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COMMENTARY
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Success at Every Step
April 9, 2010
By Sarah Hooker, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum
Ensuring youth success in postsecondary education requires intentional and comprehensive programs and policies at every level of the educational ladder. In a recent publication entitled Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) profiles programs that have been proven to help young people prepare for college, careers, and civic life, based on the results of recent, high-quality evaluations.
The included programs span the fields of comprehensive school reform, career and technical education, expanded learning opportunities, college access, dual enrollment, and postsecondary education. This publication is designed to help policymakers and practitioners learn about initiatives that have been effective in helping youth become ready for college and careers and analyze their implications for policy. READ MORE...
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| STATISTIC OF THE WEEK |
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In the fall of 2009, about 85.3 million people in the United States were either enrolled or employed in public and private schools and colleges. Included in this total were 75.2 million students enrolled in American schools and colleges. About 4.7 million people were employed as elementary and secondary school teachers or as college faculty and teaching assistants. Other professional, administrative, and support staff of educational institutions totaled 5.4 million. In a nation with a population of about 307 million in 2009, more than 1 out of every 4 people participated in formal education.
Source: Mini-Digest of Education Statistics 2009, NCES
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THE NEWS
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ACADEMIC PREPARATION
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States skeptical about ‘Race to Top’ school aid contest
By Sam Dillon, The New York Times
A dozen governors, led by Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado, sat with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a hotel ballroom in Washington a few weeks back, praising his vision and gushing with enthusiasm over a $4 billion grant competition they hoped could land their states a jackpot of hundreds of millions of dollars. But for many of those governors, the contest lost some sizzle last week, when Mr. Duncan awarded money to only two states — Delaware and Tennessee.
Untapped resource: State unlocks data storehouse for teachers
By Kelli Gauthier, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Tennessee has kept detailed measurements of student achievement for nearly two decades but the data was off-limits to teachers, who still don't know exactly how to use it to improve instruction, according to reviews of the state's Race to the Top application. The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, which measures how much students learn in a year, is a powerful but mostly unused tool to assess student performance and teacher effectiveness, according to education experts who scored the application.
Chicago-based Elks award more than $3.3M in scholarships
By Associated Press
The Chicago-based Elks National Foundation has awarded more than $3.3 million in college scholarships to high school seniors around the country. The foundation gave away 500 "Most Valuable Student" scholarships ranging from $4,000 to $60,000. Another 250 legacy awards of $4,000 were also given away. The legacy awards go to the children and grandchildren of Elk members in good standing.
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| POST SECONDARY ACCESS SUCCESS |
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For-Profit colleges boom
By Doug Lederman, InsideHigherEd
Six years ago, there were almost three times as many students enrolled in private nonprofit colleges as there were at for-profit institutions. By 2008-9, that ratio had slipped to about 2 to 1. That is just one of many indicators, in data released by the U.S. Education Department Tuesday, of the boom in the sector of higher education alternatively called for-profit/private sector/corporate. The report from the National Center for Education Statistics, "Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2008; Graduation Rates, 2002 and 2005 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2008," also provides an initial peek (from a point relatively early in the recession) at how the continuing economic downturn has begun to reshape the enrollment and financial picture of higher education.
UW System plan would boost graduates 30% by 2025
By Sharif Durhams, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin System leaders are crafting a plan to boost the number of degrees the schools award each year by 30% over the next 15 years, a move that would make the universities even more of an engine that makes the state's economy attractive for businesses. The goal is to boost the percentage of Wisconsin residents who have college degrees or some professional certificate from a university or college. To meet it, the schools would have to confer 33,700 degrees in 2025, up from today's rate of about 26,000 a year. If the universities meet the goal, they will award 80,000 more degrees over the next 15 years than they would otherwise.
Hispanic-serving institutions are best path for increasing Latino STEM success, report says
By Jennifer Gonzalez, The Chronicle of Higher Education
To increase the number of Latino students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, a new report recommends that community colleges improve student-transfer access to programs in those disciplines, known as the STEM fields, at Hispanic-serving institutions. Because community colleges educate nearly 60 percent of all Latino students in this country, the report concludes that strengthening transfer access is the best way to ensure that Latino students complete bachelor's degrees in the STEM fields.
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| INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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All together now
By Melanie Newman, The Times Higher Education
A university has issued guidance advising academics on how to tailor courses to engage students regardless of class, disability, gender or race. Lancaster University’s guide, drawn up as part of a Higher Education Academy project, “Designing an Inclusive Curriculum in Higher Education”, will be published later this year and will include advice on how to use course content to “address gendered, social class, race or disability perspectives”. In one example cited, female engineering students are asked to write a paper on why women are under-represented in the subject.
Rudd government’s ‘lack of interest’ caused schools fiasco
By Michael Owen, The Australian
Co-ordinator-General Rod Hook, appointed by the Rann government 15 months ago to deliver South Australia's $1.37bn slice of Building the Education Revolution projects, said the other states had ignored his wealth of experience in government procurement and major infrastructure project management. Rather than adopt South Australia's sound model, the other states had appointed unnecessary middlemen to deliver BER projects and mired the program in controversy over cost blowouts, price gouging and wastage.
Back to school among the bulldozers
By Clement Sabourin, AFP
Children in pink and white uniforms ignore the bulldozer leveling the schoolyard as they line up excitedly for class yesterday, almost three months after Haiti's devastating earthquake. Before the Jan. 12 disaster, the Institution Sacre-Coeur used to teach 1,500 children ranging from 3 to 18 years old. Hundreds are now returning for the first time since the quake for lessons under hastily erected tents. The school's theatre, chapel and all the classrooms have been badly damaged and like many Port-au-Prince buildings find themselves "red-zoned" on a demolition waiting list. Only the roof of the gymnasium remains intact. The Haitian government has launched a tentative return-to-class campaign and encouraged schools in the capital to start welcoming students again.
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| REPORTS WORTH READING |
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Maximizing the Potential of Older Adults: Benefits to State Economies and Individual Well-Being
A new issue brief from the National Governor’s Association (NGA), outlines strategies for states seeking to engage the radically expanding population of adults over the age of 65. In addition to increasing awareness regarding the benefits of education, volunteering, and work among older adults and businesses, the brief recommends establishing public-private partnerships to examine the barriers older adult learners face and offer solutions, strengthening engagement opportunities for older adults and creating connections via workforce training centers or specially designed web sites, and encouraging public-sector employees to remain in the workforce for a longer period of time. According to NGA, adults over 65 who continue to work or volunteer help stimulate business activity and contribute nearly $162 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
Off the Charts: Columns of Data Provide Support for Student Achievement
This latest issue of the Lumina Foundation’s Focus magazine profiles efforts to track longitudinal student performance data, assess risk factors for dropping out, and enhance interventions to raise college completion rates. It includes recommended state actions, such as linking K-12 and postsecondary data.
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