The biggest problem facing U.S. community colleges? Remedial math
In an important piece in yesterday’s Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, Matthew Miller looked at remedial math classes taught at the community college level. These are courses that teach such basics as graphing y=2x+5 or solving for x in the equation x2 + 2x = 8. (Readers uncertain how to solve for x in the equation x2 + 2x […]
Recess round-up: August 23, 2010
A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break! Charter schools: A mainstay in New Jersey’s poorest cities, charter schools are competing for funds against affluent suburbs. (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Class size: In 2002, Florida approved a constitutional amendment to limit class size from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. By 2010-2011, class-size […]
Assignment memo: Basic-skills programs
An estimated 20 percent of the American workforce is functionally illiterate. And a 2006 survey of 431 companies revealed that the vast majority of young adults entering the workforce lack basic skills. To remedy this problem, many companies turn to training programs tailored to the needs of specific jobs to get workers up to speed. […]
Recess round-up: August 20, 2010
A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break! Federal funding: Opting not to make a statement about state sovereignty, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert “broke with conservatives” in the state legislature and plans to apply for $101 million in stimulus funds for teacher and staff salaries. (Examiner.com) […]
In U.S. schools, where’s the rigor?
A quarter-century ago, the nation was transfixed by the question, Where’s the beef? Now, the question we should be asking ourselves about our nation’s schools is, Where’s the rigor? Or, Where’s the academic beef? Concerns about the lack of rigor in U.S. schools were renewed yesterday, when new data were published on how prepared — […]
Recess round-up: August 19, 2010
A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break! Federal funding: South Carolina may not be able to get $143 million in stimulus money to save teacher jobs because it doesn’t currently spend enough on higher education. (Bloomberg Businessweek) Teacher evaluations: Parents and community members argue both […]
A New Jersey miracle? Perhaps.
Should education reporters be flocking to New Jersey to write about its graduation “miracle”? A report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education released this week showcases New Jersey, and Newark in particular, as a rare bright spot in a dismal picture of graduation rates for black males in America, and the report’s authors attribute New […]
Recess round-up: August 18, 2010
A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break! Community colleges: In Boston, some students are burning the midnight oil in an attempt to move from a job to a career. (Inside Higher Ed) Insider’s guide: HerCampus is a collegiette’s guide to campus life. (WomenRising) EduJobs: Despite […]
Colleges that graduate students deep in debt
If April showers bring May flowers, what does July heat bring? Not August meat. August is instead open season on college rankings — which are, of course, mostly fluff. The idea that the overall quality of U.S. colleges and universities can be reduced to a single number, which allows institutions to be rank-ordered first to last, is hugely […]
Recess round-up: August 17, 2010
A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break! Achievement gap: In “‘post-racial’ America, separate and unequal education is still the norm.” (The Atlantic) Graduation rates: Only 47 percent of America’s black males graduate from high school on time, compared with 78 percent of their white male […]
