12th Graders Show Better Grasp of Market Forces Than Expected on U.S. Economics Test
Sam Dillon, NY Times
The United States’ high school seniors performed significantly better on the first nationwide economics test than they did on other recent national exams in history and science, and demonstrated higher than expected understanding of basic market forces like supply and demand than officials expected.

Neighborhoods' Effect On Grades Challenged
Jay Mathews, Washington Post
Many social reformers have long said that low academic achievement among inner-city children cannot be improved significantly without moving their families to better neighborhoods, but new reports released today that draw on a unique set of data throw cold water on that theory.

Miller’s NCLB Priorities Spark Fresh Debate
Mark Walsh and Alyson Klein, Education Weekly
The chairman of the House education committee has pledged to seek significant revisions to the No Child Left Behind Act, but education lobbyists say it’s still too early to say whether such plans will result in major changes to the types of measures states may use to gauge student achievement under the law.

Imported From Britain: Ideas to Improve Schools
Sam Dillon, NY Times
During a decade in power in Britain, the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair made efforts to improve English schools, with some apparent successes. Because American public education faces similar challenges, like what to do with failing schools and how to recruit better teachers, some educators believe there is much to learn from England’s experience.

Patrick Eyes Free Education from Age 3 through Community College
Associated Press
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick envisions free education for every Massachusetts resident from age three through community college.  The Governor has assigned an eighteen-member panel to create a 10-year-plan in an attempt to make this a reality.

Pessimistic Views on Academic Freedom
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Education
A greater percentage of social scientists today feel that their academic freedom has been threatened than was the case during the McCarthy era.  This was the tone of a series of pessimistic papers presented at a forum on academic freedom at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

In Study Abroad, Gifts and Money for Universities
Diana Jean Schemo, NY Times
As overseas study has become a prized credential of the undergraduate experience, a competitive, even cutthroat, industry has emerged, with an army of vendors vying for student money and universities moving to profit from the boom.

More Students and Higher Scores for ACT
Andy Guess, Inside Higher Education
ACT scores for high school students who graduated this year inched up in all categories even as the number of test takers increased significantly, a trend the exam’s creators partially attributed to states’ heightened attention to college readiness.

Politics Is the New Star of India’s Classrooms
SOMINI SENGUPTA, NY Times
For the first time, the messy brawl that is modern Indian politics, including some of its ugliest and most controversial episodes, is being taught in political science class. It is part of a broader revision of the school curriculum, with potentially long-lasting implications for how Indian children grasp the workings of their nation and its place in the world.

High-Level Graduates Get Work
BBC News
According to the study of 188,000 people, graduates achieving the lowest degree classifications were around two and a half times more likely to be unemployed six months after graduating than those obtaining the highest degree classifications.

Foreign applicants flood U of A
Keith Gerein, The Edmonton Journal
A record number of undergraduate-level students have sent applications to the University of Alberta this year.  Applications to some other local colleges and universities are also showing signs of rebounding. Much of the university's growth is being driven by applicants from outside the province.

Government Chasing Borrowers for $100-Million in Student Loan Interest
Erin Millar, Macleans.ca
The federal government is spending millions of dollars chasing down interest on student loans.  Of the $800-million in student loans that are currently in default, $100-million is purely interest.  According to information obtained by The Coalition for Student Loan Fairness, 180,000 loans are currently in default.

VSU Adds to Postgraduate Woes
Milanda Rout, The Austrailian
Postgraduate students are the hidden victims of voluntary student unionism legislation, with at least eight universities no longer having independent postgraduate student associations. Research by the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations has found that student organizations at a postgraduate level have been significantly affected by the legislative ban on compulsory student union fees.

Schools urged to share more
Bridie Smith, The Age
August 10, 2007
MOST children will attend a private school within three decades unless the public school system radically changes its approach, a leading education expert has warned

Unis tout for students
Milanda Rout, The Australian
FREE massages, runway fashion shows, live bands and concert giveaways are becoming de rigueur. The sausage sizzle and campus tour of traditional university open days is so five minutes ago.

Performance Pay Scheme Won't Work
James Allan, The Austrailian
While politicians consider the introduction of legislation that would base teachers’ salaries on merit, there are many who are skeptical that the plan would work as it should.  Critics say that it’s not that teachers shouldn’t be paid based on merit, but it’s how merit would be measured that raises doubt.

School Principals' Welfare Neglected
Brisbane Times
A new report says that the health and well-being of Australian primary school principals are being neglected by their bosses.  The report - commissioned by the Australian Primary Principals Association - surveyed more than 2,600 principals around the country at government, independent and Catholic schools.

National Average ACT Score Rises Again as College Readiness Continues to Improve Among U.S. High School Grads

ACT, Inc., released their national College Readiness Report this week. Among the findings are:

• Average national ACT composite score is 21.2, up from 21.1 in 2006
• Third score increase in past five years
• More grads meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
• Rigor of high school core coursework still in need of improvement
• Promising growth in readiness among 8th & 10th graders
• Record number of test-takers

To visit ACT and download their national and state reports, click here.

NEW NCES REPORT: Persistence and Attainment of 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years

This First Look report provides a brief description of the persistence and degree attainment of a nationally representative sample of students who began postsecondary education for the first time in the 2003-04 academic year. The report provides a first look at the experience of these students over three academic years, from July 2003 to June 2006, and provides information about rates of program completion, transfer, and attrition for students who first enrolled at various types of postsecondary institutions using data from the 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06). Findings showed that among the beginning students who were recent (2003) high school graduates, enrolled full time in the fall of 2003, and had bachelor’s degree plans, 70 percent were still enrolled at their first institution without a degree, 4 percent had attained a degree or certificate at their first institution, and 20 percent had transferred elsewhere without a degree by June 2006.

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.