Bush, Democrats Face Education Spending Showdown
Alyson Klein, Education Week
President Bush and Democratic leaders in Congress are facing off over spending on federal education programs, and the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act could get caught up in the clash.

Edwards to Help Rural S.C. Schools
The Associated Press
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Thursday released a plan where teachers in poor, rural schools in early voting South Carolina would get a raise of up to $15,000 and 4-year-old kindergarten would be available to all children.

Teachers Agree to Bonus Pay Tied to Scores
By Elissa Gootman, The New York Times
The Bloomberg administration and the New York City teachers’ union announced an agreement yesterday on a plan that would give teachers bonuses based largely on the overall test scores of students at schools that have high concentrations of poor children. The plan, negotiated for months, is a major breakthrough for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who for years has advocated extra pay to reward high-performing teachers.

Reading Aid Seen to Lag in ELL Focus
Mary Anne Zehr, Education Week
Educators and experts across the country who work with English-language learners are moving toward a consensus that the federal Reading First program needs to be refined to become more effective for children acquiring English.

DREAM Act Vote on Tap
Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed
The U.S. Senate is set to take a procedural vote today that could clear the way for a floor vote on the long-stalled Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act by week’s end. In a news conference Tuesday, proponents of the measure — which would provide a pathway to permanent residency for undocumented students who complete two years of college or military service — offered new research arguing that those states that have relaxed the barriers to higher education on their own have not faced the negative consequences that opponents generally predict.

Practical Steps, Not a 'Magic Template,' Are Key to Student Retention, Officials Are Told
By Eric Hoover, The Chronicle of Higher Education
When Paul Orehovec sees an empty soda can on the ground, he believes it is his responsibility to pick it up and throw it in the trash. College leaders, he said on Thursday at the College Board's annual conference here, should encourage administrators, professors, and staff members to feel the same responsibility for promoting student retention. "We have to get everyone on the campus to think about it," said Mr. Orehovec, vice president for enrollment management at the University of Miami, in Florida. "Not 'it's a nice thing to do,' but a responsibility."

College Costs Outpace Inflation Rate
By Jonathan D. Glater, New York Times
Tuition and fees at public and private universities have risen this year at more than double the rate of inflation, with prices increasing faster at public institutions, the College Board said in reports released yesterday. These increases in the cost of higher education continue to drive up the amount that students and families borrow, with the fastest growth in private loans, the reports found.

‘Inside Greek U.’
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
Ever wonder what goes on behind closed doors on Greek row? A communications professor provides such a look in Inside Greek U.: Fraternities, Sororities, and the Pursuit of Pleasure, Power and Prestige, just published by the University of Kentucky Press. Alan D. DeSantis, who teaches at the University of Kentucky, is both a tough critic and defender of the Greek system. While much in the book may embarrass fraternity and sorority members, and worry plenty of administrators, DeSantis is no abolitionist. He is a fraternity alumnus and dedicates the book “to my brothers.”

Free meals 'make calmer classes'
BBC News
Free school meals for all pupils, whether rich or poor, improves behaviour, says an expert who studied the UK's only substantial test project. Children in five areas of Scotland are set to take part in a pilot scheme where all primary pupils will be able to have free meals.

MPs urge rethink on special needs
BBC News
The government should rethink its refusal to separate the assessment and funding of special educational needs provision, an MPs' committee has said.

University must continue arts and science programs: task force
CNC News
A mayor's task force into the future of the University of New Brunswick Saint John has reaffirmed the community's feelings that the school must remain in the city.

A reward for hard work - and not giving up
By Anthony Reinhart, The Globe and Mail
A second-floor apartment doesn't offer much of a view of the world, least of all for a small child from a family of modest means. So, when Denise Ann Williams, 24, was a little girl, she focused on what was in front of her: school, sports and whatever else she might learn from her mother, Barbara, a Trinidadian immigrant raising three kids on her own. Friday night, with her mother at her side, Ms. Williams will take in a decidedly different view – from the 42nd floor of Toronto's tallest office tower – as she reaps her latest reward for hard work: the Harry Jerome Scholarship for black law students, sponsored by one of the country's top firms, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP.

Canadian universities are running up massive debts
Pauline Tam, The Vancouver Sun
University students aren't the only ones carrying high debt loads. Canadian universities themselves are also mired in debt -- to the tune of more than $3 billion. Some analysts worry, but UBC official says money is well-invested.

Research Infosource Inc. Releases Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2007
CNW
In Fiscal 2006, Canada's top 50 research universities reported $5.53 billion in sponsored research income, a 6.4% increase over Fiscal 2005, doubling last year's growth of 3.2%. The University of Toronto remained in top position, followed by the Université de Montréal.

External exams not always final answer
Milanda Rout, The Australian
STUDENTS who do not sit external exams for their final Year 12 assessment and instead do class assignments perform just as well at university as school-leavers who are graded by exams.

Democrats policy welcomed
Brendan O'Keefe, The Australian
STUDENTS, academic staff and vice-chancellors have welcomed the Democrats' higher education election policy. As reported in the HES yesterday, the Democrats call for a $2billion fund over four years to fix a building backlog on campuses; indexation to be linked with the CPI; enough financial support for students so they don't need a paying job while studying; the abolition of full-fee places for domestic undergraduate students; and the end of VSU.

Older Students' Struggles

Life is tough for older students. While more people age 55 to 79 are bypassing retirement and leisure to pursue advanced degrees, many barriers stand in the way of their college-level learning, says a report released this month by the American Council on Education. The report, "Framing New Terrain: Older Adults and Higher Education," is the first to be issued by the council's research project, "Reinvesting in the Third Age: Older Adults and Higher Education." The project is financed by MetLife Foundation.

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.