The Week in Review / Educational Policy Institute

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Living a Lie?

January 18, 2008

Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute

Last night I had the pleasure of speaking at the College Board Major Systems Meeting in Napa, California. The audience included superintendents and principals from mostly California, but also Washington state, Utah, and other states in the western region.

The purpose of my discussion was to provide a macro overview of the changing world, ala my article in Change magazine back in 2002: understanding how the world around us is changing and how it impacts our education system, from K through 16+, as well as on our economy.

Par for the course, I offered that while we may never achieve equity in our education system, we owe it to our youth to provide them with the best opportunity to make choices on their terms, not ours. Unfortunately, through current and past public policy and by remaining status quo on most educational reforms, we do a very poor job of providing even remotely equitable opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds, from rural areas, and those who are historically underrepresented in higher education, which includes students of color. That is, by doing nothing, we are actually making a strong statement that we don’t care enough to do anything for disenfranchised youth. That’s a pretty strong statement that was largely echoed by my colleague, Peter Negroni, Senior Vice President of the College Board. ...Read More

Did you know?

Between 2003-04 and 2016-17, the number of public high school graduates is projected to increase 15% in the South; increase 12% in the West; increase 1% in the Northeast; and decrease 4% in the Midwest.

...Learn More.





	Massive Funding Cuts to ‘Reading First’ Generate Worries for Struggling Schools Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Education Week The reading coaches, professional-development programs, and instructional materials that are the cornerstones of the Reading First program and are credited with improving instruction in struggling schools may be threatened by a deep cut included in the 2008 federal budget, officials and observers say.	Otter Aide Says Former Ed Board Head Broke Accounting Rules AP A top aide to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter says a former State Board of Education director violated Idaho accounting standards, exacerbating a testing-contract fiasco that left the agency millions of dollars in the red. Urban Schools Aiming Higher Than Diploma Sara Rimer, The New York Times At Excel High School, in South Boston, teachers do not just prepare students academically for the SAT; they take them on practice walks to the building where the SAT will be given so they won’t get lost on the day of the test.


	Admissions Anxiety, With a Twist GERRI HIRSHEY, The New York Times The high school class of 2008 is the largest in decades, and folks on both sides of the application process are praying for a miracle. A College Cuts Tuition — and Ends Haggling Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed Yale University will capture the headlines on college costs today, but an announcement from a small college in Illinois may point to a strategy that could affect many more institutions — and especially those without überendowments. Colleges Brace for Cuts as State Economies Take a Turn for the Worse Sara Hebel, The Chronicle of Higher Education This was supposed to have been the "year of education" in California, a designation proclaimed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he looked ahead to 2008. But, like his counterparts in many states, the Republican governor finds himself entering the new year facing a budget gap. Mr. Schwarzenegger has proposed slashing the budgets of all state agencies, including the University of California and California State University, by 10 percent. Educators who had hoped "their" year might come with spending increases now face cuts.	Community colleges board president to step down Patrick McGreevy, The Los Angeles Times GOP state senators block the appointment of Kay Albiani because she favored tuition breaks for illegal immigrants. Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College Libby Sander, The Chronicle of Higher Education With the help of community colleges, some baby boomers are changing gears and retraining for new jobs that are less physically taxing. In doing so, these workers are among those who are redefining the traditional notion of retirement by working much later in life.


	Teachers given pay rise of 2.45% BBCnews Teachers in England and Wales will get pay rises above the 2% set by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. UNESCO hosts meeting on human rights education in the school system UNESCO PRESS RELEASE UNESCO is hosting the fourth meeting of the UN Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Human Rights Education in the School System (UNIACC) from 17 to 18 January 2008 in its Paris headquarters.	In Greenland, a Tiny University Takes On a Big Role COLIN WOODARD, The Chronicle of Higher Education Just 140 students and 14 faculty members work and study in the pair of buildings that make up the University of Greenland. Each is considerably smaller than the average American McMansion. But the university, founded in 1987, is coming of age. Israeli Universities May Be Forced to Cancel Semester Beth McMurtrie, The Chronicle of Higher Education A faculty strike that began in late October may force Israel’s universities to cancel the semester, according to today’s Haaretz Newspaper.


	NCAA approves program to allow Canadian schools in D-II AP NCAA Division II delegates approved a pilot program Monday allowing Canadian schools to apply for membership as soon as June 1, which could lead to Canadians competing in some Division I sports. Wonder why you can't find a plumber? No one wants to train them. Judith Maxwell, The Globe and Mail In an op-ed piece in Monday's Globe & Mail, Judith Maxwell writes that our education system's expansion to meet the need for academic credentials has strayed too far from a balance that also includes practical, vocational skills.	Academic pressure encourages study drug usage Long Ngyugen, The McGill Daily (Student Newspaper) The stress of school is driving some students to experiment with “cognitive enhancing” drugs in a bid to improve concentration and short-term memory, even though such drugs can have nasty side effects.


	Online provider plans expansion Bernard Lane, The Australian CENGAGE Education, the online provider formerly known as Thomson Education, plans a major expansion in the tertiary field with a portfolio of industry-backed business degrees. Classes combined as teacher shortage bites Anna Patty, The Sydney Morning Herald A national survey by the Australian Council for Educational Research found that half of all secondary school principals have been forced to ask staff to teach outside their area of expertise and have used other methods to cover shortages.	Teachers want merit-based pay - survey AAP, The Sydney Morning Herald A majority of Australian teachers want a merit based pay system tied to competence and qualifications. A national survey of 13,000 teachers, published in The Australian, involving almost a third of the profession, found that 70 per cent of them believe paying more to the most competent and those with extra qualifications would help stem the exodus from the profession. Teachers' $50k bush bonus Justine Ferrari, The Australian ABORIGINAL leader Noel Pearson is embarking on an ambitious plan to recruit experienced teachers and the brightest graduates to work in the most disadvantaged indigenous communities by offering performance-linked incentives of up to $50,000 a year.


	Quality Counts 2008: Tapping into Teaching EPE Research Center The EPE Research Center's annual state policy survey, which was conducted for the report, investigated state activity related to mentoring as one area in which states can build and support teacher capacity.


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.