Our View on Education Standards: States Game the System
By: USA Today

Gaps in student performance on state assessments and national assessments reveal a need for more uniform measures.

NY City Students Lead Big Rise on N.Y. Math Tests
By: Jennifer Medina, The New York Times

Math scores for students across New York State improved significantly in every grade tested this year, powered by sizable gains in New York City, according to results of the annual statewide math exam released by education officials this week.

Bill Could Send Science Teachers Back to Classes
By: Marjorie Hernandez, Ventura County Star

More teachers and their aides could receive science training under a California state bill aimed to increase the number of educators well-versed in science.

Fine Arts are Vital to American Culture and Education
By: Joe Martinez, Herald Tribune

Is it really in our best interest for our country's cultural heritage and well-being to be considered extracurricular? It is according to the state of Florida and many of its counties, including Sarasota.

Incoming Freshmen Get Summer Reading Assignments
By: Jackie Mantey, US News & World Report

Many of next fall's first-year college students have thrown their tasseled caps in the air and are ready to pick up the sunscreen and surfboards, but there may be another item to put in the beach bag: a book assigned by the university. In an attempt to welcome students to the college classroom experience before they even move into the dorms, a growing number of universities are dishing out summer reading assignments to their first-year students.

MIT's Virtual Dormitories for Freshmen
By: Andrea L. Foster, The Chronicle

Developing a cadre of close friends as a freshman can often mean the difference between a so-so college experience and a great one. With that in mind, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is turning to the virtual world, Second Life, to help freshmen choose dormitories with the ambiance and reputation that best meet their needs.

George Mason Announces New Type of IT Degree
By: HPC Wire

George Mason University's College of Science announced a new Bachelor of Science degree in Computational and Data Sciences this week. This undergraduate degree was established to provide students entering the high-tech workforce with advanced knowledge of computational techniques, applied mathematics and discipline-based sciences - skills necessary to excel in the technology and science fields of the future.

Key UK Goal: Retain Undergraduates
By: Art Jester, Kentucky.com

As part of its first $2 billion annual budget, the University of Kentucky will spend $35 million on a coordinated effort to make sure that fewer undergraduate students drop out and that more will graduate.

Changes to Lower Tuition, Bump Up Grad Rate
By: Scott Wente, DL-Online (must sign up to read article)

Escalating tuition costs have riled college students in recent years, but a new University of Minnesota plan could give them some financial relief - and incentive to graduate sooner.

Scottish Students to Get Free Degrees
By: BBC News

The Scottish government announces plans to scrap graduate endowment fees paid by undergraduate students after graduation.

Universities Urged to Combat Campus Anti-Semitism
By: Donald MacLeod, EducationGuardian.co.uk

Lady Deech, the independent adjudicator for higher education in Britain, has recommended that student unions must be brought within the Race Relations Amendment Act to protect Jewish students and that university leaders crack down on anti-semitism on campuses.

"A is the new B" at Today's Kinder, Gentler Universities
By: Daniel Girard, Thestar.com

The school of hard knocks has developed a much softer side. Ontario universities and colleges, once known as places where high school graduates learned important life lessons in such subjects as failure and handling criticism, are now all about nurturing.

uToronto Faces Space Crunch
By: W.D. Lighthall, University of Toronto News

Enrolment at the University of Toronto has increased by 35% over the last 10 years, and the capacity of its physical campus is becoming a concern. UofT has committed to increasing graduate program spaces by almost 5,000 full-time learners by 2009-10, but goals for undergraduate enrolment have yet to be set.

UNBSJ to Get Medical School
By: CBC News

New Brunswick students will have the chance to enroll in medical school in their own province as early as September 2009. Minister of Post-Secondary Education Ed Doherty made the announcement Monday in Saint John that up to 30 undergraduate medical students will be trained at the University of New Brunswick's Saint John campus.

Centennial College opens Cultural & Heritage Institute
By: Joanna Lavoie, InsideToronto.com

Centennial College opened its new Cultural and Heritage Institute last week. The facility will provide educational and training programs that will train tourism professionals for a new breed of visitor.

Diplomas Count: Ready for What?
Education Week

Produced with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this report examines college and career readiness and provides the most accurate and far-reaching analysis of high school graduation policies and trends.

The Educational Policy Institute is an international non-profit think tank dedicated to the study of educational opportunity. The Week in Review is a weekly publication that highlights the top news stories, reports and statistics related to academic preparation and access and success in the US, Canada, and beyond. The publication also features a commentary written by either President Watson Scott Swail, EdD or Vice-President Alex Usher.

To submit comments, news releases, or submissions, please email Dr. Watson Scott Swail at wswail@educationalpolicy.org or call (757) 430-2200.