The Week in Review / Educational Policy Institute

| Forward to a Friend | Printer Friendly |

Developing Our Most Valuable Resource

April 18, 2008

Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute

For the past couple of weeks, readers have read with great interest the exploits of Alex Usher and me during our Middle East trek. Twelve days in the Middle East provide one with a valuable and varied perspective on what we do and the role of Western society in the developing world.

It is an interesting dichotomy, or perhaps schizophrenia, that non-Westerners have about the US. We found that Saudis, Qataries, and others were very interested in what we do and what leadership we can provide in education. There seems to be a realization or awakening that Eastern cultures need to be more like Western cultures to participate in the global economy. As Alex mentioned last week, the “oil” countries have realized that if they don’t use their currently most valuable resource, oil, to develop an alternative future, they will have missed out on a great and perhaps finite opportunity to leverage the present into the future.

Conversely, the other viewpoint of non-Westerners, or perhaps, non-Americans, is that we are evil. READ MORE

8th notes Hitting High Notes = High Scores

Students taking courses in music performance and music appreciation scored higher in the SAT than students with no arts participation. Music performance students scored 53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math. Music appreciation students scored 61 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math.

Source: 1999 College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board





	24-7 tutoring at home: More kids learning lessons online Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki, Detroit Free Press With the end of the school year and tem papers and final exams looming, online tutoring can sound like a parent’s dream—a private tutor in the comfort of their home (or their child’s dorm room), available 24-7. No one knows how many students use online tutoring services, but enough are achieving -- or trying to achieve -- better grades with help from an online tutor to make it a $3-billion to $5-billion industry. Nation deserves debates on failing schools Morton Kondracke, Nashua Telegraph This month marks the 25th anniversary of the first loud gong – the 1983 report “A Nation at Risk,” which famously warned that “if an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.” That was Cold War talk, but the same report anticipated the world we live in today.	Poll tracks parents’ preferences for gaining diversity Chris Kenning, Courier-Journal Nearly nine in 10 public elementary school parents in Jefferson County say it's important to bring together students from different races and backgrounds to learn. However, parents are largely split on which of the district's two variations of its student-assignment proposal is the better way to achieve the goal. Both consider race, income and education levels of a student's neighborhood as a way to maintain diverse schools but differ in how schools are clustered. Expelled, but not out Emily Richmond, Las Vegas Sun With referrals for expulsion from regular campuses high and funding tight, officials want to know whether alternative schools are worth the cost.


	College launches apprentice program Lynn Stevens, Western Michigan Business Review Kalamazoo College has launched an interdisciplinary study it hopes not only will involve students with businesses and the community but also may change liberal arts education. Senators push GI Bill increase Bejan Siavoshy, Daily Sundial Members of the Senate are pushing for an increase in the GI Bill, which would provide more money to veterans who choose to pursue a college education after being discharged.	Sallie Mae to charge for loans to students David Cho, Washington Post Sallie Mae, the country's largest student lender, announced yesterday that it will start charging students who apply for federally backed loans and cut the type of loans available, citing the turmoil in the credit markets as a reason for this shift. Board of Regents announces continued education initiative Ben Bourgeois, LSU Reveille The Louisiana Board of Regents and the Southern Regional Education Board announced April 5 they would launch a joint initiative to help more adults pursue a college degree - the Continuum for All Louisiana Learners.


	Education ministry frees public schools from gov’t control The Hankyoreh (South Korea) The government yesterday (041608) announced a range of measures aimed at relegating more autonomy to the public schools, giving them more freedom to determine educational method and overall operations. New education scheme for Qataris launched Gulf Times (Qatar) The Supreme Education Council (SEC) announced Wednesday (041608) the launch, from September this year, of an educational voucher programme that aims to increase variety and choice within Qatar’s education system.	English, Tagalog, or both? Rodel Rodis, Global Nation (Philippines) If enacted into law, a bill mandating English as the primary language of use in secondary schools, will repeal a 33-year old policy of bilingual teaching in Philippine schools which encouraged the use of English and Filipino (Tagalog) as mediums of instruction. RSAMD teachers may be forced out of jobs Andrew Denholm, The Herald (Scotland) Teaching staff at Scotland's most prestigious performance arts academy are facing compulsory redundancy as part of moves to save more than half-a-million pounds. The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD), whose past students include actors Robert Carlyle, James McAvoy, Tom Conti and Elaine C Smith, is also considering moving some full-time academic staff on to part-time contracts.


	Public registry of disciplined teachers ready within months Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun A public registry of disciplined teachers is likely to be ready by the end of the year now that the government has agreed to cover costs, the B.C. College of Teachers said Tuesday (041508). Inclusion is the best way to teach special-needs kids Debbie Horrocks, Ron Canuel, & Sandra Furfaro, The Gazette Quebec's English public school system serves 110,000 students across Quebec. Each day, our teachers must strive to find the balance that facilitates learning for all children. In today's classroom and under current government policy, some of those kids might be high achievers, some might have disabilities, behavioural problems or learning difficulties.	Board forced to consider school closings Susan Krashinsky, Globe and Mail Plagued by falling enrolment and rising stress on costs, the Toronto District School Board considered a report last night recommending school closings in certain areas. Petition aims to retool school use: Government urged to rethink formula based on ‘bums in seats’ Glenda Luymes, The Province A Pitt Meadows mother has launched a petition to prevent schools with declining enrolment from closing -- by changing the criteria that determine their capacity.


	Teaching strategy to lift status Justine Ferrari, The Australian Education ministers will consider a national strategy to raise the status of teaching to boost morale within the profession and make it more attractive as a career choice for school leavers. Young not getting qualified David Killick, Mercury Schools and TAFE colleges are struggling to address the growing disengagement of young people from education, says TAFE chief executive Malcolm White.	A shake-up, but is it bold enough? Caroline Milburn, The Age A government plan to have tougher standards of accountability for Victoria's preschools and schools, covering children from birth to year 12, aims to tackle student underperformance and revamp child-care services. Under the plan, parents will get unprecedented information on how schools perform, and all early childhood staff will be required to get a qualification. National student ranking plan Emma Macdonald, Canberra Times The testing of all Australian students over three days next month could enable them to be ranked against a national average for literacy and numeracy for the first time.


	Students with Disabilities, Learning Difficulties and Disadvantages: Policies, Statistics and Indicators - 2007 Edition Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) This book provides an internationally comparable set of indicators on educational provision for students with disabilities, learning difficulties and disadvantages (DDD). Learn Canada 2020 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada Learn Canada 2020, a new framework document outlining a vision for learning from ECE to PSE. To improve the quality and accessibility of PSE, CMEC plans to eliminate the gap for Aboriginal students, enhance and stabilize the long-term capacity of PSE, create a consistent voice for Canadian education internationally, implement national learning assessment programs and performance indicators, and create a long-term approach to collect and analyze nationally and internationally comparable data and research. Economic survey of Germany 2008: Improving education outcomes Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) The following OECD assessment and recommendations summarises chapter 4, Improving Education Outcomes of the Economic survey of Germany published on 9 April 2008. An Economic Survey is published every 1½-2 years for each OECD country. The OECD assessment and recommendations on the main economic challenges faced by Germany including healthcare, fiscal policy, and the labour market are available in the full report.


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.