A Harsh Lesson in Finances for After-School Students
David Gonzalez, The New York Times

After-school programs offer children a safe environment while their parents are working and provide academic tutoring and classes in subjects like art and music that have often been cut from the regular school day. But, in New York City, where there are 118 after-school programs, serving almost 20,000 children, many are facing a financial crunch.

Turnarounds Central Issue Under NCLB
David Hoff, Education Week (subscription required)

For all the debate over the effectiveness of the No Child Left Behind Act, researchers and policymakers say that, despite the law’s flaws, it has successfully identified 1,200 public schools that need help, some of them desperately so.

Black Boys' Educational Plight Spurs Single-Gender Schools
Catherine Gewertz, Education Week (subscription required)

In the face of mounting evidence that schools are losing alarming numbers of young black men, a small band of educators gathered here recently to bolster one response to the crisis: creating public schools designed to serve African-American males.

His Charge: Find Key to Students’ Success
Jennifer Medina, The New York Times

Roland G. Fryer Jr. has the challenge of helping to narrow the racial gap in achievement in New York City schools.

Teacher Turnover Costs Systems Millions, Study Projects
By Nelson Hernandez, The Washington Post

A report released by the non-profit National Commission on Teaching and America's Future studied school systems across the US and found that America's teacher dropout problem is spiraling out of control.

The Long View on Gauging College Success
Elia Powers, InsideHigherEd

A new book from sociologists at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York argues, somewhat uncontroversially, that a college education greatly benefits disadvantaged students.

Sen. Kennedy Offers Student Loan Reforms
Kevin Drawbaugh, The Washington Post

Moving the U.S. Congress closer to overhauling the troubled student loan industry, the chairman of the Senate education committee on Monday unveiled proposals that would affect lenders such as Sallie Mae, Citigroup and Bank of America.

Questioning College-Wide Assessments
Jennifer Epstein, InsideHigherEd

The skills-based assessments recommended by the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education could be "misleading" to students and parents because it would measure student performance on an institution-wide level rather than more specifically by area of study, a new study of one of the nation's largest public university systems suggests.

Would-Be Online Students Have Spoken, Signaling Most Popular Online Degree Programs
PRWeb

As thousands of students graduate from college, thousands more are signing up - and many are signing up online. By next year, 1 in 10 college students will be enrolled in an online degree program, according to Eduventures, the leading research and consulting firm for the education industry.

Ending is a Beginning for Special-Needs Students
Carla Rivera, The Los Angles Times

The Village Glenn School is one of seven campuses in the Los Angeles area run by the Help Group, which provides therapeutic and educational programs for children and young adults with special needs. Graduates of the school are now able to participate in a new extension program that provides developmentally disabled students with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum and exposes them to the social experiences associated with a major university.

Catholic Compound Vandalized in Gaza
Associated Press

A school and convent belonging to the Gaza Strip's tiny Roman Catholic community were ransacked and burned during clashes around a major security headquarters, the community's head said Monday.

Vietnamese Leaders, On US Visit, Discuss Ambitious Overhaul of Higher Education
Paula Wasley, The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required)

At a forum on Wednesday, Vietnam's president and minister of education outlined an ambitious plan to overhaul their country's troubled educational system, while a panel of American academics and scientists highlighted the importance of higher education to Vietnam's rapidly growing economy and suggested potential models for reform.

Local Kids Go Slow on Full-fee Degrees
Dorothy Illing, The Australian

Universities face a steep uphill battle in recruiting Australian fee-paying students, latest figures show, as federal parliament last week removed the final quota restricting numbers of full-fee paying students in highereducation.

Fees Discourage State Pupils from Applying to University, Survey Finds
Anthea Lipsett, The Guardian

School pupils are still being put off going to university because they are unsure of how the mechanics of the tuition fees system work, according to new research.

College Admissions May Get Centralised
Shweta Shertukde, Daily News & Analysis

Come next year and applying for college admissions to degree courses could be a breeze for students in India, instead of the frantic and frustrating chaos witnessed every year.

Professor to Take State's Schools Back to Basics
Paige Taylor and Justine Ferrari, The Australian

In a further move away from its disastrous foray into outcomes-based education, the West Australian Government has appointed the head of the respected NSW curriculum authority to advise it on newcourses for kindergarten to Year 10.

More Opportunities Opening to Study
Melinda Rout and Brendan O’Keefe

Improving their chances of getting into university was on the minds of thousands of Victorian students who have sat the General Achievement Test, which is being used for tertiary course selection for the first time.

Aboriginal Students More Likely to Drop Out of University: Study
The Star Phoenix

Aboriginal high school graduates are almost twice as likely to drop out of post-secondary institutions or skip further education compared with other Canadian graduates, according to new research.

Canada Foundation for Innovation Awards $4.3 millions to U of T Researchers
Paul Fraumeni, University of Toronto

U of T's ability to keep leading scholars was strengthened on June 11 with $4.3 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Leaders Opportunity Fund.

First Aboriginal Social Work Students Graduate from Unique Joint Program
Andy Lee, Ryerson University

First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) and Ryerson University recently graduated the inaugural 13 students of their joint Bachelor of Social Work program. Launched in 2004, this unique advanced standing program, accredited under the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, combines mainstream social work theory and practices with an aboriginal world view.

Students Support First Nations Day of Action
CNW Group

Students have put their full support behind the June 29, 2007 Day of Action to urge the federal government to take action to improve the lives of Aboriginal and First Nations people across the country.

Auditor General Gives Nunavut Student Loans Program and "F"
Erin Millar, Macleans

Auditor General Sheila Fraser slammed the Nunavut government Wednesday for failing to collect provincial student loans. Fraser was in Iqaluit to present her report about the Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students Program, which called for the government to do more to collect the loans.

Report Highlights Pressing Need for Workforce Development Strategy
CNW Group

An analysis of economic trends in Ontario underlines the urgent need for a comprehensive skills and workforce development strategy to increase the province's competitiveness.

Students' Career Options Linked to Parents’ Education: Study
CBC News

High school students whose parents have little education and low income are more likely to choose courses that limit their career options and earning potential, says a new study.

Do Student Success Courses Actually Help Community College Students Succeed?
Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University

This Brief reports the recent findings of an in-depth CCRC study on the relationship between enrollment in student sucess courses and successful outcomes, including credential completion, persistence, and transfer. Using a large dataset on Florida community college students, researchers used statistical models to see if student success courses still appear to be related to positive outcomes even after controlling for student characteristics and other factors that might also influence the relative success of students who take such courses.

Validity of High-School Grades in Predicting Student Success Beyond the Freshman Year
Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley

High-school grades are often viewed as an unreliable criterion for college admissions, owing to differences in grading standards across high schools, while standardized tests are seen as methodologically rigorous, providing a more uniform and valid yardstick for assessing student ability and achievement. The present study challenges that conventional view. The study finds that high-school grade point average (HSGPA) is consistently the best predictor not only of freshman grades in college, the outcome indicator most often employed in predictive-validity studies, but of four-year college outcomes as well.

State of Learning in Canada: Unlocking Canada’s Potential
Canadian Council on Learning

Recent polls on attitudes toward learning have demonstrated that the majority of Canadians strongly believe learning is critical to success in life. Despite this widely held belief, rates of adult participation
in education and training activities have stagnated over the last decade. Canada’s current approach to adult learning, which emphasizes education and training for young adults, limits the country's capacity to develop a learning culture and to engage the full potential of our labour market, particularly with existing workers. As this report indicates, the prevalence of barriers to adult participation in learning and training is among the most important issues confronting adult and labourforce development.

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.