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High dropout rate adding to economic concerns
The nation's "persistently high" high-school-dropout rate is adding
to concerns about the growing economic crisis, the Wall Street
Journal reports. According to a recent study by the nonprofit
America's Promise, only about 70 per cent of public high school
students graduate in four years, with only 52 percent in the 50
largest cities doing so. The study says a 50-percent reduction in
the number of dropouts would generate an additional $45 billion a
year in tax revenue. Marguerite Kondracke, president of America's
Promise, calls dropouts "our next class of nonperforming assets."
Public officials also are worried about rising costs for social
programs and the criminal justice system, where dropouts account for
75 percent of state prison inmates.
Schools could benefit from layoffs in financial sector
Widespread layoffs in the financial sector could end up benefiting
public schools, according to USA Today, with many former investment
professionals switching to teaching, at least temporarily. The
newspaper puts it this way: "Looking for a silver lining in the
financial meltdown? How about this: Your child's next math teacher
could be an absolute whiz." In a New York City teaching fellows
program that trains career changers to work in schools, the
proportion of applicants listing finance as their current job is 10
percent, compared with 6 percent in 2006. The prestigious Teach for
America program, meanwhile, has seen an increase to 10 percent for
trainees who majored in business. Says Tim Daly of the New Teacher
Project: "These big moments ... and I think Sept. 11 was the last
big moment ... cause people to look for work that has meaning to
them."
Brookings report seeks federal innovation office for public education
A report from the Brookings Institution calls on the federal
government to "change the game" in public education by creating a
federal Office of Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the
Department of Education. Written by Sara Mead of the New America
Foundation and Andrew J. Rotherham of Education Sector, the report
says such an office could "expand the boundaries of public education
by scaling up successful educational entrepreneurs, seeding
transformative educational innovations, and building a stronger
culture to support these activities throughout the public sector."
The authors cite the achievement gap between poor and minority
students and their more affluent peers, along with findings that
American 15-year-olds perform less well than students in 23 other
countries in math and in 11 other countries in reading.
See a summary of the report at
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2008/1016_education_mead_rotherham/1016_education_mead_rotherham.pdf
Georgia backs off class-size mandate
Budgetary concerns have led state officials in Georgia to pull back
from enforcing a Truth in Class Size law enacted two years ago. Back
then, notes the Macon Telegraph, Gov. Sonny Perdue was threatening
to withhold funding from any school districts that failed to comply
with the law, which called on schools to limit class sizes to 20
students for kindergarten, 21 students for grades 1-4, and 28
students for grades 4-8. Now, however, Perdue has asked the state
education board to "grant all reasonable class-size waiver requests"
during the next two years. Said Superintendent Sharon Patterson of
the Bibb County schools: "If we go over one student, we're expected
to hire one extra teacher. It's money that is not available."
Latino college aspirants hurt by income squeeze, analysis shows
A growing income gap between Latino college students and their white
counterparts is putting new pressure on Latinos aspiring to higher
education, according to an analysis by UCLA's Higher Education
Research Institute. Drawing on its annual survey of college
freshmen, the institute says in a report that the number of Latino
males entering four-year institutions is dropping in the face of
financial pressures. While the household income of Hispanic students
entering college has increased by five percent since 1975, the
report says, the gap between their median household income and that
of whites has increased fourfold (to $32,965 in 2006). As a result,
says Jos Luis Santos, assistant professor of education at UCLA,
"adequate financial support remains critical to both college choice
and persistence for Latinos." Meanwhile, the institute notes, the
proportion of first-generation Latino students for whom neither
parent had education beyond high school dropped from 69.6 percent in
1971 (when the proportion was 37.3 percent for non-Hispanic whites),
to 38.2 percent in 2005 (compared with 13.2 percent for white
students). The institute's director, Sylvia Hurtado, a co-author of
the report, says Latinos are "just barely catching up to where
non-Hispanics were in the 1970s, which is really scary. That means
-- yes, everyone has seen some progress, but we're still in last
place and we're running in place."
See the UCLA report at
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/snippet.php?id=6
For another take, go to
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/16/latino
Spotlight on chronic absenteeism in NYC elementary schools
"While New York City has long struggled with attendance problems in
the high schools and middle schools, problems at the elementary
schools have been largely overlooked until now," says the Center for
New York City Affairs at the New School in releasing a report about
chronic absenteeism in the lower grades. Last year, according to the
report, more than 90,000 children in grades K-5 -- more than 20
percent of enrollment -- missed at least one month of school, and
the proportion approached one-third of the students in high-poverty
neighborhoods. The report details how chronic absenteeism at an
early age can signal "much more serious problems in a family, such
as domestic violence, child abuse, mental illness, and criminal
justice system involvement, all commonly associated with child
welfare involvement." It calls for attacking the problem with strong
partnerships involving public schools, community organizations, and
other institutions, and it suggests an approach for "targeting
schools with the greatest need, including a possible structure for
supporting practical assessments."
Cash-for-grades program backed by Chicago's mayor
Defending a Chicago Public Schools program that pays students for
their academic achievements, Mayor Richard M. Daley has rejected
criticism that it amounts to "bribery," reports the Chicago
Sun-Times. Daley's comments came a day after nearly $266,000 in cash
rewards were distributed to 1,650 students in the city. The mayor
said suburban parents often rewarded their children for good grades,
so inner-city kids -- many of whom "have nothing" -- deserve similar
consideration. Speaking of public school students, he added: "Some
don't even have parents. They're lucky to get Christmas gifts.
They're lucky they get a hug once in a while. They get it at
school." Chicago's privately financed "Green for Grades" program,
currently operating in 20 high schools, offers freshmen and
sophomores $50 for each A they earn, $35 for each B, and $20 for
each C in English, math, science, social science, and physical
education in each five-week reporting period. Students get half
their earnings up front, and the rest when they graduate, but any F
grade disqualifies them for the marking period.
See the report at
http://www.ams.org/notices/200810/fea-gallian.pdf
Rhode Island colleges expecting more veterans
Anticipating an influx of veterans with new G.I. benefits, Rhode
Island's public colleges are taking steps to help them integrate
into the student body and deal with bureaucratic problems, the
Associated Press reports. Last year, about 1,220 veterans or their
family members used government benefits to attend college in Rhode
Island, with nearly 60 percent attending public institutions. The
numbers are expected to increase next year as a result of the
nation's new G.I. bill. At the University of Rhode Island, Christine
Dolan, co-chair of a committee that supports student veterans, said
colleges must be prepared to provide extra help to veterans,
especially those who have been involved in combat. "If you've been
deployed to a war zone, you're not really getting a lot of sleep,"
she noted, and veterans may experience difficulty in returning to a
civilian routine. "That becomes a factor in their learning," said
Dolan, a military spouse.
Virginia parents push for less-stringent grading system
Concerned that their schools' grading system is too strict -- the
cutoff for earning an A is 93 points, instead of the more common 90
-- a group of parents in Loudon County, VA, is agitating for a more
standard grading system for their district, the Washington Post
reports. At issue is competition for college admissions and
scholarships, with parents concerned that decision makers may not be
aware of Loudon's system. Says Kathy Lague, co-founder of the
parent-led group Fairgrade: "If you have an 84 in Loudoun County,
you have a C. We're one of the few counties that has that." A
similar drive is taking place in neighboring Fairfax County, where
the cutoff point for an A is 94. Although many universities in the
mid-Atlantic, where the bulk of Loudon and Fairfax students apply,
are familiar with the counties' approach to grading, parents worry
that schools outside the region are not. Higher grades also can
affect non-academic matters, such as the cost of car insurance.
Baylor ends SAT incentives
In response to widespread criticism, Baylor University has ended its
practice of offering incentives for previously admitted students to
retake the SAT and improve their scores, reports the Chronicle of
Higher Education. Students were offered a $300 bookstore credit for
retaking the college admissions test, and $1,000 if their scores
rose 50 points or more. Baylor spokesman John Barry said the
practice was aimed at distributing more aid to students by raising
their SAT scores, but critics said it also appeared to be an attempt
to influence national college rankings.
Also see
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/10/16/baylor_backs_off_plan_offering_perks_to_retake_sat/
BRIEFLY NOTED
PEN's annual conference: hotel deadline extended
The hotel reservation deadline for Public Education Network's annual
conference (San Francisco, November 16-18) has been extended to
October 31. Program details can be found
online.
States compared on link between children's health and parents' income, education
The health shortfalls experienced by children of low-income and
poorly educated parents are examined state by state in a report from
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Arkansas voters to weigh lottery for college scholarships
The state's Supreme Court has cleared the way for a ballot proposal
on November 4.
Disputes raging over spread of school dress codes
Parents and students are taking free-speech claims to courts
throughout the nation.
How Richmond's schools produced big gains in reading
The benefits of scientifically based instruction are described in
American Educator, a journal published by the American Federation of
Teachers.
Helping students with disabilities
The federal Office of Special Education Programs has released a
toolkit on teaching and assessing students with disabilities.
Dealing with the dropout crisis
The National Dropout Prevention Center broadcasts a free radio call-in program over the Internet.
'Education and the Next President': View the archived webcast
A debate between education advisers to Barack Obama and John McCain
-- held at Teachers College, Columbia University, on October 22 --
is available on Education Week's website.
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