COMMENTARY

The Political Dimension of Education

June 1, 2010

WATSON SCOTT SWAIL, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute

I began my post-Memorial Day morning by turning on my favorite TV show, Morning Joe, with former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough. One of the guests was Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and the subject came to Race to the Top Funds. The US Department of Education is providing over $4 billion in funds to states that agree and prepare a broad plan to (a) adopt standards and assessments, (b) build data systems, (c) recruit and develop effective teachers and principals, and (d) turn around low-performing schools. A tall order, for sure.

The first round of RTTT Funds were awarded to Tennessee ($500 million) and Delaware ($100 million). Round two will divvy up $3.4 billion, with applications due today. A handful of states have opted not to apply for Round 2 funds of Race to the Top Funds, including the Commonwealth of Virginia. During Morning Joe, McDonnell, a Republican and former Attorney General of the state during Tim Kaine's Governorship, said that Virginia couldn't possibly opt for funding that required the state to adopt national curriculum standards. He said that Virginia has very high standards, and the state wouldn't agree to sign on to national standards that were lower than Virginia's.READ MORE...

Reading scores increase since 2007 in four districts at grade 4 and in two districts at grade 8. At grade 4, reading scores increased since 2007 in 4 of the 11 participating districts, but there were no significant changes in the scores for public school students in the nation or large cities. At grade 8, reading scores for 2 of the 11 districts, and for public school students in the nation and large cities, were higher in 2009 than in 2007.

Source: The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP

THE NEWS

ACADEMIC PREPARATION

Colorado launches program to boost student science tech performance
By Denver Business Journal
Seven Colorado high schools -- including three in the Denver area -- have been picked to take part in a new program that aims to improve student performance in math and science, especially in low-income areas. The program is called Colorado Legacy Schools, and it "aims to significantly increase the number and diversity of students enrolling in and passing math, science and English [advanced placement, or AP] exams," the Colorado Department of Education said in a statement. The goal is to lead more students into careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the so-called STEM subjects in demand by many Colorado businesses.

‘Not acceptable:’ Nearly one-third of Oregon high school students drop out
By Betsy Hammond, the Oregonian
Only two of every three students in Oregon's class of 2009 graduated from high school in four years, while more than 14,000 dropped out along the way, the state education department reported Tuesday. State Superintendent Susan Castillo said she hopes the startlingly low success rate galvanizes Oregonians to provide -- and demand that schools provide -- more student support. She said she plans to shine a light on districts including Hillsboro and Tigard-Tualatin that, without extra funding, use systematic approaches to get standout results.

Common-Standards draft excludes ELL proficiency
By Mary Ann Zehr, Education Week
The writing teams for common standards have sought the advice of researchers on English-language learners, but the organizations that are coordinating the venture don’t plan to produce a set of English-language-proficiency standards to go with the common standards. Instead, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association intend to leave that up to the states. “As far as developing [the English-proficiency standards] ourselves, I don’t see that happening,” said Keith Gayler, the director of standards for the CCSSO. At the same time, he added, the organization might help some states work together to craft English-proficiency standards.

Students and colleges prepare for direct lending
By Caralee Adams, Education Week
Financial-aid applications are up by 53 percent in the past two years at Montgomery Community College, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Add to that the new federal mandate to convert college loans from private lenders to the federal Direct Loan Program and it’s easy to see why Melissa Gregory, the director of student financial aid, is feeling swamped. “It’s very stressful. We multitask everyone from the front desk to approving loans to work-study jobs,” said Ms. Gregory. With budgets frozen, there have been no additional hires to the financial-aid staff of 33, which serves 36,000 students on three campuses.

On sticker prices and ‘wishful thinking’
By Eric Hoover, The Chronicle of Higher Education
A majority of students and their parents have ruled out colleges based solely on published sticker prices without considering how much financial aid they might receive, according to a recent survey of college applicants. Most students and parents said they had not used online financial-aid calculators to determine how much they would need to pay at different colleges. The findings come from the latest installment of Student Poll, a collaboration between the College Board and Art & Science Group, a firm that specializes in strategic marketing and planning for colleges. The survey, conducted in late November and early January, was designed to reveal how students' perceptions of affordability had shaped their thinking about colleges.

Many in college lack basic skills
By Jeannie Kever, The Houston Chronicle
Developmental education is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves. Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue. But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment. “It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?” The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.

Overseas student numbers plummet
By Andrew Trounson, The Australian
Australia's largest international student recruiter, IDP chief executive Tony Pollock, warned that changes to visa rules and priority skills were being made without giving the industry time to adjust. As a result, student demand had plummeted and the sector's market standing was at risk. Mr Pollock said international placements into Australia across IDP's network were down 37 per cent in April compared with a year ago, with current Indian demand almost wiped out. He said the Australian High Commissioner in India had told his staff there that the number of student visa applications it had on hand had crashed to just 200, compared with 8600 a year ago.

Report assess the recession’s toll on higher education in Europe
By Aisha Labi, The Chronicle of Higher Education
A new report by the European University Association examines the effects of the global financial crisis on European universities over the past two years and concludes that, while the situation is far from uniform, the turmoil has had profound implications for higher-education systems across Europe. The majority of European universities rely on public financing for the bulk of their income, and cuts in government spending are taking a heavy toll in many countries, says the report, "Impact of the Economic Crisis on European Universities."

Schools are promised an academic ‘revolution’
By BBC News
Education Secretary Michael Gove has set out his vision for a new era for schools in England. Mr Gove said all schools would be given the opportunity to break away from local authority control and become academies. Academies are state-funded schools which have a high degree of autonomy. Mr Gove said the changes and new freedoms would drive up standards for all schools, with supporters hailing them as a "revolution" in schools.

Tuition-Setting authority and deregulation at state colleges and universities
Operating in an environment beset by recession-induced cutbacks in state funding and surging enrollment, many state colleges and universities are turning to tuition increases to generate operating revenues. This policy brief published by The American Association of State Colleges and Universities, discusses the issue of tuition-setting authority and recent efforts at state deregulation. The potential benefits of providing greater system and institutional autonomy over tuition policy are discussed, as are arguments against decentralizing state legislative control over tuition policy.

The Condition of Education Special Analysis 2010: High-Poverty Schools
This special section of The Condition of Education 2010 uses a subset of the indicators in the full report to present a descriptive profile of high-poverty public schools and their students and to compare them to low-poverty public schools and their students. The school poverty measure used throughout is the percentage of a school's enrollment that is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). High-poverty schools are those where 76–100 percent of students are eligible for FRPL and low-poverty schools are those where 0–25 percent of students are eligible.

RETENTION 2010, International Conference on Student Success, June 9-11, 2010, Chicago, IL

The Swail Letter (May 2010).
In this issue: Trends in International Education Enrollment.