Write or wrong: New exam for 8th-graders?
ROSALIND ROSSI, Chicago Sun-Times
Next school year, 35,000 CPS eighth-graders would have to pass a new three-part writing test or get at least a C in writing to graduate under a new promotion policy facing a Chicago School Board vote today.

Law’s Timeline on Proficiency Under Debate
David J. Hoff, Education Week
When President Bush and Congress crafted the No Child Left Behind Act, they agreed on one specific goal for academic achievement: All students would be proficient in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year. Once considered sacrosanct, that goal appears to be open for negotiation as House and Senate leaders consider plans to reauthorize the law.

Report card shows gap between white, minority students
Tina Marie Macias, Los Angeles Times
Math skills among fourth- and eighth-graders are showing steady improvement and fourth-graders' reading scores are also rising, according to a federal report released Tuesday. But white students are still scoring far higher than African American and Hispanic students on a standardized…

In Court: When Clothes Speak to More Than Fashion
Peter Applebome, The New York Times
Given the importance placed on robust student expression, it’s not completely surprising that a federal judge in New Jersey last week found himself opining on whether it was appropriate for two fifth graders to be sporting buttons featuring Hitler Youth members.

As President Bush Signs Bill Increasing Student Aid, Several Lenders Announce Cuts in Staff or Benefits (subscription required)
Kelly Field, Chronicle of Higher Education
With a flourish of his pen, President Bush signed into law on Thursday legislation that will provide the largest increase in federal student aid since the GI Bill, while sharply cutting government subsidies to student-loan providers.

Dealing With ‘Job Outs’
Elia Powers, Ed Week.
At first glance, the process seems to be working as intended. Students enter work force development programs looking to begin or jump-start a career. Many are sought after, recruited and leave with a job.But in some cases, the offers come shortly after the students begin their programs, meaning that they haven’t had a chance to earn a certificate or associate degree. This, educators worry, prevents students from reaching their long term career goals.

Bills target rising college textbook prices
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
The high price of college textbooks is a hot issue, not just among disgruntled students weary of spending more than $100 on an economics or a chemistry tome. In Sacramento political circles, efforts to lower those costs have produced two pieces of legislation that are competing for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature.

Lessons in Cynicism and Sales
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
“I wanted to take a Shakespeare course my sophomore year but instead had to take a required PSAT prep course. I hated that.”That quote, from a high school student, sums up themes of research being released today by the Education Conservancy, which is promoting the reform of the college admissions process.

Many Public Colleges Have Raised Tuition Despite Big Increases in State Support (subscription required)
Lauren Smith, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Public colleges often blame their tuition increases on state lawmakers who, the colleges say, have not given them enough extra money to keep up with rising costs. But this year, many states' public colleges received sizable infusions of public money and then raised tuition significantly anyway.

 Welcome or Not, Orthodoxy Is Back in Russia’s Public Schools
CLIFFORD J. LEVY, The New York Times
Nearly two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the return of religion to public life, localities in Russia are increasingly decreeing that to receive a proper public school education, children should be steeped in the ways of the Russian Orthodox Church, including its traditions, liturgy and historic figures.

UK and China sign e-learning deal
BBC News
An online education initiative between the UK and China is being launched - with plans to provide "e-learning" for 20 million Chinese students.

Britain gets vote of foreign students
Tariq Tahir, The Times Higher Education Supplement
UK universities are the best in the world for teaching and supporting their international students, a survey of more than 40,000 students has found. The findings conclude that the UK is a "world leader when it comes to international education", ahead of global rivals across key measures such as teaching, course content and student support.

Albertans monitoring debate on faith-based learning
Katherine Harding, Globe and Mail
Joanne Wiens doesn't live in Ontario, but she's still closely watching the election debate that has erupted in that province over faith-based school funding. Since 1988, the Alberta government has allowed school boards to decide whether to fully fund "alternative programs" such as faith-based schools.

Middle-school delinquency hits 20%: study
Rebecca Penty, National Post
One in five middle-school students in Toronto said they committed a delinquent act before or during the past school year, according to a survey released yesterday by Statistics Canada.

Newspaper demands answers about Concordia pres's exit
Erin Millar, Macleans.ca
The surprise exit of the president of Concordia last week has not been as quiet as the university's board had hoped. The board of governors announced in a particularly affable press release last week that president Claude Lajeunesse was stepping down "by mutual agreement." But an equally warm statement from Lajeunesse didn't stop speculation from finding its way into print, and now answers are being demanded of the university.

Melbourne struggles with old courses
Bernard Lane and Milanda Rout, The Australian
MAJORS in studies of Asia, Australia, Europe and Islam have been listed as endangered species by the University of Melbourne as it struggles to reconcile the bachelor of arts, its oldest degree, with its radical new liberal arts offering.

AUSTRALIA'S BEST UNIVERSITIES OFFER STUDENTS MOST SUPPORT
AAP, Asia Pulse News
CANBERRA, Sept 26 Asia Pulse - Students at Australia's top universities get the most support from their institutions and have the most say in campus decisions, according to a new ranking system.

NACAC's 2007 Annual State of College Admission Report provides analysis of the combined results from the Admission Trends Survey and the Counseling Trends Survey. Based on surveys of school counselors and colleges and universities nationwide, NACAC provides this report to highlight issues of concern to college-bound students, their parents, and the educators who serve them. (For Purchase)

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.