOUGHER STATE TESTS, OFFICIALS PREPARE PARENTS
New York City's education department launched an ad blitz to get the message out that students are being held to the new higher Common Core standards, the day before students start taking tougher state tests. State Education Commissioner John King Jr. said he wouldn't be surprised if the number of students deemed proficient in math or English dropped by 35 percentage points. The article is from the Wall Street Journal.
HIGH SCHOOL REDESIGN GETS PRESIDENTIAL LIFT
Recognition is widespread that high schools need to change to engage students and prepare them for the workforce of the future. That push goes back decades, but now momentum is accelerating, and talk is not of reform, but redesign. "What (President Obama’s ) remarks (in presenting his budget proposal) show me is that progress is being made and there are new models for high school that are emerging and producing results. The federal government is saying let's take advantage of that and step in and help," said Bob Wise, the president of the Washington-based Alliance for Excellent Education, which advocates high school improvement. The article is in Education Week.

posted Apr 17, 2013 10:08 am

ABOUT K-12
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE TEACHERS WHO CHANGE LIVES?
District Superintendent Lorraine Bellon Cella writes in Education Week: How does a rubric with teaching standards account for the nuances of teaching? Would (an unconventional,  inspirational teacher) pass or fail? Could he be fired for not meeting a data goal? For being different and noncompliant? And, today, how will nonmeasurable qualities be measured? My greatest worry is that teachers will fade into deadly, robotic, fit-the-rubric nonentities and receive high scores, but offer nothing of substance to students—nothing to carry with them for a lifetime.
40% OF COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL GRADS NEED REMEDIATION BEFORE COLLEGE
Nearly 40% of Colorado's high school class of 2011 needed remedial courses in at least one subject before beginning college-level work, according to an annual report. While the percentage was on par with most of the country, Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia said that Colorado is pursuing initiatives to reduce the rate, including enrolling underprepared students in college-level courses with extra support and intervening in high school. The article is in the Denver Post.
SENATORS TO ARNE DUNCAN: STOP FLAT-FUNDING KEY K-12 PROGRAMS
The Obama administration has been a big fan of using competitive grants to drive its agenda on everything from teacher quality to standards to "personalized learning,"much to the chagrin of some advocates for school districts. So far, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have resisted that strategy. But Democrats in the U.S. Senate have continued to finance the administration's favorite competitive-grant programs, such as Race to the Top, although not always at the level the administration has sought.  The post is from Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog.
ABOUT HIGHER ED
COLLEGE FOR AMERICA: A MILESTONE FOR COMPETENCY-BASED HIGHER EDUCATION
In what is being recognized by many as a landmark in the evolution of higher education, College for America has obtained approval from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to be eligible for Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) funding. College for America's competency-based model is the first in the nation to be approved by the DOE under direct assessment provisions that pay for actual learning versus seat time. Established in 2012 with support from an EDUCAUSE Next Generational Learning Challenge grant, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, College for America is designed to rebuild higher education and strengthen the American workforce. The article is in the Wall Street Journal.
SURVEY FINDS CONTINUED GAP BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
A new survey from ACT shows the continued gap between those who teach in high school and those who teach in college when it comes to their perceptions of the college preparation of today's students. Nearly 90 percent of high school teachers told ACT that their students are either “well” or “very well” prepared for college-level work in their subject area after leaving their courses. But only 26 percent of college instructors reported that their incoming students are either "well" or "very well" prepared for first-year credit-bearing courses in their subject area. The percentages are virtually unchanged from a similar survey in 2009. The information is from Inside Higher Ed’s Quick Takes.
REPORT THAT BLAMED SHRINKING FACULTY WORKLOADS FOR RISING COLLEGE COSTS IS RETRACTED
A controversial report that attributed a chunk of the rising cost of college to a decline in the teaching loads of tenured and tenure-track faculty members has been retracted by the organizations that released it, Education Sector and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which now say the report's analysis was flawed because of a misinterpretation of data from the U.S. Department of Education. The March 20 report, called "Selling Students Short: Declining Teaching Loads at Colleges and Universities," stated that lighter teaching loads had driven up tuition costs by an average of $2,598 for students at four-year colleges over a seven-year period. The article is in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT HELPS ADULT STUDENTS SUCCEED
Adult students are an unrecognized minority group at traditional colleges. Not only are there fewer students who fall into that category, but the institutions have been set up to serve a different type of student. Administrators at one university describe how they have changed schedules and support services to help older students who also have jobs. The article is in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

posted Apr 18, 2013 09:49 am