Education Research Report:
THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT
Colleges imroving graduation rates for African-American, Latino students
Nationwide, college graduation rates are far too low, particularly among students of color, a fast-growing demographic in America. But two reports released by The Education Trust show that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Advancing to Completion: Increasing degree attainment by improving graduation rates and closing gaps for African-American students” and “Advancing to Completion: Increasing degree attainment by improving graduation rates and closing gaps for Hispanic students” spotlight colleges of all types that are producing better results by improving graduation rates and/or n... more »
States Embrace Higher Standards on Exit Exams
*Schools and Students Will Feel the Impact - More rigorous standards will pose challenges* After more than a decade of growing reliance on high school exit exams, states are rethinking how they use these popular assessments, a new Center on Education Policy (CEP) report finds. New data released today show that eight of the 26 states with exit exam policies have aligned these exams to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or other college- and career-readiness standards, and 10 more states plan to do so in the near future, according to “State High School Exit Exams: A Policy in Tr... more »
Civil Rights Project Reports Deepening School Segregation
The Civil Rights Project today released three new studies showing persistent and serious increases in segregation by race and poverty, with very dramatic results in the South and West, the nation’s two largest regions where students of color now comprise the majority of public school enrollment. Nationally, the average black or Latino student now attends school with a substantial majority of children in poverty, double the level in schools of whites and Asians. This new research by the Civil Rights Project includes an extensive report on national trends, “E Pluribus… Separation: De... more »
America’s Education System Neglects Almost Half of the Nation’s Black and Latino Male Students
A new report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, *The Urgency of Now: Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males*, finds that only 52 percent of Black male and 58 percent of Latino male ninth-graders graduate from high school four years later, while 78 percent of White, non-Latino male ninth-graders graduate four years later. The report suggests that without a policy framework that creates opportunity for all students, strengthens supports for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between support-based reforms and standards-driven refor... more »
Catchy vegetable names increase affinity for greens
Would you rather eat “carrots” or “crunchy yummy carrots”? Or, if you’re a youngster, “X-Ray Vision Carrots”? Kids seem to have an aversion to eating vegetables, but can this be changed? Previous work conducted by Wansink et al., in 2005 revealed that sensory perceptions of descriptive foods are better than plain dishes with no fancy descriptors. But can children be influenced to prefer vegetables using this same approach? To find out, researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Collin Payne, and Matthew Klinger conducted a couple of studies to explore whether a simple change such as us... more »
One in Three Victims of Teen Dating Violence Has Had More than One Abuser
More than one-third of young adults who reported being victims of dating violence as teenagers had two or more abusive partners, a new study suggests. The study involved 271 college students who recalled dating violence - including physical, sexual and psychological abuse - from ages 13 to 19. Overall, nearly two-thirds of both men and women reported some type of abuse during their teenage years, which falls in line with other studies. But it was surprising how many teen victims had two or more abusive partners, said Amy Bonomi, lead author of the study and associate professor of... more »
8 out of 10 LGBT Students Experience Harassment, But Things Are Improving
The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has released *The 2011 National School Climate Survey*, the only national study that for over a decade has consistently examined the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in America's schools. The 2011 survey found for the first time both decreased levels of biased language and victimization and increased levels of student access to LGBT-related school resources and support. The 2011 survey demonstrates a continued decline in anti-LGBT language over the years, and for the first time the 2011 surve... more »
Higher Education Gaps Report
A recent congressionally mandated report released by the National Center for Education Statistics documents the scope and nature of a number of differences between sex and racial/ethnic groups in education preparation and achievement, as well as differences in postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment between males and females within and across racial/ethnic. The Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study, also called the Higher Ed: GAPS report, presents 46 indicators grouped under 7 main topics: demographic context; characteristics of schools; student behavior...more »
Poll: China is Ahead of the U.S. and Germany in Use of Technology in Learning
*# Chinese students in major cities say they spend more time using technology in school than American and German students # Global poll respondents believe that technology gives students a more personalized experience that they value, but technology needs are not being met in schools today # Teachers feel less comfortable using new technologies and social media than their students and want more professional development * Students, teachers and parents say that technology needs are not being met in school today, according to an opinion poll commissioned by Dell. Supporting responde... more »
5 Alternative Routes To Middle Class Jobs
There are 29 million jobs that pay middle-class wages (between $35,000 and $75,000 annually). Nearly 40 percent pay more than $50,000 a year, according to the new study released jointly by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and Civic Enterprises. There are five pathways that provide career and technical training that lead to these jobs. Altogether, these Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways account for $524 billion of investment in postsecondary education and training each year. The study examines each of these five CTE pathways in major detail:... more »
Measurement of Literacy Growth in Save the Children's Rural Literacy Programs
At the request of Save the Children, U.S. Programs, POLICY STUDIES ASSOCIATES, INC. is evaluating the participation and literacy achievement of targeted children in the organization's literacy programs, which Save the Children implements in rural communities across the country. POLICY STUDIES ASSOCIATES, INC. has collected and reported on participation and outcome data in each of the first eight years of program operation. The evaluation found that the literacy programs served a population of children whose average reading skills were significantly below grade level and that thos... more »
Evaluation of the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Scholars Program
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) is a nonprofit organization based in New York City that administers the Scholars Program. The SEO Scholars Program is an academic after-school counseling service that aims to help low-income public high school students gain admission to and graduate from competitive colleges. In the first evaluation of the program, POLICY STUDIES ASSOCIATES, INC. compared the high school academic outcomes and college enrollment of SEO Scholars to the corresponding high school academic outcomes and college enrollment of a group of similar students. The eva... more »
State and District Receipt of Recovery Act K-12 Education Funds
This report uses Department of Education and publicly-available data sources to examine the distribution of Recovery Act K-12 education funds. In particular, data from Recovery.gov (a new cross-agency website developed to gather and make public reporting on the receipt and use of Recovery Act funds) made it possible to examine both grant and sub-grant award amounts and to track funds at the state and district levels. Specifically, the report examines (1) how much states and districts received from the Recovery Act and its different programs and (2) whether and how the distributio... more »
Big Gaps in Earnings for College Grads
*Study Shows Wage Disparities Between Degree Programs and Schools* A new study of the first-year earning power of students graduating from public colleges and universities in Tennessee finds that the school you attend and the major you select can make a big difference in what you earn. In some cases, an associate's degree pays more than a four-year diploma. The report is the result of a partnership involving the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and College Measures, a nonpartisan organization that provides data a...more »