Between 2012/14 and 2017, the average scores for U.S. adults with less than a high school education increased in literacy, while, for adults with a high school education, they decreased in both literacy and numeracy. The National Center for Education Statistics released a new web-based first look report today November 15, 2019, entitled “ U.S. PIAAC 2017 First Look Web Report. ” This web-based fi
A a new report uses data from the expanded College Scorecard to rank 4,500 colleges and universities by return on investment. A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges finds that bachelor's degrees from private colleges, on average, have higher returns on investment than degrees from public colleges 40 years after enrollment. Community colleges and many certificate programs have the highest retu
A new study looks at what makes organized sports fun for kids, and some of the findings might surprise you. The new study, published today, dispels the popular myth that what makes sports the most fun for girls are the social aspects, like friendships, while for boys the fun factor has to do with competition. "Our data indicate girls and boys are more similar than different when it comes to what
As children grow, building a positive sense of identity – informed in part by social categories like race, gender, religion, social class, and more – is critical to healthy development and, ultimately, to their life outcomes and success. Most often, children learn about and explore their identities through open conversations and experiences with the nurturing adults in their lives. However, based
A recent report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute examines whether average achievement in a school district increases as the “market share” of charter schools rises. The report argues that there is a positive competition effect. Yongmei Ni of the University of Utah reviewed Rising Tide: Charter School Market Share and Student Achievement , and determined that its findings have limited use in g
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. According to the American Psychiatric Association, this disability is characterized by "persistent deficits in social communication and social interactions across multiple contexts". Children with autism have an obvious disadvantage in starting and carrying meaningful conversations with their peer
This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year 2017-18 data from the 49th Annual NASSGAP survey. Data Highlights •, an increase of about 6.6 percent in nominal terms and about 4.8 percent in constant dollar terms f
Far Too Many States Get Failing Grades Making the Grade 2019: How Fair Is School Funding in Your State? , released by Education Law Center (ELC) today, provides compelling evidence that K-12 public school funding continues to be deeply unfair in many states and a major factor contributing to disparities in education resources, opportunities and outcomes for the 50 million public school children a
In 1992, Teen Talk Barbie was released with the controversial voice fragment, "Math class is hard." While the toy's release met with public backlash, this underlying assumption persists, propagating the myth that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields due to biological deficiencies in math aptitude. Jessica Cantlon at Carnegie Mellon University led a
Prior research shows that English learners (ELs) lag behind their peers in academic achievement and education attainment. The persisting gap is partly attributed to ELs’ limited exposure to academic content. This article investigates the efficacy of a summer credit recovery program aimed at expanding high school newcomer ELs’ access to academic subjects. Leveraging student-level data from a large
Over half of community college students place into developmental education, resulting in significant financial costs. This study extends previous research demonstrating that using placement tests to assign students into developmental courses results in frequent misplacement, using Florida data to explore the extent to which students are misplaced into their first college course by more than one l
A new analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health finds a surprisingly high prevalence of prescription opioid use among youth. As recently as 2015-2016, 21 percent of adolescents and 32 percent of young adults said they had used these drugs in the past year. Nearly 4 percent and 8 percent, respectively, reported misusing opioids. Findings were published this week in PLoS Medi
