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Item(s) found: 292
Noncognitive Measures: The Academic Trend That Could Change Everything
Date CapturedFriday March 08 2013, 6:12 PM
Alan Boyle [For decades, standardized test scores, GPAs, and graduation ranks have been the gold standard in college admissions and hiring. But in recent years, there's been a shift to consider not just these hard numbers but also the more nuanced factors known as noncognitive measures that give a glimpse into who you are as a person and how likely you are to succeed, regardless of your knowledge level. Schools like Boston College and Tufts University and employers like Google want to know more than your test scores: they want to know about your personality and potential for achievement.]
DECEMBER 2011 – REVISED FERPA REGULATIONS: AN OVERVIEW FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS
Date CapturedMonday November 12 2012, 11:00 AM
It is important for schools to have directory information policies, as schools may not do even mundane activities (such as publishing yearbooks or creating graduation programs) without having designated the items about the students contained in the publications as directory information. For example, without a directory information policy, FERPA would require schools to obtain consent for every student every time it wants to publish a yearbook. However, many schools have been forgoing designations of directory information, as they have concluded that such designations would put students at risk of becoming targets of marketing campaigns, the media, or even victims of criminal acts
A failing grade
Date CapturedSaturday September 01 2007, 9:11 AM
Daily Freeman opines, "But by nearly any measure, a program that spends $559,000 of taxpayers' money to graduate two students - or 11 students -- is wasting money. Even using the college's numbers, you're talking more than $50,000 per graduate from a community college."
The Return on Investment for Improving California's High School Graduation Rate
Date CapturedFriday August 24 2007, 4:44 PM
Belfield, C. and Levin, H., "We review a large range of educational investments that might ensure more students graduate from high school in California. We identify educational interventions for which there is reasonably solid evidence of their efficacy to raise the rate of high school graduation, those for which there is promise, and those for which we have no relevant information. For each of these interventions we calculate the costs to the taxpayer of delivering the intervention. We calculate the delivery costs and the cost of producing one extra graduate. We then compare these costs to the economic benefits to the taxpayer and to the overall citizenry of California from each additional high school graduate. Under most scenarios, the economic benefits are substantially greater than the costs. However, this conclusion is sensitive to the funding source: federal governments gain significantly more from education than state and local governments, even as the latter are primarily responsible for funding."
The Economic Losses from High School Dropouts in California
Date CapturedFriday August 24 2007, 7:47 AM
Belfield, C. and Levin, H. "This paper calculates the fiscal and social burdens from high school dropouts in California. We map educational attainment in California for current cohorts of students and young adults. This reveals in stark terms the low levels of educational attainment across the state. Next, the amount of government spending in California is catalogued; this shows how much is spent on various services and by which levels of government. Our main focus is on the economic consequences of inadequate education on earnings, on tax revenues, and on spending on health, crime, and welfare (net of the resources required to provide additional education). For each of these four domains the effect of education has been assessed statistically. This effect is then multiplied by the respective economic burden from each cohort of 20-year olds who fail to graduate in order to get an overall total cost. Using a consistent accounting framework, these costs generate a figure of what is being lost by failing to ensure that all students graduate from high school. The economic magnitudes are substantial."
Persistence and Attainment of 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years
Date CapturedMonday August 20 2007, 2:42 PM
Findings showed that among the beginning students who were recent (2003) high school graduates, enrolled full time in the fall of 2003, and had bachelor’s degree plans, 70 percent were still enrolled at their first institution without a degree, 4 percent had attained a degree or certificate at their first institution, and 20 percent had transferred elsewhere without a degree by June 2006. Berkner, L., He, S., Mason, M., and Wheeless, S. (2007). Persistence and Attainment of 2003–04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years (NCES 2007-169). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Wappingers looks at special ed needs
Date CapturedTuesday August 14 2007, 7:59 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "A Wappingers school district committee is working to create a one-year action plan to address the graduation and dropout rates of special education students by focusing on improving literacy and instruction, improving special education programs and addressing behavior issues that may lead to less instruction time."
Are City [NYC] Vocational Education High Schools Being Left Behind?
Date CapturedFriday August 10 2007, 8:55 AM
NYC Independent Budget Office Fiscal Brief -- August, 2007.
City trade school courses don't make grade
Date CapturedFriday August 10 2007, 8:43 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city's vocational classes aren't up to snuff, a new report from the Independent Budget Office charges. Only 12% of career and technical programs are certified by the state, meaning the courses taken by about 110,000 high school students could be lacking. And only nine of the 22 vocational schools - 41% - meet federal No Child Left Behind standards, compared with 65% of city public schools overall."
A Letter from Selected Civil Rights Groups on Multiple Measures
Date CapturedThursday August 09 2007, 11:26 AM
EXCERPT: To counter the narrowing of the curriculum and exclusion of important subjects that has been extensively documented as a consequence of NCLB, the new law should also allow states to include other subjects, using multiple forms of assessment, in an index of school indicators. To ensure strong attention is given to reading and math, these subjects can be weighted more heavily. Graduation rates and grade promotion rates should be given substantial weight in any accountability system. Other relevant indicators of school progress, such as attendance and college admission rates, could be included.
Student-tracking system launches
Date CapturedSunday August 05 2007, 5:38 PM
Tulsa World reports "It will also provide a more accurate assessment of dropout and graduation rates and student mobility, said State Superintendent Sandy Garrett. 'Mobility is a huge issue in today's world,' she said 'People move quite frequently.' For some children, that can mean transferring to two, three or even four different schools during the school year, she said. 'With this system, records can be instantly transferred to new schools,' Garrett said."
Graduation Matters: Improving Accountability for High School Graduation
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 8:26 AM
By Daria Hall, Assistant Director for K-12 Policy at The Education Trust. "The Education Trust report provides recommendations for policy changes at both the federal and state levels, including the following priorities for NCLB reauthorization: * Crafting meaningful graduation-rate accountability provisions in the law and providing high schools with a greater share of the federal investment in education so they have more resources to meet ambitious improvement goals; * Targeting federal investments to improve high school curriculum and assessments; and *Better directing funds and interventions toward the lowest performing schools to ensure that high-poverty and high-minority schools get their fair share of the tools they need to be successful – strong teachers, high standards and high-quality curriculum and assessments."
GRADUATION MATTERS: How NCLB allows states to set the bar too low for improving high school grad rates
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 8:21 AM
Despite the national focus on reforming America’s high schools, most states are setting woefully low goals for improving graduation rates and are not setting goals for ensuring that more low-income, minority, disabled and English language learner students graduate, according to a report released today by The Education Trust.
New York State ranks 44th in graduation rate
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 8:15 AM
Times Union reports, "'We're a lot more honest, I think, than others,' said Education Department spokesman Tom Dunn. But he conceded that 'expectations must be much higher.' Yet the report found that New York, like many states, actually exaggerates its graduation rate in some instances. The report says the state told the U.S. Department of Education that 77 percent of its high school freshmen graduated in four years. But by what the report says is a more accurate measure, the figure was 12 points lower."
Education in the Twin Tiers: Career center on track
Date CapturedTuesday July 31 2007, 8:41 AM
Star-Gazette reports, "'It really is designed to support anybody who wants to look at getting back to work or seeking education,' she [Brenda English] said. The center will be able to address adult literacy issues, provide classes for high school equivalency diplomas and upgrade the skills of people who don't have a high school diploma. The center will also provide noncredit training so people can get a job immediately, as well as the opportunity to begin studies toward two-year degrees that would be completed at CCC's Spencer Hill campus."
Time for a surge in war to save our kids
Date CapturedSunday July 29 2007, 9:18 AM
NY Daily News guest essayist Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and founding chairman of America's Promise Alliance opines, "Research shows that when young people receive four of five basic resources, which we call the Five Promises - caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others - they are twice as likely to receive A's in school, twice as likely to avoid violence and 40% more likely to volunteer. Together, we must ensure that 15 million more at-risk American young people experience these promises. Don't look at young people who are angry or adrift, standing on some city streetcorner, and think they're someone else's problem. They're not. By volunteering to help in this battle, you can help us win the war."
City hatches nest egg savings plan for foster care grads
Date CapturedFriday July 27 2007, 8:34 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The five-year pilot anti-poverty program is designed to teach those on the verge of leaving the foster care program financial skills because they don't have relatives to lean on when they exit the system. Roughly 1,000 young adults age out of foster care annually, and many end up homeless, unemployed or in low-wage jobs."
Rural schools gather to enhance programs
Date CapturedTuesday July 24 2007, 7:14 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Nearly 100 educators, principals, superintendents and students from rural school districts in Central New York gathered at Cornell University's Becker House Monday for the beginning of a two-day conference focused on improving rural student achievement. The conference is focused on increasing graduation rates among low-income, rural students and preparing rural students for higher education."
Rochester Mayor Duffy's visits to dropouts would send strong message
Date CapturedSunday July 22 2007, 8:16 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Imagine the mayor and the school superintendent at the front doors of some of these kids. It would send a strong message that someone cares and holds them accountable for their actions."
Busing to continue for Dayton high school students
Date CapturedSaturday July 21 2007, 6:56 AM
Dayton Business Journal (Ohio) reports, "Superintendent Percy Mack said continuing busing will help the district avoid losing traction in its improvements in attendance and graduation rates. Attendance has risen to 91 percent from 85 percent in 2001; graduation rates rose from to 79.5 percent in 2006 from 51 percent in 2001."
Cornell works with rural schools to increase grad rates
Date CapturedFriday July 20 2007, 8:09 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "About 100 representatives from 18 rural school districts in Central New York will attend a two-day conference starting Monday at Cornell University to discuss ways the university can help the districts improve student achievement. The conference will also focus on increasing graduation rates among low-income rural students and preparing rural students for higher education."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon Offers Commencement Address at Brighter Choice Charter Schools 4th Grade Graduation
Date CapturedThursday July 12 2007, 9:47 AM
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon today highlighted the efforts of our nation's charter schools to empower parents and improve access to quality education for all students during a visit to Brighter Choice Charter Schools in Albany, N.Y. Offering the keynote address at the school's 4th grade commencement ceremony, Secretary Simon congratulated the students and teachers for their hard work to achieve the top ranking among Albany schools in English and math assessment scores. Additionally, Secretary Simon underscored the importance of No Child Left Behind reauthorization this year and touted President Bush's proposal to expand the availability of charter schools and provide more options for families.
Forbes flunks Ulster County schools
Date CapturedWednesday July 11 2007, 7:46 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "The study said Ulster County schools spend an average of $12,482 per pupil yet have a graduation rate below 84 percent - and the average SAT score barely cracks 1,000. Area school officials were quick to attack the study."
New Math May Lower Graduation Numbers
Date CapturedThursday July 05 2007, 8:59 AM
Washington Post reports, "Now, educators are taking a closer look at attrition, the winnowing-down of a high school population over time, as the basis for a new and more accurate -- and less flattering -- way of calculating the graduation rate. All 50 governors have agreed to a new method for calculating the graduation rate. Their proposal, which will be adopted in Virginia by 2008, in the District by 2010 and in Maryland by 2011, is fairly simple: Divide the number of freshman in one year by the number of graduates four years later, adjusting for students who transfer in or out or repeat grades."
Gangs, dropouts fuel city crime
Date CapturedTuesday July 03 2007, 8:20 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Reducing crime in the Rochester community is going to take the aggressive targeting of two key problems: the high school dropout rate and the presence of gang activity. The dropout rate is a well-known struggle in the city, but the prevalence of gangs isn't as widely discussed."
Diverse community can turn around our segregated schools
Date CapturedMonday July 02 2007, 8:22 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "City schools, unlike those in the suburbs, must deal with the social and economic impediments to learning such as poverty, joblessness and teen pregnancy. And they shouldn't be expected to go it alone if the district's abysmal graduation rate and poor test scores are to turn around. There must be a communitywide effort to improve city schools. Maybe that should be the new diversity model — all segments of the community pitching in."
Small Schools Are Ahead in Graduation
Date CapturedSaturday June 30 2007, 8:35 AM
NY Time JULIE BOSMAN reports, "Graduation rates at 47 new small public high schools that have opened since 2002 are substantially higher than the citywide average, an indication that the Bloomberg administration’s decision to break up many large failing high schools has achieved some early success. Most of the schools have made considerable advances over the low-performing large high schools they replaced. Eight schools out of the 47 small schools graduated more than 90 percent of their students. One campus of small schools at the old Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, for example, reported a 92 percent four-year graduation rate this month. In 2002, 40 percent of its students graduated."
Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005
Date CapturedThursday June 28 2007, 9:02 PM
This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2005, and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2005), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Among other findings, the report shows that in students living in low-income families were approximately six times more likely to drop out of high school between 2004 and 2005 than of their peers from high-income families. Laird, J., DeBell, M., Kienzl, G., and Chapman, C. (2007). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005 (NCES 2007- 059). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 28, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
New Hampshire Governor Lynch Signs Law Aimed at Increasing New Hampshire’s High School Graduation Rate
Date CapturedWednesday June 27 2007, 8:54 AM
AllAmericanPatriots.com reports, "New Hampshire Governor John Lynch today signed into law legislation raising the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18, as part of an overall statewide effort to increase New Hampshire’s high school graduation rate. The legislation is one of Gov. Lynch’s top priorities."
Students With Disabilities Make Gains, But Overall Achievement and Graduation Rates Still Too Low
Date CapturedMonday June 25 2007, 4:47 PM
New York State Education Department PRESS RELEASE: Data on the performance of special education students released today shows progress in the following areas: * Achievement has improved in grades 3-8 English and math. * Fewer students are being educated in separate settings. * More are taking and passing Regents exams each year. * More are graduating and earning Regents Diplomas each year. * And more are going to college than a decade ago.
Graduation season: Don't forget the dropouts
Date CapturedFriday June 22 2007, 8:29 AM
Ithaca Journal opines, "For those who don't get their high school diploma, the statistics are not promising. Compared with other people their age, the dropout is more likely to end up in prison, divorced, unemployed, living in poverty, unhealthy or receiving public assistance, according to a report on high school dropouts from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The dropout earns about $9,200 less a year than high school graduates. And a study conducted in 2001 found that four out of 10 young adults who did not receive a high school diploma received some type of government assistance. When the Ithaca City School District and the Village at Ithaca published the first Equity Report Card, we were particularly concerned that more than four out of 10 African American, Latino or Native American children who entered ninth grade in 2001 did not graduate in 2005."
His Charge: Find a Key to Students’ Success
Date CapturedThursday June 21 2007, 8:17 AM
NY Times reports, "His [Roland G. Fryer] first job, though, he said, will be to mine data — from graduation rates to test scores to demographic information — to find out why there are wide gulfs between schools. Why, for example, does one school in Bedford-Stuyvesant do so much better than a school just down the block? And he will monitor the pilot program to pay fourth- and seventh-grade students as much as $500 for doing well on a series of standardized tests. That program will begin in 40 schools this fall. He hopes to find other ways to motivate students. 'I don’t know what it is, but I will tell you what it can’t be,' Dr. Fryer said. 'It can’t be what happened when I was in schools, you know, people come and say, you know, "Go to school and get a good job."’ Words like that, he said, were not enough, because 'this dream that we are all talking about is less tangible to people who have not actually seen someone making the dream real.'”
Anti-truancy efforts begin to pay off for Rockford
Date CapturedTuesday June 12 2007, 9:41 AM
Rockford Register opines, "Truancy court may seem harsh, but it is not nearly as harsh as life without a good education. Kids who go to school regularly get better grades. Students who enjoy success at school are more likely to graduate. Teens who graduate are more likely to get better jobs and earn more money to support themselves and their families. Truant students are three times more likely to turn to crime than those who attend school regularly. We have a new jail for those students, but would rather see them turn their lives around than become guests at the criminal justice complex."
Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06
Date CapturedFriday June 08 2007, 10:43 AM
This report presents 2005-06 school year information at the national and state level on student enrollment by grade, numbers of teachers and other education staff, numbers of high school completers, and the averaged freshman graduaution rate for 2004-05.
Four simple steps can boost grad rate Reworking Rochester: Schools
Date CapturedThursday June 07 2007, 6:41 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Michael Christman, president of the New York State Institute of Educational Excellence opines, "An examination of district data provides us with four simple steps that can be accomplished now: Ensure that all students attend school regularly; ensure that all students are safe while at school; ensure that all students take the coursework necessary to graduate; and ensure that everyone is held accountable for the outcome."
Some High Schools Avoid Valedictorians
Date CapturedTuesday June 05 2007, 10:20 AM
NPR Morning Edition, June 4, 2007 -- Steve Inskeep reports, "Some high schools are getting rid of a senior class tradition — naming a valedictorian. They say that lowering competition among students is better for their overall success. Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota will graduate its last valedictorians this year. Next year, exceptional students will receive just an honors diploma."
State improves tracking of student performance, information
Date CapturedSunday June 03 2007, 10:18 AM
The Journal News reports, "Because every public school and charter school student has been given a unique 10-digit identification number, it is possible to track students as they move from school to school, anywhere in the state. That will help the state develop more accurate graduation and dropout rates. The system, which will be maintained by an outside contractor, also holds the promise of richer analysis of student performance. Musser said it would be possible, for example, to analyze the relationship between a pupil's performance on third-grade tests and his or her achievement in upper grades. Such research will help the state and schools develop education policy and help students who are poor performers in lower grades be able to pass high school Regents exams."
Local schools make radical changes to battle dropout rate
Date CapturedSunday June 03 2007, 10:10 AM
The Journal News reports, "From creating evening and weekend classes to instituting formal programs that allow students five years to graduate, the schools have made radical changes in an effort to boost achievement and keep kids in school. But officials say there are more complex reasons behind this life-changing decision made by too many teens. Often, schools are blamed for a student's choice to leave, but educators say many drop out for myriad reasons, including incarceration, drug abuse, problems at home or other reasons outside the purview of the classroom."
Driving privilege linked to attendance helps keep students in school
Date CapturedSaturday June 02 2007, 10:42 AM
Jackson County Floridan reports, "When high school graduation ceremonies took place across Florida recently, it's probable a state attendance law passed in 2004 kept at least some of the students from dropping out."
Demilitarizing What the Pentagon Knows About Developing Young People: A New Paradigm for Educating Students Who Are Struggling in School and in Life
Date CapturedFriday June 01 2007, 12:53 PM
CCF Working Paper, May 2007, Hugh B. Price, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies. "Millions of adolescents are marginalized academically and destined for oblivion in the twenty-first century economy. They barely, if at all, will be able to uphold their obligations as citizens and providers. The U.S. military figured out how to nurture and unleash the potential of young people like these generations ago. By demilitarizing and deploying what the Pentagon knows about educating and developing aimless young people, these troubled and troublesome young Americans can be transformed into a valued social and economic asset to our nation."
Institute for Student Achievement Receives $18,000 Investment From the Long Island Community Foundation
Date CapturedWednesday May 30 2007, 10:09 AM
This grant will support ISA's partnership with Hempstead High School, where ISA is working to transform the school into four small, personalized and academically small learning communities that graduate students on time and college ready. The conversion of Hempstead High School brings together three institutions, ISA, Adelphi University and the Hempstead School District, that share a vision for the development of Hempstead High School into a school of academic excellence. This transformation represents a critical "first" for Long Island, as it is the most ambitious conversion of a large, comprehensive high school ever to be undertaken in the region. The conversion of the school, which serves approximately 1,800 students, will not be merely the downsizing of a large school. It will be a culture shift -- from a community characterized by low expectations, impersonal relationships and poor instruction -- to a school characterized by high expectations, high student academic achievement and a personalized learning environment that welcomes students and parents. This shift will result in an increased student attendance rate, an increased course passing rate and an increased graduation rate.
Community School lessens dropout crisis
Date CapturedWednesday May 23 2007, 8:17 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Gerry Friedman, retired as principal of the TST Community School opines, "Everybody knows that 'one size fits all' does not. That is as true in education as in other aspects of our lives. The TST Community School was established as an alternative to a student's regular high school. It is successful because it has a cadre of highly qualified, experienced, outstanding teachers and staff who specialize in working with students who have not been successful in other schools. The cost is reasonable when the aid is considered. The school has been successful for many years. If school districts are to successfully work on reducing their dropout rate, allowing students to attend the Community School should be a major part of the plan."
Mike gives high marks for rising scores
Date CapturedTuesday May 22 2007, 7:23 AM
NY Daily News reports, "State officials are expected today to release lackluster reading scores for city elementary schoolers, but that didn't stop Mayor Bloomberg yesterday from touting near-perfect success in improving the schools. 'By virtually every objective measure - attendance, promotion rates, test scores, you name it - student achievement is on the rise,' the mayor said as he released City Hall's version of the 2006 graduation rate. City officials put the graduation rate at a record-breaking 60% because they include kids who graduate in August after summer school, kids who drop out and earn GEDs and special education students who earn individualized diplomas."
New Hampshire dropout bill passes House
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 8:48 AM
Concord Monitor reports, "The bill would do more than simply raise the attendance age or require 16- to 18-year-olds to remain in the classroom against their will. An at-risk student 16 or older could leave the traditional school setting if the student worked with a parent or guardian and the school principal and guidance counselor to develop an 'alternative learning plan' as a route to a diploma or GED certificate. The alternative plans could include internships, community service, apprenticeships, online courses or other programming."
National Dropout Prevention Centers
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 7:40 PM
The mission of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network is to serve as a research center and resource network for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to reshape school and community environments to meet the needs of youth in at-risk situations so these students receive the quality education and services necessary to succeed academically and graduate from high school.
New Study Says NYC Small High School Reforms Boost Student Performance
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 10:52 PM
A report examining the first group of the new small high schools in New York City that opened four years ago finds that those schools are making significant progress with impressive graduation rates. According to “Rethinking High School: Inaugural Graduations at New York City’s New High Schools,” these small schools are beating the odds with graduation rates that are 20 percentage points higher than the citywide rate. The schools surveyed also had higher attendance and ninth-grade promotion rates, two predictors of graduation rates, according to WestEd. The most recent data available indicate that the average attendance rate at the 14 new schools was 89% in 2004-05. The ninth-grade promotion rate across the featured schools was 92% in the same year and 91% in 2005-2006, according to the report.
News & Notes
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 10:26 PM
Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education - P-16, May 8, 2007.
Rochester city schools will falter if leaders get faulty data on pupil progress
Date CapturedWednesday May 02 2007, 9:07 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Cynthia Elliott, Rochester Board of Education member opines, "There is no doubt in my mind that people genuinely want to help our children succeed. But that involvement will be ineffective and our goal of 100 percent graduation rates will not be realized if we don't have accurate information. Only with accurate information can we even begin to entertain the strategies to achieve academic excellence."
N.C.A.A. Cracks Down on Prep Schools and Angers Some
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 8:52 AM
NY Times reports, "The N.C.A.A. quietly passed legislation last week to continue its fight against prep schools that require minimal academic study. In perhaps its most significant move to deter diploma mills, the N.C.A.A. will limit high school students to one core course that would count toward college eligibility after a student’s four-year high school graduation date. The decision will shut down a glaring N.C.A.A. loophole, one exploited by diploma mills: students avoided graduating high school to pad their grade point average in a fifth year. The N.C.A.A. also hopes the new policy will help eliminate schools that exist solely to qualify players for college scholarships."
Another 'F' for Rochester city schools
Date CapturedMonday April 30 2007, 8:34 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Whether you accept the state's contention that the city's four-year graduation rate is 39 percent or the city's argument that it's really 53 percent, the point is that not enough is being done at every level, but especially in the middle grades, to prepare children for high-school work and the Regents testing mandate. The graduation rates mirror, in a way, what's happening on the eighth-grade math and language tests: very weak performance at too many schools that leads to students feeling at sea once they get to high school."
State probes test fraud in Uniondale schools
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2007, 9:31 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "The state is investigating potentially large-scale test fraud in the Uniondale school district, including alleged tampering with Regents exams required for graduation, state and local officials said. Investigators from the state attorney general's office questioned both school administrators and teachers last week, according to Uniondale officials who expressed anguish about the situation. The district plans to send out letters Monday to parents of the district's 6,400 students, acknowledging the state probe. Findings could be announced this week. Education Department officials said if any district staffers are implicated, students' scores on past tests would not be affected -- unless students themselves also are found culpable."
High school revelations
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2007, 9:18 AM
The Journal News opines, "More starkly than ever, the new data capture the gulfs between wealthy and poor school districts, between white and non-white students, between general education students and disabled ones. The only way to narrow those gaps is to quickly identify students in danger of failing to meet standards, consistently give them resources and supports, and for those still struggling in high school, give them the time they need to pull through."
Districts misreported 4-year graduation rates
Date CapturedSaturday April 28 2007, 10:02 AM
Times Union reports, "Musser and Alan Ray, another spokesman for the Education Department, said the state is unaware of any more districts with similar problems, although some have called in with questions about the data since it was made public on Wednesday. 'The problem is there are always a few that don't pay attention until they see it in the media,' said Ray.
Districts await correction on graduation data
Date CapturedFriday April 27 2007, 8:14 AM
Times Union reports, "'You can actually see why these things happen because it's a very complicated process,' said Jim Baldwin, superintendent at the Questar III BOCES, which helps school districts interpret the reams of data they must collect."
Course Credit Accrual and Dropping Out of High School
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 8:05 PM
By Gillian Hampden-Thompson (AIR), Gregory Kienzl (AIR), Bruce Daniel (KForce) and Akemi Kinukawa (Child Trends). The findings from the analysis indicate that high school dropouts earn fewer credits than do on-time graduates within each academic year, and the gap in course credits accrued between dropouts and on-time graduates increased across academic years. Differences were also observed in the course credit accrual of dropouts and on-time graduates by selected subjects (e.g., mathematics, science, and English). In addition, the gap in the cumulative number of course credits accrued between on-time graduates and dropouts grew more pronounced over time, and the disparity in cumulative course credits was most evident in the final academic year in which they earned any course credits.
Improving by degrees
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 10:16 AM
NY Daily News opines, "Many have attacked the reforms, and many have doubted whether students were actually learning more. Gains on standardized reading and math tests have been questioned as the products of dumbed-down exams. And Klein's own tally of rising graduation rates has been dismissed as statistical balderdash. His numbers and the state's figures differ because they count varying student populations, but Mills has now certified the trend. And it is happily up. So much so that Mills pointed other districts to some of the techniques now in use in the city's schools, virtually all of which hinge on constantly measuring the progress of individual students and tailoring teaching to their needs. The approach is at the heart of the drive by Bloomberg and Klein to hold everyone in every school accountable for producing results, as opposed to moving students along on a conveyor belt of failure. It's very basic, and it's working. Well done."
Rochester's 39% graduation rate is worst in N.Y.'s Big 4
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 10:12 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The City School District's four-year graduation rate of 39 percent is the lowest of New York's big four upstate city districts, according to state Education Department data released Wednesday. The district's rate dropped from 41 percent in 2005, according to the state. The big four city districts — Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and Yonkers — had an average rate of 45 percent in 2006. Statewide, the average for all schools was 67 percent."
Information & Reporting Services
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 9:15 AM
Graduation Data for New York Public Schools -- includes text and slides.
NEW GRADUATION RESULTS RELEASED FOR HIGH SCHOOLS STATEWIDE
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 9:07 AM
Statewide high school graduation results released today show that: Statewide, 72 percent of the students who started 9th grade in 2001 had graduated after 5 years, by June 30, 2006. Statewide, 67 percent of the students who started 9th grade in 2002 had graduated after 4 years. This is an increase of one percentage point from the 4-year graduation rate of students who started 9th grade in 2001. The 4-year graduation rate of African-American students increased from 44 to 47 percent between 2004 and 2006, although it remains far too low and far below the rate of white students. The 4-year graduation rate of Hispanic students increased from 41 to 45 percent between 2004 and 2006, although it also remains far too low. New York City has increased its 4-year graduation rate from 44 percent in 2004 to 50 percent in 2006.
GRAD TIDINGS: CITY'S RATES UP, BUT 50% OF HS KIDS ARE 'LATE'
Date CapturedThursday April 26 2007, 8:42 AM
NY Post KENNETH LOVETT in Albany and BILL SANDERSON and DAVID SEIFMAN in New York City report, "The new numbers also show that just 19 percent of students with disabilities in New York City graduate in four years compared to a 37 percent statewide average, and that English-language learners have actually seen their on-time graduation rates drop in the last three years, to 27 percent statewide and 22 percent in the city. Also, there is a significant gender gap, with 56 percent of female students and just 43 percent of male students in New York City graduating on time."
If you pay 'em, they will come!
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 10:20 AM
NY Daily News reports on Mayor Bloomberg's trip to Mexico, "The Mexican government says the payments, which were created 10 years ago, have helped lower school dropout rates, boost school attendance and reduce health problems among children."
Educating Children in Foster Care: The McKinney-Vento and No Child Left Behind Acts
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 9:44 AM
Casey Family Programs write, "The recommendations, included as part of a comprehensive report released at a congressional briefing, deal with the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The recommendations are: Improve school stability by ensuring that the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act applies to all children in out-of-home care, and increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to a level that covers all eligible children. Ensure that children and youth in foster care have access to education-related support services by making them automatically eligible for Title I, Part A services and including them in the set-aside that exists for homeless children. Increase funding for school counselors and mental health services."
TUNED-IN SCHOOLS SPUR LESS DROPOUTS
Date CapturedSunday April 22 2007, 9:29 AM
NY Post reports, "The DOE [NYC] has implemented several new programs to deal with the problem, including Multiple Pathways, which offers a job readiness program, Young Adult Borough Centers, transfer schools and General Equivalency Diploma programs. Since it launched in 2005, 2,176 students have met graduation requirements through Multiple Pathways; 2,104 earned diplomas, 72 earned GEDs."
Duffy, Rivera meet to mend fences
Date CapturedFriday April 20 2007, 9:13 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy, outgoing city school Superintendent Manuel Rivera and city and school district officials met Thursday to clear the air over requests for information concerning the academic achievement of students and the funding and operation of city schools. The meeting is the first since City Hall filed an open records request for and obtained a list of items from the district, including graduation and suspension rates, central office salaries and bonuses, and various district policies."
Break Rochester city-school ice
Date CapturedMonday April 16 2007, 8:46 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Now that the City School District has provided the information requested by Mayor Duffy about the district, the two should come together for a meaningful dialogue. It's unfortunate that it took the city filing a Freedom of Information Law request to obtain the information — graduation and suspension rates, district policies and salary and bonus information — but now's the time for officials to work toward a consensus on finances and school performance."
Pennsylvania schools asked to increase training
Date CapturedSunday April 15 2007, 3:28 PM
The Sentinel reports, "The Pennsylvania Department of Education is asking schools to add something to their curriculum: Job skills training. 'If Pennsylvania’s students are to succeed in the workplace,' says the department in recently approved career education and work standards for elementary and secondary schools, 'there are certain skills that they need to obtain prior to graduation from high school.' The standards set objectives, beginning as early as third grade, for helping students identify their career aptitudes, getting the necessary training and obtaining and keeping jobs."
End city district tug of war over school finances, record
Date CapturedWednesday April 11 2007, 7:52 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed contributors, Rochester Board of Education president and additional board members opine, "City Hall has taken a public stand that funding should be tied to academic achievement. Certainly, this board expects and promotes improved academic standards. Yet reducing aid will not produce better outcomes. No one would suggest that the police force cut its budget because the crime rate is rising. Money does not equal results; however, no reasonable person could expect better results from fewer resources. The district has been focusing on fundamentals, and we have been getting results by virtually every measure. Even our seniors are graduating to a higher standard. Our graduation rate has hovered around 50 percent for many years, but in 2003, only 21 percent of our students earned a Regents diploma. Now, 52 percent of our graduates earn Regents diplomas in four years and an additional 6 percent get theirs in five years."
New York State Catholic Conference criticizes state budget decisions
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 3:01 PM
Catholic News Service reports, "Barnes [Catholic conference executive director] blamed Silver and the state's powerful teachers' unions for the exclusion of the tuition tax deduction from the education portion of the state's $121 billion budget, despite strong support for the credit by the Senate and Gov. Eliot Spitzer. He said New York is ranked second in the nation 'and soon likely to be first' in its per-student cost of more than $15,000 a year for public education, but has 'graduation rates that are a scandalous 48th.' Yet Silver, he said, 'could not see fit to give parents of children in independent and religious schools, who save the state $7.5 billion every single year, a deduction that amounts to about $68 per child.'"
Schools say no to Rochester Mayor Duffy request
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 9:24 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy's request for information from the school district is a moot point and will not receive a response, district officials said Tuesday. But an incensed City Hall is not backing down and intends to take the unprecedented step of filing a Freedom of Information Law, or open records, request to get the data. City spokesman Gary Walker said he plans to hand-deliver a copy of the request today. Duffy wrote Superintendent Manual Rivera on March 1 requesting a bevy of information, including graduation and suspension rates, various district policies as well as salaries and bonuses paid to central office employees. The mayor wrote that he needed the information to help decide on the appropriate funding level for the district. The city has provided the district $119.1 million each of the past three years. But Duffy has been hammering on the district's poor graduation rates, currently worst in the state. For its part, the district has argued that improvements at the elementary school level are signs of progress."
P-16 Education: A Plan for Action
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 9:10 AM
Improve high school attendance and graduation rates by setting performance targets, promoting promising practices that remove barriers to graduation, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements. Problem: Since higher standards were adopted in 1996, the number of high school graduates each year has increased. However, only 64% of students who entered 9th grade in 2001 graduated in four years; 18% were still enrolled and 11% had dropped out. Rates for Black and Hispanic students were below 45%. Data show that graduation rates are closely tied to attendance rates. As attendance declines below 95%, graduation rates decline significantly. And both attendance and graduation rates decline with poverty. New York’s current graduation rate standard is only 55%, one of the lowest in the nation. Schools need to focus on the least served students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. Actions: ¦ Set a State graduation rate standard, publish four- and five-year graduation rates by school, and specify a schedule of improvement targets for schools to close the gap between their graduation rate and State standard. Set targets now for the students who entered 9th grade in 2004 and will graduate in 2008. This action is especially important to ensure that more schools intervene to help the most underserved students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities Research and benchmark other states for effective, innovative strategies that improve high school graduation and attendance rates. Include strategies that begin in middle school and focus on the transition from middle to high school. Emphasize a meaningful curriculum that includes the arts, music, physical education and career and technical programs. Provide effective strategies to schools to enable them to achieve the State targets through regional networks
Message from Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education- P-16
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 9:03 AM
It is an exciting time for education in New York State. For the first time in recent history, we have a solid P-16 action plan for statewide education reform and the resources necessary to fully support our schools and to help all students reach high standards of performance. The Board of Regents have set forth a P-16 agenda to improve graduation rates, strengthen instruction, raise learning standards, and increase accountability. At the same time, the new 2007-08 State budget includes an unprecedented increase of $1.7 billion in aid to school districts across the State. With the action plan and resources as the foundation for the future of education in this State, we are well-positioned to marshal the talent and energy across the Pre-Kindergarten through higher education continuum to achieve greater success for all students.
True accountability
Date CapturedWednesday March 28 2007, 9:26 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "In his State of the City address Monday night, Mayor Duffy did the expected — he highlighted his accomplishments during his first 15 months in office. But he was also honest about the challenges. Most interesting, however, was his focus on Rochester city schools. He pointed to the $119 million in funding the city provides the school district, more than Buffalo provides its schools, even while graduation rates are alarmingly lower here. That's a problem, Duffy said, and he plans to sit down with school officials to see where the disconnect is occurring between dollars and results. Does that mean less funding to the school district? Duffy didn't go that far. But for true accountability to take place, the school system must face consequences if results aren't realized."
Los Angeles Unified is counting its truants
Date CapturedWednesday March 21 2007, 10:10 AM
LA Times reports, "Although the Los Angeles Unified School District has ramped up its efforts to keep students in school, a new report shows that thousands are still skipping class routinely, and the problem is rampant in a few low-performing schools. The report is the first in what is intended as a series of monthly accounts that will track truancy and absenteeism in every middle and high school in the district — something that has not been done in such a systematic way before. The information is considered critical because students typically begin skipping school sporadically before dropping out altogether. L.A. Unified is trying to tackle a dropout rate that is officially 24.1% but has been estimated at close to double that."
Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education: 2006
Date CapturedTuesday March 20 2007, 12:20 PM
This CCSSO report informs policymakers and educators about the current status of key education policies across the 50 states that define and shape elementary and secondary education in public schools. The report is part of a continuing biennial series by the Council’s state education indicators program. CCSSO reports 50-state information on policies regarding teacher preparation and certification, high school graduation requirements, student assessment programs, school time, and student attendance. The report also includes state-by-state information on content standards and curriculum, teacher assessment, and school leader/administrator licensure.
On Large Scale Student Databases
Date CapturedTuesday March 20 2007, 10:21 AM
Inside Higher Ed contributor John V. Lombardi, chancellor and a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst writes, "When particular categories of data are used for accountability purposes, institutions will change what they do, because institutional behavior tends to match whatever is measured. If we measure SAT scores, institutions work to increase the average SAT scores; if we measure graduation rates, institutions will do what it takes to graduate students; if we measure sports success, everyone wants a successful sports program. For this reason the quality, characteristics and type of data collected and used in any student unit record system on a national basis assume fundamental significance."
Walcott's cardinal sin
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 7:54 AM
NY Daily News opines on school choice, "Rather than applauding the proven success of city Catholic schools, pointing out that the mayor is a huge proponent of school choice and perhaps alerting Egan that the city's graduation rate has risen to 58%, Walcott fell back on the canards of apologists for the status quo. Those boil down to arguing that Catholic schools aren't necessarily better schools, they just have better students. Which is fried and reheated baloney. Want proof? A study out of the University of Chicago found that inner-city blacks who attended Catholic schools are 248% more likely to graduate from college than those who went to public schools. That's proof."
Putting schools in play
Date CapturedWednesday March 14 2007, 8:12 AM
NY Daily News Michael Goodwin writes, "While conceding he wasn't satisfied, [Chancellor] Klein said there was real progress in test scores and graduation rates, which he put at 58%, including students who get GEDs. The state puts the stripped-down figure at about 43%. The problem now, Klein said, is 'the enormous push back from the status quo people.' He cited teachers union opposition to more charter schools. Saying some had proven their worth in poor neighborhoods, he added, 'How could anyone in good conscience block them?'"
Cardinal Egan calls Spitzer tuition aid just `a beginning'
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 7:03 PM
AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "[Cardinal Egan] He said families that send children to private schools save taxpayers $7.5 billion a year because they reduce enrollment at public schools. He also said that while the state's four-year graduation rate for public high schools is 64 percent (44 percent in New York City), Catholic high schools in New York City have a "virtually 100 percent" graduation rate. He also said 98 percent of graduates in high-poverty, inner city Catholic high schools go to college. Egan singled out the public school teacher unions as the most powerful opponent of the measure."
ACLU weighs lawsuit against Palm Beach County schools over graduation rate
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 8:45 AM
Sun Sentinel reports, "If the ACLU files a lawsuit, the district could be a test case for the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, which holds school systems accountable for graduation rates. The ACLU claims the Palm Beach County graduation rate is 46.6 percent, based on figures from the nonpartisan Urban Institute, while the district uses a state calculation of 69.3 percent."
Manhattan: Shortage of High School Seats
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2007, 7:39 AM
NY Times SEWELL CHAN reports, "The New York City Department of Education hopes to improve the high school graduation rate, but has not planned for enough seats to meet that goal, according to a report released yesterday by the city’s public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum."
Texas dropout rate makes the case for school choice
Date CapturedSaturday March 10 2007, 8:22 AM
Chron.com contributor KEN HOAGLAND, communications director for Texans for School Choice writes, "Everywhere in the nation (and around the world) where school choice exists, public schools rapidly improve. In San Antonio, where a privately funded, $50 million, 10-year program has operated, school choice has helped drive down the public school dropout rate by 25 percent and saw nine-of-10 low-income, school-choice grads (often the first in their families to ever graduate high school) go onto college. School choice helps all, because the effect of parental judgment is positive and the effect of competition is healthy."
SUNY chief hears business views on university role
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 7:40 AM
Press-Republican reports, "In the North Country, particularly, goals include developing more small-business and entrepreneurial opportunities and increasing broadband access and online training, [SUNY Chancellor Ryan] he said. 'The importance of putting in broadband infrastructure is crucial.' 'The key thing we have been fighting for is the importance of high-speed broadband, which allows us to do long-distance learning,' said Allen Dunham, chair of the North Country Workforce Investment Board. That would decrease traveling for training opportunities, assist hospitals with imaging needs and provide incentive for students to stay in the area after graduation and land jobs locally, among other things, he said. Other topics that participants said were discussed Thursday included the role of SUNY in providing support for communities and economic developers, the role of colleges in workforce development, how the business community can take better advantage of innovation and invention being produced at SUNY schools and what support emerging technology companies need from SUNY and the state."
Massachusetts Gov. Patrick wants to raise dropout age
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 8:02 AM
Massachusetts students should no longer be allowed to drop out of school at 16, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday, endorsing a plan to raise the mandatory school attendance age to 18. Patrick, speaking at a summit in Worcester on high school graduation rates, said he would embrace legislation adopted in at least 15 other states and the District of Columbia that will force teenagers to stay in school longer. Other states -- including New Hampshire, New Mexico, Arizona, and South Dakota -- are also considering raising the age to 18, according to the Education Commission of the States.
Massachusetts toughens rules about high school graduation rates
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 9:13 AM
Sentinel and Enterprise report, "High schools in Massachusetts must now graduate 55 percent of their students within four years in order to meet Adequate Yearly Progress, a standard that measures schools' success under the federal No Child Left Behind Act."
Schools on fritz - Spitz
Date CapturedSaturday March 03 2007, 7:23 AM
NY Daily News Michael Saul reports, "The state and the city calculate the graduation rate differently. City officials said they expected the state to release statistics soon substantiating the city's progress."
Impact of Mississippi high school dropouts studied
Date CapturedThursday March 01 2007, 12:24 PM
Mississippi Business Journal reports, "If high school dropouts who currently head households in Mississippi had instead earned diplomas, the state's economy would benefit from an additional $1.1 billion in wealth accumulated by families, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education in its new brief, 'Hidden Benefits: The Impact of High School Graduation on Household Wealth,' funded by the MetLife Foundation."
North Carolina grad rates vary by race, ethnicity
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 2:27 PM
The News & Observer reports, "The results showed noticeable gaps in the graduation rate among racial, ethnic and economic groups. While 73.6 percent of white students graduated, the rate dropped to 60 percent for blacks, 55.3 percent for low-income students and 51.8 percent for Hispanics. There was also a gap among the sexes, with 72.4 percent of female students graduating, compared with 63.9 percent of males."
Massachusetts sets four-year graduation benchmark; 55% is called a start for urban high schools
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 2:21 PM
Boston Globe reports, "The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that all states track graduation rates, as well as standardized test scores and other measures. Schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward these measures, including graduation rates, face sanctions. If they do not improve, they could eventually be candidates for state intervention. If the standard were set at the state average of 80 percent, at least 84 schools, a quarter of the state's 330 public high schools, would have missed the bar."
New York City schools Chancellor Klein's boasts fail to impress Albany skeptics
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 7:14 AM
NY Daily News Joe Mahoney reports, "In his two hours before a state legislative committee yesterday, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein tried to accentuate the positive - but the lawmakers weren't buying it. For every success story Klein spouted, legislators had a parallel horror story, questioning whether mayoral control of schools was working."
Tracking students with ID number a key step to lower the dropout rate
Date CapturedSunday February 25 2007, 9:01 AM
AP reports, "Forty-one states have set up or are in the process of establishing a way to track individual students. The National Center for Educational Accountability said Florida is the only state to include all the elements it considers essential for a complete data system that measures where students go. Two years ago, the 50 governors signed a pact agreeing to use a common calculation method, but that, too, has been slow to develop. A bipartisan commission earlier this month submitted a list of 75 recommendations to President Bush and Congress on reforming No Child Left Behind and suggested making a common calculation method mandatory under the law, along with high-quality student tracking systems."
Middle schools called key to anti-dropout strategy
Date CapturedSaturday February 24 2007, 9:58 AM
Staten Island Advance reports, "The summit, coordinated by the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and the advocacy group Directions for Our Youth, also focused on the achievement disparity between white and minority students."
The dropout dilemma
Date CapturedSaturday February 24 2007, 9:20 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Advocates at the Baruch College event suggested that increasing the state's compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18 would encourage more students to stay in school, said Cary Goodman, executive director of Directions for Our Youth. Other ideas included additional professional development for teachers who may have difficulty relating to the problems facing city teens."
Poll: Better New York City schools biggest need
Date CapturedWednesday February 21 2007, 4:03 PM
Newsday HERBERT LOWE reports, "New Yorkers are more widely concerned about the city's high school dropout rate than increasing funds to protect the city from terrorism, according to a survey of low-income residents released yesterday. Three out of four New Yorkers favor raising the age when teenagers may drop out of school from 16 to 17 or 18, reports the survey released by the Community Service Society of New York."
Emotions high at hearing over schools' axing
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 3:52 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Each of the targeted schools had a graduation rate below 45% - a statistic that Region 6 Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard called 'unacceptable.' Creating small schools 'is the best way to change the tide and to change it quickly,' he said. Some in the audience agreed, but opposed the decision-making process."
Retention key to student, college success
Date CapturedSaturday January 13 2007, 12:41 PM
Benton County Daily Record reports, "Northwest Arkansas Community College worked with several other colleges statewide to learn how to improve its retention rates during an all-day seminar held Thursday at the college’s Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies. The keynote speaker, Vincent Tinto, is a nationally known distinguished professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University in New York. He is an expert on student retention issues. Tinto told the gathered crowd of people from about 10 colleges in the state that colleges need to focus more on what students are learning than on what is being taught. He shared the various conditions that promote student success and what steps community colleges are already taking to promote success. 'Focus on the classroom,' he said. 'The classroom becomes the centerpiece for the learning environment. '”
‘Good Start’ For Everyone
Date CapturedSunday January 07 2007, 7:38 AM
Post-Journal (Jamestown) reports, "The state Board of Regents and the state Education Department recently approved what it calls a ‘P-16 Plan’ to bring a coherent set of goals and standards for education from pre-kindergarten through the end of a students’ college years. According to the Board of Regents, the plan includes providing every child with a ‘good start,’ preparing pupils to be able to read by the second grade and graduating individuals ready to enter the ‘workforce, higher education and citizenship.'’’
The state of public education: a state-by-state comparison
Date CapturedThursday January 04 2007, 5:56 AM
The Journal News reports on survey produced by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center and The Pew Center on the States, "New York does better than the national average in terms of elementary and middle school test scores, but has a lower percentage of students who graduate from high school. And while underperforming some states, New York does better than the average on the success index. The state scores higher than the national average on 9 of the 13 success indicators, including family income, percentage of children who have a parent with a college degree, preschool enrollment and college enrollment."
Study puts New Jersey education system 4th in nation
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 2:18 PM
AP reports, "While New Jersey has extremes of wealth and poverty, it has the highest median household income. And its adults, on average, are well educated. More than half the state's children have at least one parent with a college degree and three-fourths of children have at least one parent working a full-time, year-round job. Those factors all give children a better chance of succeeding in college or the work force, the study said. Also, the state did well in the assessment because it has a number of policies to line up preschool and elementary school standards and help students pursue trade industry licenses while still in high school. New Jersey ranked only 45th, though, in a measure of statewide policies dealing with academic standards, testing policies and how schools are held accountable for their performances."
Low driving age puts teens' school performance on the skids
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 8:53 AM
Oregonian contributor and teacher Matt Love writes, "So here's one proposal to improve student achievement and lower the dropout rate, and it doesn't cost taxpayers a cent: Raise the driving age to 17. Just one year and no big deal except to low-wage service-sector employers who schedule teenagers to work on school nights. Set up a hardship program for emancipated minors or students in remote rural areas. Grandfather the change in over several years, and today's 12-year-olds wouldn't know the difference. Legislators, it's a 100-word bill you could draft on a napkin."
GED seed may grow
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 8:40 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The GED program's first 12-week class will begin in February, around the same time as the start of Project HIRE (Help in Re-entering Employment), another program DEP is using to help Bronx locals qualify for jobs at the plant. Announced this month, Project HIRE also partners with Bronx Community College. Job applicants registered with DEP's community outreach office who need additional skills before being hired are offered a 20-week course to learn the skills needed for apprenticeships. After the training course, graduates will meet with a Project HIRE career counselor who works to match students with jobs based on their new skills."
The next cops
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 6:26 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "The Police Department is working with the City School District to create a program that would bring police officers into city classrooms to teach students criminal justice. Upon graduation, the students would get credits that could be used toward a criminal justice degree at Monroe Community College."
Los Angeles school district focuses on middle school students
Date CapturedTuesday December 26 2006, 8:35 AM
AP reports, "Aiming to curb high drop out rates in Los Angeles public high schools, district officials are beginning to focus more on middle school students."
Utah State U athletes’ graduation rate above general student body’s
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 10:30 AM
The Herald Journal reports, "Athletes are required to declare a major by the end of their second year at USU and have at least 80 percent of their degree requirements completed by the end of their fourth year. The NCAA requires athletes to maintain a 2.0 grade point average, a standard Utah State athletes exceed with an average GPA of 3.07."
Several Massachusetts schools' dropout rates fall
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 9:40 AM
Boston Globe reports, "Principals and superintendents throughout the area credit dropout prevention efforts -- such as offering night school and alternative schools; matching vulnerable ninth-graders with successful upperclassmen; rewarding students for good attendance; and allowing them to make up courses online -- for their reduced dropout rates."
Passing Rate for High School Equivalency Test Climbs in U.S.
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 5:51 AM
Bloomberg.com reports, "The number of people passing the General Educational Development Tests increased to 423,714, the GED Testing Service said today. The number taking the full set of exams climbed 3.1 percent to 587,689. The passing rate compares with about 71 percent in 2002, when the current series of tests began. The GED exams measure the academic skills and knowledge expected of secondary school graduates in the United States and Canada, and students who don't complete high school often take them to get better jobs or to enter college. In 2005, 1 in 100 adults in the U.S. without a high school diploma passed the GED tests and earned their diploma, the testing service said."
University at Buffalo taking more active role in Buffalo schools
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 9:26 AM
Buffalo News reports, "'You might see early childhood experts sharing the latest insights on cognitive development, addiction researchers working to break generational cycles of dependence and laboratory scientists demonstrating novel techniques and exciting discoveries,' Simpson [UB President} said. Williams {Buffalo schools superintendent] for instance, has mentioned that UB could help provide mentoring opportunities for students and teachers, or expertise in developing an Entrepreneurship High School that would prepare students to become business owners."
Freshmen academies help boost achievement for young students
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 6:08 AM
Journal News reports, "The academies, where ninth-graders take classes in separate buildings away from older students, are part of a movement centered around smaller learning communities. Ultimately, the programs aim to boost graduation rates by helping students master the core curriculum of math, science, English and social studies early, while providing coping skills and fostering greater teacher-student interaction."
Washington state Gov. Gregoire's $30 billion budget invests heavily in education
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 4:48 PM
AP reports, "The $29.94 billion two-year spending plan dips liberally into the state's $1.9 billion budget reserve to spend on public schools and colleges, health care, Puget Sound cleanup, economic development, prisons, parks, pensions, salary increases and other programs. Free full-day kindergarten is proposed for 10 percent of the schools and early learning proposals would be expanded, at a cost of $42 million. A dropout academy is created. "
Some teen dropouts fell through the cracks
Date CapturedSunday December 17 2006, 4:46 PM
Bonita Daily News reports, "The state and the district both closely track high school students, and the proportions in which they graduate. And that's just it. No one, it seems, is looking for dropouts in the middle schools. During the last academic year, four seventh-graders and 18 eighth-graders in Lee County [Florida] left school at age 16, intending never to come back and finish their education. Two more gave up on going to traditional high school and went to GED classes instead."
Exam has changed how Florida teachers teach
Date CapturedSunday December 17 2006, 8:37 AM
Miami Herald reports, "The [Gov. Bush] governor gives a one-word response to account for the improvements: `'scrutiny.'' Except in one place: Private schools that take tax money to educate public school students. The voucher schools get the public money but face no punishments for FCAT scores, an exemption born of Bush's free-market privatizing philosophy as well as political necessity."
New Florida task force will tackle rise in high-school-dropout rate
Date CapturedSaturday December 16 2006, 9:16 AM
Orlando Sentinel reports, "Chairing the panel will be the Rev. Ken Scrubbs of First Baptist Church in Leesburg, who has extensive experience working with low-income and troubled youths. 'I think our schools are going to have to be more inviting across the board to all students, so they can be reached at all levels,' Winn said. 'We know that failure in school leads to dropping out.' The task force will meet in North, Central and South Florida during the next three months and then report to the state Legislature. Lawmakers already have moved to make high school more interesting and challenging to teens; they approved a requirement that students choose a major field of study, much as college students do."
Expert Panel Proposes Far-Reaching Redesign of the American Education System
Date CapturedFriday December 15 2006, 3:30 AM
NY Times David M. HERSZENHORN reports, "The commission’s work was quickly hailed by some as a potentially groundbreaking document. 'This report has the potential to change the debate on education at the national level,' said Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, who is a Democrat and prominent expert on the federal education law. The national teachers’ unions were apprehensive. Antonia Cortese, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the proposals included 'some seriously flawed ideas with faddish allure that won’t produce better academic results.' Reg Weaver, the president of the National Education Association, urged 'caution in calling for drastic changes.'”
Panel: Cut years in high school
Date CapturedThursday December 14 2006, 10:20 AM
Chicago Tribune reports, "The report from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce touches on all aspects of education but some of its most unusual proposals would end America's nostalgic attachment to the four-year high school. Instead, the report calls for a rigorous 10th-grade test that would allow those who pass to leave high school after two years and go on to technical or vocational training or academic work in preparation for a four-year institution."
Spitzer’s school plan will benefit all
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 10:15 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal contributor Billy Easton, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education writes, "Throughout his campaign, Spitzer consistently articulated an education plan based on proven strategies. The elements of his plan will get many more children prepared to succeed as adults. He starts with pre-kindergarten, which increases graduation rates and employment success and reduces crime. He supports smaller classes, which show long-term increases in test scores, graduation rates and college preparedness. Training and recruiting skilled teachers is another Spitzer education priority that is backed by extensive research. He supports producing strong principals to lead our schools. And he advocates helping kids who are falling through the cracks by partnering with community-based organizations (such as after-school programs), expanding literacy programs and improving vocational education. This is a refreshing vision designed to actually address the needs of every child. It is not difficult to imagine it cannot all be done on the cheap. What is the price tag Spitzer has identified to pay for all of this? $8.5 billion. This is for a multiyear statewide solution, not a New York City focused plan."
Florida state OKs majors for high school students
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 10:15 AM
AP reports, "Florida high school students will be able to choose from 440 approved majors ranging from assistant landscape technician to global leadership under a new law designed to improve the state's dismal graduation rate, education officials announced Monday. The idea, based on college majors, is to discourage students from dropping out by making high school more interesting. The major requirement does that by engaging and challenging students and getting them to set goals, said Education Commissioner John Winn."
Massachusetts schools target dropout rates
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 9:29 AM
Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports, "Mrs. Haskins said that at Southbridge High School, a 'crisis team' — including the district psychologist, social worker, school resource officer, guidance personnel and the school nurse — meets to discuss students who are believed to be at risk of dropping out. The reasons vary with each student, Mrs. Haskins said. An 18-year-old who is still a freshman may consider dropping out because of his age, or family and economic issues can come into play, she said. The intervention begins at home. 'Parents are called every single day a student is absent,' Mrs. Haskins said."
Bank to fund mentoring efforts
Date CapturedSunday December 10 2006, 8:05 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Referring to a recent study by Big Brothers, Big Sisters, First Niagara said students who meet regularly with a mentor are: 52 percent less likely than their peers to skip a day of school. 37 percent less likely to skip a class. 46 percent less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs. 27 percent less likely to start drinking."
A lesson in compulsory service
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 8:27 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Should high schools require community service? That idea is being explored in a pilot program at several New Jersey high schools. Depending on the outcome, New Jersey could become the second state, after Maryland, to make community service a graduation requirement."
Dropout Rates in the United States: 2004
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 10:17 AM
This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2004, and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972–2004), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Among other findings, the report shows that in students living in low-income families were approximately four times more likely to drop out of high school between 2003 and 2004 than were their peers from high-income families. Focusing on indicators of on-time graduation from public high schools, the averaged freshman graduation rate for the 3 most recent years for which data are available shows an increase from 72.6 percent for 2001–02 to 73.9 percent for 2002–03 to 74.3 percent for 2003–04. Laird, J., DeBell, M., and Chapman, C. (2006). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2004 (NCES 2007-024). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 7, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Attendance at school starts at home
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 8:29 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall writes, "You can't treat a kid who ditches class like an overdue library book - if you return, your check-out privileges get reinstated. It's a complicated human problem that requires consistent parental involvement - not three years before graduation, when it's too late."
SUNY New Paltz rates high for Hispanic graduates
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 4:55 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The association [American Association of State Colleges and Universities] picked out the 10 most successful of those schools. New Paltz was among the five that had the most success at narrowing the gap in graduation rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students, according to a press release."
NEA stands against real reform to help students
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 9:04 AM
Chicago Sun-Times contributor David White, adjunct scholar at the Lexington Institute, a public policy research organization based in Arlington, Va. writes, "The number of high school dropouts is reaching crisis proportions. Today, nearly half of all blacks and Latinos fail to graduate. Dropouts earn about $260,000 less over the course of their lives. They're 72 percent more likely to be unemployed. Among prisoners, 80 percent don't have a high school degree. The National Education Association just issued a much-ballyhooed 12-point plan to eradicate this problem. But don't hold your breath. The misguided plan is more about shifting resources to the NEA's power base than doing what it takes to ensure that more students will finish school."
Tennessee Gov. Bredesen focuses on education for legacy
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 8:02 AM
The City Paper reports, "While additional funding for urban school systems has been discussed for years, Bredesen is backing two new education initiatives to help high school students graduate. The governor wants to add truancy officers in all of the state’s 400 public high schools to improve attendance and, hopefully, result in more high school students graduating." Gov. Bredesen may devote about $25 million more to continue to expand pre-K in the state’s next budget.
Manual Rivera: 'We can't give up on kids'
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 7:29 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Rivera, whose presence in education has spanned three decades, also discussed the trends of middle school students who are several years behind in reading, the district's high school dropouts and the rising culture of violence in schools. 'We can't give up on kids, so if teachers are telling me they're not sure if a second- or third-grader has any potential, then maybe it's the teacher that needs to go,' said Rivera, who recently became co-chair of an education task force for Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer."
Montana school officials defend new student ID numbers
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 9:22 AM
Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports, "Every [Montana] student will get a unique nine-digit number, so that their achievement on statewide reading and math tests can be tracked, and those results can be broken down by gender, race or ethnicity, and whether the student is low-income and qualifies for free and reduced-cost lunches. Special education, limited English and migrant status will also be recorded. That should make it easier for OPI to report on students' progress, information sought both by the Montana Legislature and by the federal government, under the No Child Left Behind Act. Quinlan said it should help schools figure out, for example, if a new reading program is working, how well low-income American Indian fourth-graders are performing, and better track graduation and dropout rates. School officials are still subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of student records, Quinlan said."
Indiana's high school graduation rate plummets under new formula
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 10:12 AM
The Times (Indiana) reports, "A 2003 law allowed the state to assign a tracking number to every student that entered high school in 2002. Having tracked that class, the education department now reports that the statewide graduation rate -- estimated at 89.8 percent last year -- is actually 73.7 percent." Previously, students who dropped out over the summer simply vanished from the equation using the older state formula.
N.Y. Schools Get Passing Grade
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 7:43 AM
The Post-Journal reports, "According to a study by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a conservative think tank, when it came to student achievement in the state’s schools, the education system received a D grade. Educational reform efforts graded slightly better, earning a C+. States nationwide received grades based on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, mathematics and science for minority students, with graduation rates factored into the average. Not all states provided information for the study."
Binghamton program to blend vocational, academic education: Only 2 other high schools in the world use baccalaureate group's model
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:29 AM
Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "Binghamton High School plans to start a career-related certificate program that would blend vocational education with the school's academically oriented International Baccalaureate program. In doing so, Binghamton would become the third high school in the world to pilot the model under the oversight of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which offers academic courses tied to international standards. The other two pilot schools are in Oulu, Finland, and Quebec, Canada. Unlike the traditional IB program, the certificate program would be geared toward students not planning to attend a four-year college, Superin- tendent Peggy J. Wozniak said. It would be designed to prepare students for careers in a global society, she said."
Los Angeles Schools Not Meeting Consent Decree Special Education Goals
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:17 AM
ABC7.com reports, "The LAUSD has not sufficiently improved graduation rates, raised test scores or provided timely translations of student access plans in Spanish and other languages."
Academies proposed at Poughkeepise city school
Date CapturedFriday November 24 2006, 4:40 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Wilson [superintendent] said his experience with small learning communities shows they lead to better attendance, improved grades and higher graduation rates. The academies would likely be open to students in grades 10 through 12. Freshmen entering the high school could be in their own academy, with the focus on preparing them for the rest of their academic career by emphasizing study skills, improving motivation and exposing them to school resources."
New York City Schools Figure 'Wrong'
Date CapturedFriday November 24 2006, 4:00 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "In a recent letter to the schools chancellor, Comptroller William Thompson Jr. noted that the steady climb began following a change in the way the city Department of Education defined discharged students in its annual reports beginning in 2002. The change involved omitting a disclaimer that said a student could be considered discharged only after the student was confirmed to have been admitted to a new school outside the city public school system."
New York State Assembly looks to improve education
Date CapturedFriday November 17 2006, 6:59 AM
Capital News 9 reports, "Mills [Commissioner] said the most recent data shows achievement in public schools is improving, but there's still work to be done, especially because one third of students don't graduate high school on time. He also said learning at the middle school level is lagging, which indicates why half of 8th graders don't meet reading and writing standards."
Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 5:23 PM
This NCES report shows that graduation rates dropped systematically as the proportion of low-income students increased, even within the same Carnegie classification and selectivity levels. Variations by gender and race/ethnicity also were evident. Women graduated at higher rates than men, and in general, as the proportion of low-income students increased, so did the gap between female and male graduation rates. The gap in graduation rates between White and Black students and between White and Hispanic students, on the other hand, typically narrowed as the as the proportion of low-income students increased. Horn, L. (2006). Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment (NCES 2007-161). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Program aims to reduce dropouts
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 4:08 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Starting next fall, close to four dozen Rochester School District dropouts will enter Monroe Community College as college students. The college and school district will spend nearly $4 million over the next three years replicating a program started in Portland, Ore., to get dropouts back into the educational system and earning their high school diplomas, as well as college credits."
Enriching Education Throughout Childhood Pays Big Dividends
Date CapturedWednesday November 15 2006, 5:31 AM
Newswise reports, "Researchers have previously noted that many of the advantages children receive from preschool experiences begin to wane as they continue through school. A study by James Heckman, a Nobel-Prize winning economist shows for the first time that systematic interventions throughout childhood and adolescence could sustain the early gains and build on them."
Education stats show New York City of wise guys, gals
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 4:39 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city Education Department attributed rising graduation and lower dropout rates to an increase in programs devoted to keeping kids in school longer, including the Young Adult Borough Centers, targeting high school students who might be considering dropping out."
Detours on the Road to Greater College Graduation Rates
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 4:24 PM
The Louisiana Weekly contributor Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League writes, "According to the American Council study, African-Americans are the most likely to drop out of college than any other minority group. Of students who entered college in the 1995-1996 academic year, only 36.4 percent of Blacks received a degree, compared to 42 percent of Hispanics, 58 percent of Whites and 62.3 percent of Asian Americans."
Massachusetts preschool initiative smart business move
Date CapturedSaturday November 11 2006, 8:09 AM
The Republican opined, "Nobel laureate James J. Heckman argues that early intervention for disadvantaged children promotes staying in school, raises the quality of the workforce, enhances the productivity of schools and has the effect of reducing crime, teen pregnancy and dependence on welfare. And a Chicago study concluded that every dollar spent on early childhood education yields a return of $7 in higher taxes on earnings and lower expenditures on welfare, prisons, crime and special education."
It's cool to stay in school
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 4:33 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The citywide program is funded largely by $14.5 million of state money. It is administered by the United Way of New York City, which in turn contracts with local community groups. The program focuses on students who have 'attendance challenges' and are in danger of dropping out, but who are not so truant that they have fallen drastically behind."
School Children Return to New Orleans, Alone
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 11:41 AM
NPR reports, "Hundreds of children have returned to New Orleans to finish high school, without their parents. It's a chance to graduate with the classmates they've known for years. But school officials say the lack of parental supervision is causing discipline problems."
No one is tracking students who fail the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test
Date CapturedSunday November 05 2006, 2:50 PM
San Antonio Express-News reports, "Texas is known for tracking student performance in meticulous detail, yet one group — the chronic test failers — is hidden in plain sight. Students are denied a high school diploma if they fail one of five mandatory Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exit exams."
No Joke, the Troops Did Their Homework
Date CapturedSunday November 05 2006, 7:55 AM
NY Times reports, "About 97 percent of the 1.4 million Americans serving in the active duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have graduated from high school or the equivalent, according to Pentagon figures. That compares with 85 percent of all adults 25 years or older who reported they had completed at least high school, according to a 2005 survey by the Census Bureau. Roughly 17 percent of the active duty members of the military have a bachelor’s or graduate degree, the Pentagon figures show, while in the nation as a whole, 28 percent of adults reported they had at least a bachelor’s degree."
Educators React to Shift in Leadership at Gates Fund
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 7:35 AM
NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports, "The results have been mixed. Some Gates schools have showed gains. Others have not. The foundation and Mr. Vander Ark have been applauded for focus and willingness to innovate, but criticized for moving too quickly and not paying enough attention to results, especially at first. Jay P. Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a professor at the University of Arkansas who has received Gates money, praised Mr. Vander Ark’s focus but said the foundation 'was slow to commission rigorous evaluations of their efforts.'”
Author of No Child Left Behind defends its impact
Date CapturedFriday November 03 2006, 7:46 AM
The Brownsville Herald reports, "Kress, the author of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, points to 13 years of progress since the accountability system was built into the education system and a handful of other statistics to prove his point."
Louisiana public schools show improvement
Date CapturedMonday October 23 2006, 2:13 PM
KATC reports, "But dozens of schools in hurricane-damaged areas -- including many of the state's lowest performing schools in Orleans Parish -- weren't included in the results because they were shut down for days and months, in some cases. The results were based on individual student scores on high-stakes tests, attendance rates and dropout rates."
Research says Texas incorrectly reports dropouts
Date CapturedMonday October 23 2006, 8:18 AM
Terrell Tribune reports, "Lawson [director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University] emphasized that while Texas has the most accurate system of reporting dropout rates, there is a problem with the quality of the data. 'Texas is a leader as far as reporting,' Lawson said. 'They have the most accurate system in recent years because they identify the student individually and have the capacity to track them, theirs is a the 'gold standard.' Unfortunately, because of the way they manipulate the data, it turns into fool's gold.' Lawson said the problem is that Texas inflates its graduation reports. In the construction of the report, many students go unaccounted for."
Madison district promotes service
Date CapturedMonday October 23 2006, 5:09 AM
Post-Standard reports, "High school Principal Charles Chafee said administrators and teachers are still discussing the high school graduation requirement. He said they have not yet determined the required hours, how the program will be phased in or what the formal policy will look like. He hopes to implement the policy next fall. If the plan is approved, Madison Central will join at least 20 other Central New York school districts that require service hours for a diploma, including Chittenango, Cazenovia, DeRuyter and Otselic Valley."
El Paso district wants fewer students per school
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 2:52 PM
El Paso Times reports, "A study published by Ohio and Marshal universities concludes that smaller schools tend to have: Lower dropout rates. Better student grade-point averages. Increased student attendance. Decreased failure and retention rates. Higher scores in standardized tests. In El Paso, all three of the schools rated exemplary are considered to be of either small or medium size. "
Study Takes a Sharp Look at the City’s Failing Students
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 8:22 AM
NY Times ELISSA GOOTMAN reports, "The study found that students who fall behind in the number of credits they are expected to accumulate have a difficult time getting back on track at traditional high schools. Of the class of 2003’s dropouts, the study found that 93 percent fell behind in their credits at some point, indicating that their chief problem may not be the state requirement that all graduates pass a series of Regents exams. By contrast, only 19 percent of those who graduated had fallen significantly behind in their credits at any point. There are 68,000 students ages 16 to 21 who have dropped out of school, the study found, but there are 70,000 who are still enrolled even though they are behind in their credits. Effectively serving that group, the bulk of whom are 16, 17 and 18, is critical to improving the city’s graduation rate, Ms. Cahill [senior counselor for education policy to Joel I. Klein, the schools chancellor] said."
To curb dropout rate, develop new paths for learning and careers
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 6:46 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, "At least 27 of the nation's 100 top liberal arts schools that scrapped their SAT or ACT requirements have decided that students' high school performances should weigh as heavily as test scores. With this growing realization, educators also need to provide more alternatives to students who may be interested in vocational and technical education."
Bleak College Graduation Rate Is Found
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 1:03 AM
The Washington Post reports, "The report, commissioned by D.C. city and school officials, asserts that nine out of 10 of the freshmen will be confined to low-paying jobs because they never began college or gave up before obtaining a degree. It blames the problem largely on the school system for failing to prepare students but also on colleges for being unable to accommodate students' deficiencies."
Economic Outcomes of High School Completers and Noncompleters 8 Years Later
Date CapturedThursday October 12 2006, 6:49 PM
NCES: The findings suggest that individuals who completed high school within 6 years generally had more favorable economic outcomes than their counterparts who completed high school later or not at all. However, differences in economic outcomes were most prominent between males and females even after controlling for the timing and type of high school credential earned.
No Undergrad Left Behind
Date CapturedThursday October 12 2006, 8:27 AM
Heritage Foundation fellow and former deputy secretary of education during President Bush’s first term, Eugene Hickok writes, "One of No Child Left Behind’s hallmarks is transparency. Today parents know more about the performance of their children’s schools than ever before. This same principle needs to be applied to higher education. Colleges and universities need to be able to explain why they charge the tuition they charge, what their graduation rates are, what they feel constitutes an educated person and how they propose to get first year students from here to there. The various college rating systems and publications are entertaining and interesting to read, but they don’t provide the sort of objective data tuition payers need to make informed decisions."
Making the grades
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 4:58 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Teachers and principals have publicly worried that the department [New York City Department of Education] will oversimplify their efforts, dismissing the many subtleties of creating a safe and successful school."
Mall might house Washington state high school
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 9:24 AM
The News Tribune reports, "The Tacoma, Bethel and Franklin Pierce school districts are partnering with the mall and a community group to open an alternative high school program at the shopping center, according to representatives from the districts and the group."
Regulations put resolve to the test: Home-schooled New Yorkers need GED
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 8:14 AM
Times Union reports, "All athletes must be declared eligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Living in New York doesn't make it any easier for home-schoolers. New York is the only state that does not accept a home-school diploma as proof of graduation. Because there is no other way to certify a substantial equivalent of a four-year high school diploma, home-schoolers are required to take and pass the General Education Development test in order to meet the NCAA's graduation requirement."
SUNY Brockport opens college door
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 8:06 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Christine E. Murray, dean, School of Professions, State University College at Brockport writes, "The college [SUNY Brockport] is moving forward to collaborate with the CSD's effort to create small secondary schools focusing on college preparation. For three years, the college's Computational Math, Science and Technology Institute has offered professional development to teachers, introducing new ways to teach these vital subjects."
Rochester School Without Walls reflects
Date CapturedSaturday October 07 2006, 8:38 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "These days, School Without Walls has 385 students in seventh through 12th grades, and differs from other city high schools in that it veers its focus away from conventional classroom learning. It continues the tradition of requiring students to complete 300 hours of community service from grades nine to 12, and submit a senior project, which is voted on by a six-person jury, as a graduation requirement."
Five Buffalo area districts draw warnings on special ed
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 10:28 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Lake Shore also has begun hand-delivering invitations to high school students to attend the annual special education committee meeting that evaluates their situation. That likely will help students in their transition out of high school, because they will be involved in the process leading up to it, Capell [director of special education] said."
Five Buffalo area districts draw warnings on special ed
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 10:28 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Lake Shore also has begun hand-delivering invitations to high school students to attend the annual special education committee meeting that evaluates their situation. That likely will help students in their transition out of high school, because they will be involved in the process leading up to it, Capell [director of special education] said."
CSRQ Center Report on Middle and High School Comprehensive School Reform Models
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 8:31 AM
This Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center report "serves as a consumer guide that will help decision makers sort through claims about which school reform approaches could truly meet the needs of students. The report is the first comprehensive review of middle and high school whole-school reform models ever issued. To prepare this report, the CSRQ Center screened nearly 1,500 documents and reviewed 197 studies on 18 widely implemented middle and high school models. We used rigorous standards that are aligned with the requirements for scientifically based research established by NCLB. Each model is rated on a number of dimensions, including evidence of raising student achievement. The reviews of the individual models provide education decision makers with profiles of each model and the evidence needed to make decisions to meet locally defined needs."
Experts claim Texas graduation rates inflated
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 8:25 AM
Houston Chronicle reports, "The dropout and graduation rates that Texas reports for black, Hispanic and poor students in urban districts are even further from reality, researchers assert."
Ithaca Central School District on state special education-improvement list
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 7:16 AM
The Ithaca Journal reports, "McEnery [director of special education] said the state's graduation numbers also may not give the whole picture. 'They're talking about students who achieved a local or Regents diploma,' she said. 'It does not include students that graduated in five years, it does not include students who exited with a special education diploma and it does not include students who completed the requirements for a GED.'”
Plattsburgh City School students with disabilities not meeting standards, report says
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:55 AM
The Press-Republican reports, "Plattsburgh City School officials were not surprised by Thursday's report. 'The report is based on 2004-05 data of which the district not only was aware of but had already begun taking measures to address issues a year ago,' Short [Plattsburgh City School Superintendent] said. 'Throughout this past summer a team of teachers have further worked on a Gap Closing Committee specifically created to address district needs.'"
Not good enough for special needs kids
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:46 AM
The Journal News reports, on East Ramapo's designation, "East Ramapo has long been identified as a struggling school district with student scores among the lowest in Rockland. It is Rockland's only district considered an urban/suburban school district because of its high percentage of children eligible to receive free- or reduced-price lunch and with limited English proficiency, both hallmarks of poverty. The newly released list contains a large proportion of schools with poor scores for all students and many large urban districts that long have struggled with poverty-related problems."
Report: Special education lags in 4 districts
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:29 AM
The Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Students with disabilities aren't doing as well as they should be in four Dutchess County school districts, so state education officials said they'll be stepping in to help." Poughkeepsie students with disabilities had the second lowest reported graduation rate in the state.
8 mid-Hudson schools on notice
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:19 AM
The Times Herald-Record reports, "The state [New York] has promised to provide special-education experts to help local districts. School districts stand to lose federal funds if they fail to make progress."
Louisiana students to rebuild as they learn trades
Date CapturedTuesday October 03 2006, 9:05 AM
The Times-Picayune reports, "Participants can obtain their GED while receiving construction training. Those completing the six-month program will receive carpentry certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research as well as job placement assistance, Magee [executive director] said." During training, they can earn a stipend of up to $5,000 and open a YouthBuild USA Individual Development Account, said Magee."
Boy trouble
Date CapturedMonday October 02 2006, 5:00 PM
The Boston Globe opined, "Gender-specific academic initiatives can be difficult to square with antidiscrimination laws. Yet public school systems in other states have managed to establish separate courses for boys and girls within a school, provided they do not set up entirely separate institutions. An enterprising school district or charter school could make history here by taking on the boys."
Academic reforms needed to help athletes graduate
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 7:06 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, "A newly released study of 93,000 Division I athletes showed 77 percent of them graduated within six years, up from 76 percent last year. That kind of progress among mostly scholarship athletes who entered college from 1996 to 1999 speaks to the merit of academic reforms adopted by the NCAA in recent years. It's also a solid model for local school districts such as Rochester's to improve the graduation rates of high school athletes. The sooner student athletes understand that they're students first, the better their chances of succeeding on the college level. Fortunately, there is already talk in Rochester about finding new ways to improve the graduation rate among student athletes."
The Invisible Face of CFE: New York’s Small City School Districts in Crisis
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 7:47 AM
Prepared by Robert Biggerstaff, New York State Association of Small City School Districts' and written by Charles A. Winters, former Newburgh administrator, study concludes students in small New York state urban settings suffer as much or more than children in New York City from chronic underfunding. Small-city districts have comparable poverty levels, draw from a less wealthy tax base and students fail just as much, if not more, than New York City children.
College overhaul called ‘overdue'
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 7:07 AM
USA TODAY Mary Beth Marklein reports, "Proponents of a database that tracks students, including the State Higher Education Executive Officers, say federal data on graduation rates gives an inaccurate picture because it doesn't account for transfers to other schools. And though many schools keep their own records, they don't necessarily make the data public. About 35 states have systems in place, but they operate as 'islands unto themselves,' Spellings said. Spellings said her plan would make information available to parents, policymakers and others in an easy-to-understand format. Data could include students' majors, costs after student aid and how quickly they graduate. To protect privacy, the commission recommended that the database use anonymous identification numbers, not Social Security numbers."
Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003-04
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 12:53 AM
NCES: The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Several findings were: These 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students, and employed 22 percent of all public school teachers, in 2003-04. The 100 largest districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2002-03. Across these districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 68.8 percent. In 19 of the 100 largest districts the rate was 80 percent or higher. The rate was less than 50 percent in 8 of the 100 largest districts. Three states – California, Florida, and Texas – accounted for 41 of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $4,413 in Alpine School District, Utah to a high of $17,652 in Newark City, New Jersey. Dalton, B., Sable, J., and Hoffman, L. (2006). Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003–04 (NCES 2006-329). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Educating School Teachers
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 6:47 PM
Study author Arthur Levine, who recently left the presidency of Teachers College, Columbia University to become president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation concludes "that a majority of teacher education graduates are prepared in university-based programs that suffer from low admission and graduation standards. Their faculties, curriculums and research are disconnected from school practice and practitioners. There are wide variations in program quality, with the majority of teachers prepared in lower quality programs. Both state and accreditation standards for maintaining quality are ineffective."
Ivy Tech draws plans to aid dropouts
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 11:50 AM
AP reports, "Ivy Tech Community College hopes to offer a new 'fast track' program to help some dropouts earn their high school diplomas while gaining college credit. Dropouts older than age 19 could use the program to earn either a high school diploma or a GED, while also gaining college credit at Ivy Tech if they pay tuition."
Mississippi Education: Dropouts Bounds' (State Superintendent of Education) next target
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 12:02 PM
The Clarion Ledger opined, "Bounds is embarking on a fund-raising drive to implement ways to keep kids in school. It's a daunting task, Bounds says, because a key to keeping kids in school is having them ready to enter school. By third grade, he says, teachers can predict which kids will ultimately drop out. 'Some states base the number of prison beds on that figure,' he said. The children started school behind and can never catch up - exacerbated here because Mississippi is one of the few states without a prekindergarten program."
Massachusetts, Pittsfield District has high hopes for grant
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 11:38 AM
Berkshire Eagle reports, "Schools officials believe that a rare federal grant recently awarded to the Pittsfield Public School District will help increase school attendance, decrease disruptive behavior and improve graduation rates. The $2.8 million Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant is part of a joint effort by the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human services. Only 19 districts across the nation were awarded the three-year grant, and Pittsfield secured the second-largest sum."
Projections of Education Statistics to 2015
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 11:31 AM
This NCES publication provides projections for key education statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2015. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2015. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections. Hussar. W.J., and Bailey, T.M. (2006). Projections of Education Statistics to 2015 (NCES 2006-084). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
A plan to inspire achievement
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 3:35 PM
Daily Herald reports on Utah Scholars program, "The goal is to encourage students to take more rigorous academic courses in high school. Students who succeed in the program will be designated Utah Scholars at graduation -- a title that will be noted on transcripts and which will help them qualify for higher levels of college financial aid."
New York State Education Department Dropout Prevention Resources
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 11:50 AM
Los Angeles Unified Plan Aims for Fewer Dropouts
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 9:55 AM
LA Times reports, "The idea, district officials said, is to ensure that students are informed about the options available to them, and to eventually place those options in a series of comprehensive 'education and career centers' that would allow one-stop shopping for wayward students, with a strong focus on vocational education."
Eleven More New York City schools Fail to Meet State Criteria
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 1:42 AM
NY Times reports, "The designations mean that students in the schools, including a Manhattan charter school, two schools for recent immigrants, in Manhattan and Queens, which are open only to students with limited English skills, and a Brooklyn school that has won wide acclaim for its work with students at serious risk of dropping out, now have the right to ask for a transfer to a better school."
Nearly 1 in 5 Massachusetts schools not making adequate yearly progress
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 1:42 PM
AP reports, "In Massachusetts, the progress is measured using attendance rates, graduation rates and participation of and performance on the state's MCAS math and English/language arts tests."
U.S. Spends More on Education, Gets Worse Results, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Finds
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 7:32 AM
Bloomberg reports, "The U.S. spent about $12,000 per student, second only to Switzerland among the 30 OECD countries based on 2003 figures, the OECD said today in its annual report on education. The U.S. outperformed only five of the 30 countries on an OECD test given to 15-year-olds, ranked 12th in high school completion rates and averaged 23 students per class, higher than the average of 21."
Kentucky schools will compete in attendance
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 2:03 PM
The Cincinnati Post reports, "Decades ago, rounding up kids cutting school was the job of the police truancy officer. It's an image best captured in the famous Norman Rockwell painting of the officer sitting at a diner counter next to a young boy who appears to be set to run away from home. Rockwell was so 20th-century. Today, Newport Independent Schools is the only district in Kentucky to track truants electronically and with lightning-speed."
Using Data To Drive Policy
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 11:24 AM
The School Administrator, Terri Duggan Schwartzbeck writes, "Until more states have the data systems that can truly track student growth and all the factors involved, including courses taken and graduation/dropout information, policymakers in Washington will remain hampered by gaps in the data. How do we ever truly know what students know? That’s the million-dollar question."
Plattsburgh State Upward Bound's success rate: 92-percent college attendance with a 60-percent graduation rate
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 7:34 AM
Press Republican opined, "Upward Bound projects provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature and foreign languages. The local students experience living in the university's dormitories and move to their classes in real-life collegiate settings. While attending lectures and getting homework in subjects like public speaking, creative writing and foreign languages, the students also participate in a variety of out-of-classroom activites, like attending leadership conferences, hiking and field trips."
Report Finds U.S. Students Lagging in Finishing College
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 3:35 AM
NY Times reports, "The report 'badly miscalculates New York’s TAP program and inaccurately portrays higher education in New York as unaffordable,’' said John R. Ryan, the SUNY chancellor. 'Nothing could be further from the truth.'”
Special ed is honcho's priority
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 4:30 AM
NY Daily News reports on NYC schools chancellor for teaching and learning, "'I'd like to see a sharp increase in the number of kids in inclusive settings,' he [Andres Alonso] said. 'We know that the kids that we see in inclusive settings are outperforming kids in more restrictive environments.' He also hopes to improve achievement for bilingual students, particularly those who come to city schools as teens. But he, added, increasing the graduation rate is 'our greatest challenge.'"
Texas education the elephant in the room
Date CapturedSunday September 03 2006, 2:45 PM
The Houston Chronicle reports, "The new school finance law adopted by the Legislature this spring after five sessions over the past three years will make it harder for school districts to generate revenue because voter approval, not school board action, will generally dictate future school tax increases. And those voters with the most discretionary income will be older whites without children in schools."
Promise Abandoned: How Policy Choices and Institutional Practices Restrict College Opportunities
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 9:25 AM
Kati Haycock, Director of the Education Trust and author of the report writes, "Though college leaders may not have intended this, higher education — especially the four-year college sector — has become a mechanism for reinforcing social class, rather than a vehicle for fostering social mobility. That’s bad for low-income and minority families. And it is bad for America."
$3 billion plan for struggling California schools is revealed
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 12:08 PM
UNION-TRIBUNE reports on agreement with the California Teachers Association, "The estimated 600 schools in the pilot program would be selected from applicants among 1,600 low-performing schools whose scores on statewide tests are in the bottom 20 percent. The schools would have to maintain an average class size of 20 students in kindergarten through the third grade, a current requirement, and an average of 25 students not to exceed 27 students in most fourth-through 12th-grade classes. The schools would have to have at least one credentialed counselor for every 300 students. Using a new index, the average experience of teachers would have to equal or exceed the district average. The schools also would have to move toward a three-year goal of improving their test scores. Pupil attendance and graduation rates also would be expected to show improvement."
Buffalo Superintendent Williams pushes for longer school year: Plan, which includes longer school day, is supported by Board of Regents chancellor
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 12:02 PM
Buffalo News reports, "Bennett (chancellor) said he expects similar efforts across the state. Williams said the longer year and extended day are needed to: Give students more time to tackle increasingly demanding course work and state graduation requirements; Allow more classroom periods for vocational education, art and music, which are getting crowded out by the expansion of instruction in English, math and other 'core subjects'; Provide more time for teacher training and preparation. This school year, teachers report to school on Tuesday, then begin instruction on Wednesday; Allow time during the school day for Advanced Placement and honors courses that are being phased back into Buffalo high schools."
Rochester forum looks at troubled students: Duffy, others discuss how to keep kids in school
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 7:31 AM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The forum drew wide-ranging support from educators, community activists, parents and students. Linking the dropout rate to economic development in Rochester, Duffy [Rochester mayor] said economic growth in the city is made difficult without an educated work force in place."
A helping hand, Brand: Time has come for NCAA to help prep athletes
Date CapturedMonday August 28 2006, 8:52 PM
AP reports, "At a time when the NCAA is stepping up accountability for poor academic performance with colleges and universities using data tied to academic progress and graduation rates, Brand said it's unfair to schools and student-athletes when the students arrive at college without the academic background to take college-level courses."
Agassi Prep offers kids of Las Vegas a reason to learn
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 8:22 AM
USA Today reports on Agassi charter school, "'Picture every year, all the time that you see sort of these evolutions of the children themselves,' he [Agassi] says. 'All of a sudden, they're ninth graders. You think, 'You were third graders. Look at you. You're standing taller than me, speaking better than I speak, having more of a plan for your life than I have for mine.' The kids are the best part of this.'"
DC Students Face New Learning Standards
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 4:02 PM
The Washington Post reports, "The learning standards, outlining what students should know and be able to do at each grade level, are among many new policies and initiatives slated to be launched this year. The changes, school officials say, are intended to boost student achievement, increase the level of parental involvement in the schools and improve efficiency for teachers and administrators."
High school education in New Jersey
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 9:45 AM
El Diario La Prensa editorial writes, "Other than testing to measure failures, the state has yet to demonstrate that it understands or knows how to fix what is wrong in those schools where students consistently fail to meet the current curriculum standards — the standards that were supposed to raise the academic bar. The Education Department will need to better educate itself if it expects to demand more of others."
Arizona Gov. Napolitano: Raise school attendance age
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 9:20 AM
Arizona Daily Star reports, "State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne said altering the dropout age is not the answer. 'My solution to the dropout problem is to persuade kids that they should be in school with things like outside mentoring, peer counseling, flexible hours and career technical education,' Horne said. 'But if you force kids who don't want to be there to be there, they can be disruptive.'"
Pathways Academy -- new charter school begins school year
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 9:45 PM
First Coast News reports, "Pathways Academy is operated by Florida Community College. Its program targets students who either dropped out of school or who did not earn the necessary credits to graduate."
North Carolina schools: Will smaller lead to better?
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 7:19 PM
New Record reports, "But new research suggests small schools might not offer much academic improvement to the students who need it the most. And opponents say small schools limit the variety in courses and extracurricular activities, such as sports, that often are all that keeps some students from dropping out. Even small-schools advocates admit that breaking down high schools doesn't always work. And that by itself, small is not the answer."
Metro Nashville grad rates rise by technicality: Schools count summer finishes for first time
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 6:34 PM
The Tennessean reports, "Metro Schools Director Pedro Garcia said the district has ramped up efforts to reduce dropouts. Some initiatives include help transitioning from middle to high school, support for struggling freshmen and classes that allow students to recover failed classes or pick up basic skills. 'Our grad rate is our number one goal,' Garcia said. Tennessee, along with many other states, was able to get special permission from the U.S. Department of Education to insert a one-year lag in the graduation rates."
Tennessee scores point to problems in grad rates, special ed
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 2:47 PM
The Tennessean reports, "Recently released test scores show that school systems here and across the state [Tennessee] must focus on getting more students to graduate on time with a regular diploma and boosting the skills of students diagnosed with learning and other disabilities."
New College of Florida shares title for top public liberal arts college with Virginia Military Institute
Date CapturedSaturday August 19 2006, 7:35 PM
Herald Tribune reports ,"Among other things, the ranking reflects New College's small class sizes, a high graduation rate and an average SAT score of 1331 for incoming freshmen."
New Jersey to look at revising high school standards
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 8:46 PM
AP reports, "New Jersey high school students need more science, mathematics and technology education, even if they plan to go right to work instead of college, state officials said Thursday as they unveiled plans to rework high school requirements."
State High School Exit Exams: A Challenging Year
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 7:48 AM
Authors: Nancy Kober, Dalia Zabala, Naomi Chudowsky, Victor Chudowsky, Keith Gayler, and Jennifer McMurrer. Center on Education Policy report finds, "... no state legislature adopted a new exit exam requirement in 2006 although Maryland, Washington, and Oklahoma are following through on plans set earlier to phase in exit exams. Of the four states scheduled to begin withholding diplomas based on exam performance this year, Arizona and California did so only after facing significant legal challenges, while Utah backed down from its earlier plans to do so. Idaho began withholding diplomas in 2006 with less conflict and controversy than other states experienced. Meanwhile, most of the 25 states that currently require or are phasing in exit exams have moved to create greater flexibility and support to help struggling students meet the exam requirements."
Binghamton graduation rates show big gains: Rates up for blacks, impoverished students
Date CapturedWednesday August 16 2006, 5:53 PM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "But the performance of students with disabilities remains a concern, said Mary Cahill, assistant superintendent for instruction. Not only did their graduation rate remain below 50 percent, they failed to meet state targets on the English and math Regents exams. Right now, special education is the group where the district has the most problems, Cahill said."
Massachusetts leaders join forces to improve education from pre-K to college
Date CapturedTuesday August 15 2006, 7:42 PM
AP reports, "Members of the Massachusetts Advisory Committee on Education Policy say they hope the meeting will begin a historic cooperation between the Department of Early Education and Care, the Department of Education and the Board of Higher Education. The committee is made up of high-level officials from the three state agencies. 'Education policy now crosses every sector of education,' said Stephen Tocco, the chairman of the Board of Higher Education. 'We really have to talk collectively.'"
Implementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 9:52 PM
NGA Issue Brief written by Bridget Curran, Education Division, National Governors Association. (08/07/2006). "In 2005 governors of all 50 states signed the Graduation Counts Compact and made an unprecedented commitment to a common method for calculating each state's high school graduation rate. In addition to agreeing to a common formula for calculating the graduation rate, the governors committed to leading efforts to improve state data collection, reporting, and analysis; reporting additional indicators of outcomes for students; and reporting annually on their progress toward improved high school graduation, completion, and dropout data."
Appeals court upholds California state high school exit exam
Date CapturedSaturday August 12 2006, 2:14 PM
AP reports, "A state appeals court on Friday upheld the state's [California] high school exit exam, rejecting claims by a group of students who argued the test discriminates against poor students and those who are learning English. The three-judge panel said that although all California students don't have access to equal education, eliminating the test as a graduation requirement would harm disadvantaged students more than it would help them."
Graduation rates must be a focus
Date CapturedSaturday August 12 2006, 7:51 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal opined on graduation, "Statewide testing has shown where the achievement gap exists. While the drop-out rate is significant, especially in some minority communities, lowering expectations is not the answer. Far from a hindrance, these test results are giving the state the opportunity to fix the problems."
Arizona Maricopa County judge allows AIMS challenge to proceed
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 10:55 AM
The Arizona Republic reports, "A judge has refused to dismiss a legal challenge to the requirement that Arizona high school students pass the AIMS test to graduate, setting the stage for a two-day hearing later this month on the adequacy of funding for Arizona public schools."
School spending called ineffective: New York top in spending, bottom in graduation
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 7:46 AM
The Journal News reports, "The head of the state's largest teacher union said the findings did not surprise him. 'We do spend a lot on education because we offer a lot,' said Richard Ianuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers. 'In New York state, the cost of living and the quality of curriculum and the toughness of the standards demand a lot.' And he said high standards mean that not everyone will graduate on time."
NEW YORK EDUCATION STATISTICS SHOW HIGH SPENDING FOR AVERAGE RESULTS
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 11:34 AM
The Public Policy Institute of NYS "Just the Facts" series shows, "New York's per-pupil spending is the second highest in the nation while the state's graduation rate is near the bottom." Additional data on pupil/teacher ratios, class sizes, teacher salary, student performance on math and reading exams and SATs, and other higher education statistics are included.
United Way sets priorities
Date CapturedWednesday August 02 2006, 8:32 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Spending on the Strong Start program, another early childhood initiative that gives extra help to children who enter kindergarten with risks of failure, also will expand to three schools from one. United Way will double its funding for the Hillside Work Scholarship Connection, attempting to reach 200 more kids, and increase the number of school-community partnership programs, such as the one at East High and five other schools. By 2008 there'd be a total of 11 schools with these centers for counseling, mentoring and tutoring. Carpino said these programs reduce drop-out rates. United Way will continue to fund after-school programs that keep children safe and off the street, such as Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Rochester and YMCA."
Tennessee Gov. Bredesen says he would consider 5-year high schools
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 11:09 AM
AP reports, "Gov. Phil Bredesen says creating five-year high school programs that bundle together a diploma with a community college degree could help stem the state's dropout rate."
FIGHTING POVERTY; WHAT N.Y.C. NEEDS TO DO
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 7:35 AM
NY Post contributor Richard D. Parsons, chairman & CEO of Time Warner Inc. and co-chair of Mayor Bloomberg's Commission on Economic Opportunity writes, "We know that poverty rates decrease when education rates increase. That is why the mayor and city schools Chancellor Joel Klein have worked so hard to bring accountability to our public schools and improve high-school graduation rates. While much progress has been made, much more needs to be, and can be, done at all levels. We need to give particular focus to preschoolers, and we need to make it easier for more of our young people to go to college."
Texas schools help migrant students adjust
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 10:07 AM
The TELEGRAPH reports, "'Our goal is to put children in the schools and keep them there,' Warren said. 'We make the families aware of school requirements, attendance policies, bus routes and the graduation requirements if the children are high school-aged.'"
Diplomas don't mean dollars, Workers with bachelor's degrees suffer first prolonged slump in wages in 30 years
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 8:22 AM
Times Union reports LA Times story, "Offshoring, which has shifted manufacturing and call-center jobs to Mexico and India, is increasingly affecting the white-collar sectors of engineering and software design. Companies have continued their long effort to replace salaried positions with low-paid, nonsalaried jobs, including part-time and freelance positions without benefits."
Let students graduate
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 10:32 PM
USA Today op-ed contributor Monty Neill, executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) writes, "Recent studies reinforce the conclusion that graduation tests increase the dropout rate. The harder the test, the more kids drop out. Across the USA, high-stakes tests push at least 40,000 young men and women out of school each year."
Young Latinas and a Cry for Help
Date CapturedFriday July 21 2006, 10:00 AM
NY Times editorial writes, "About one-quarter of Latina teens drop out, a figure surpassed only by Hispanic young men, one-third of whom do not complete high school."
Florida Pathways Academy: Another Chance for High School Dropouts
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 9:57 AM
First Coast News reports, "Students can earn a high school diploma and get college credit at Pathways Academy. It's a high school on a college campus. Students can earn their diploma two ways."
Broome Community College has new scholarship program
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 9:01 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "A new scholarship program at Broome Community College could attract as many as 25 additional Broome County students each year and keep them in the area after graduation, college officials say."
Colleges Make Way for Internships
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 8:03 AM
NY Times (registration) reports, "Internships have displaced casual hourly jobs as the more typical summer experience for college students — one that may provide valuable professional contacts or even lead to full-time employment after graduation."
More college students start businesses
Date CapturedTuesday July 18 2006, 8:51 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "It's the American dream to be the boss and bring in a good income. More than ever, college students are feeling much bolder about taking the leap into business ownership while in school or immediately after graduation."
The Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Public High Schools From the Common Core of Data: School Years 2002–03 and 2003-04
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 9:57 AM
Comparing the averaged freshman graduation rate among public school students in the class of 2002-03 to that of 2003-04 in each of the 48 reporting states and the District of Columbia, 32 states and the District of Columbia experienced increases in the rate, 1 state experienced no change, and 15 states experienced declines in the rate over this 2-year period. Note, a previous version of this report included unstable estimates for Department of Defense schools, which have been removed.
More Than A Million Didn't Graduate High School This Year; Study also finds only half of American Indian, black students receive diplomas.
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 8:26 AM
MTV reports, "Compared with high school graduates, dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, earn lower wages and have kids at a younger age and raise them as single parents, according to the study."
NCAA releases second list of diploma mills
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 10:46 PM
USA Today reports AP story, "The NCAA on Wednesday added 16 non-traditional high schools, seven of them in Santa Ana, Calif., to a list of those whose transcripts will no longer be accepted because of questionable academic credentials."
Graduation rates raise concern
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 10:35 AM
Daily Local News reports, "A recent report on graduation rates has sparked concern not only about the percentage of freshman who fail to graduate, but also how states and agencies report such rates."
Kids Count
Date CapturedMonday July 03 2006, 9:45 AM
Find out how your state ranks in the 2006 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
Graduation Rate Improving, Schools Chancellor Says
Date CapturedFriday June 30 2006, 7:58 AM
NY Times registration
City goofs on counting H.S. grads
Date CapturedFriday June 30 2006, 7:54 AM
NY Daily News
46% of NYC students don't finish high school in 4 years
Date CapturedSunday June 25 2006, 10:36 AM
Staten Island Advance
Graduation in the Eye of the Beholder
Date CapturedSaturday June 24 2006, 8:04 AM
NY Times registration
Failing System
Date CapturedThursday June 22 2006, 8:26 PM
LI Press (see Education New York Online, EDUCATION POLICY link, SCHOOL FUNDING folder for referenced study)
Las Vegas School Could Face Suit for Censoring Christian Grad Speech
Date CapturedThursday June 22 2006, 10:20 AM
NYC High School Graduation Rates Among Lowest In The Country
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 5:30 PM
NY1
Counting Graduates in Michigan
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 4:47 PM
US high school dropout rate: high, but how high?
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 9:28 AM
Christian Science Monitor
Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 8:51 AM
USA Today
BIG APPLE GRADUATION RATE ROTTEN (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 6:52 AM
A Third of U.S. Dropouts Never Reach 10th Grade (NY Times registration)
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 6:45 AM
City HS graduation rates get 'F' in national study
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 6:20 AM
NY Daily News
Higher dropout rates revealed
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 9:31 PM
USA Today
Florida's high school graduation rate goes from 49th to 47th among states
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 9:25 PM
Report: NYC High School Graduation Rate Below 40 Percent
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 9:19 PM
WNBC
States Inflate School Graduation Rates, Report Says
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 6:21 PM
NPR
U.S. graduation rate at about 70 percent
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 11:26 AM
University of Texas has new tactics to boost grad rates
Date CapturedThursday June 15 2006, 9:24 AM
Denver Public Schools: Resegregation, Latino Style
Date CapturedWednesday June 14 2006, 7:50 AM
By Chungmei Lee, The Civil Rights Project. This paper, the first of two reports, focuses on the dynamics of segregation, demographic changes, and implications for graduation rates in the Denver Public Schools. The relationship of the dramatic demographic changes to segregation trends is examined by measuring the average exposure of students to all racial groups, as well as to each other and the concentration of students in racially isolated schools during the five years preceding the 1995 Keyes decision and in the eight subsequent years following.
A lifeline to high school dropouts
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 8:56 AM
Dropout culture
Date CapturedSunday June 11 2006, 9:54 AM
Faulty system miscalculates Virginia's graduation rate
Date CapturedSunday June 11 2006, 9:51 AM
Few graduating college in four years
Date CapturedSaturday June 10 2006, 8:00 PM
read "The Toolbox Revisited; Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College" on education new york online EDUCATION POLICY link, HIGHER EDUCATION/COMMUNITY COLLEGES folders.
Holding Colleges and Universities Accountable for Meeting State Needs
Date CapturedSaturday June 10 2006, 9:57 AM
By Alicia A. Diaz, Joan Lord and Joseph L. Marks. This report, a part of the Challenge to Lead education goals series, looks at states' annual reports for higher education accountability and recommends that states develop public agendas for higher education. It also describes states' progress on key indicators: higher education graduation rates, faculty salaries, and science and research funding. SREB states have improved, but work remains to be done.
Vocational education back in vogue at California schools
Date CapturedSaturday June 10 2006, 9:17 AM
Teaching While Educating
Date CapturedTuesday June 06 2006, 7:55 AM
Wrong Answer for Dropouts (NY Times registration)
Date CapturedSunday June 04 2006, 8:05 AM
Utah state education board close to setting graduation requirements
Date CapturedSaturday June 03 2006, 9:07 AM
Rebellion Over Who Gets Diploma
Date CapturedThursday June 01 2006, 11:01 AM
Iowa high school graduation expectations changing
Date CapturedThursday June 01 2006, 9:15 AM
More women graduate. Why?
Date CapturedTuesday May 30 2006, 12:10 AM
Smaller learning communities initiatives striving to keep kids in school
Date CapturedSunday May 28 2006, 7:51 PM
Oklahoma Lawmakers Pass Bill For High School Exit Exams
Date CapturedSaturday May 27 2006, 2:33 PM
Graduating college gets fast-tracked
Date CapturedSaturday May 27 2006, 8:48 AM
California High Court Reinstates School Exit Exam
Date CapturedWednesday May 24 2006, 11:25 PM
All Things Considered, May 24, 2006
Dropout Data Raise Questions on 2 Fronts (Washington Post registration)
Date CapturedTuesday May 23 2006, 10:22 AM
see education new york online EDUCATION POLICY link, GRADUATION folder for referenced studies.
Demonstrations expected as Rice speaks at Boston College
Date CapturedMonday May 22 2006, 10:49 AM
Study: Inadequate aid a factor in lower graduation rates, higher taxes
Date CapturedSaturday May 20 2006, 10:06 PM
Mississippi education chief proposes revamping schools
Date CapturedFriday May 19 2006, 5:17 PM
New York State's Dual Crises: Low Graduation Rates and Rising School Taxes
Date CapturedFriday May 19 2006, 9:10 AM
Inadequate state aid to public schools is jeapordizing the future of New York State's two million public school children and driving up local property taxes, according to a new report released today by AQE and the Public Policy and Education Fund.
Study says Florida students not ready for community college
Date CapturedSunday May 14 2006, 1:06 PM
Tulane Grads Hear from Two Former Presidents
Date CapturedSunday May 14 2006, 5:31 AM
CUNY course a fresh start for dropouts
Date CapturedSunday May 14 2006, 5:05 AM
Attacking absenteeism
Date CapturedSaturday May 13 2006, 7:59 AM
Judge's Decision to Suspend Exit Exam Is Bad for Students, According to California Business for Education Excellence
Date CapturedFriday May 12 2006, 7:41 PM
Arizona English learners look good for AIMS
Date CapturedFriday May 12 2006, 10:13 AM
Two Setbacks for Exit Exams Taken by High School Seniors (NY Times registration)
Date CapturedWednesday May 10 2006, 12:09 AM
Just being there is key; Schools with high attendance rates graduate more students, state education Mills says
Date CapturedThursday May 04 2006, 7:07 AM
Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends
Date CapturedWednesday May 03 2006, 6:36 PM
Listen to debate between Economic Policy Institute President Lawrence Mishel (co-author of Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends) and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Jay P. Greene, on their differing analyses of graduation rates nationwide. The Center on Education Policy (CEP) hosted the debate on Thursday, April 27, 2006, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Special education students won't be sidelined during graduation if Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell signs bill
Date CapturedFriday April 28 2006, 6:34 PM
Lawmakers consider graduation standards but dump school hours plan
Date CapturedWednesday April 26 2006, 1:41 PM
High School Dropouts Gain Opportunity to Earn Diploma and College Degree
Date CapturedWednesday April 26 2006, 1:27 PM
Leaving no child behind Utah's graduation imbalance; Utah educators go the extra mile to see minorities succeed
Date CapturedWednesday April 26 2006, 9:34 AM
NY State Education Commissioner Mills visits Syracuse schools
Date CapturedTuesday April 25 2006, 12:03 AM
Dropout reports highlight the lack of uniform data
Date CapturedThursday April 20 2006, 8:23 AM
High school graduation gap more than racial
Date CapturedWednesday April 19 2006, 9:14 AM
New Graduation Rate Report by Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters
Date CapturedWednesday April 19 2006, 9:05 AM
This study uses a widely respected method to calculate public high school graduation rates for the nation, for each state, and for the 100 largest school districts in the United States. This study calculates graduation rates overall, by race, and by gender, using the most recent available data (the class of 2003).
Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School
Date CapturedWednesday April 19 2006, 9:03 AM
by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellows Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters. Civic Report 48. April 2006
The Adult Lives of At-Risk Students: The Roles of Attainment and Engagement in High School
Date CapturedFriday April 14 2006, 10:03 AM
Jeremy D. Finn, State University of New York at Buffalo; Jeffrey Owings, Project Officer National Center for Education Statistics. This March 2006 NCES report examines heterogeneity in young adult outcomes among students at risk for school failure due to low socioeconomic status (SES). It addresses the question: “Among students at risk due to status characteristics, what are the relationships of high school engagement and attainments with post-high school outcomes?” Two sets of outcomes are considered: entry and persistence in postsecondary education, and employment and income as a young adult.
Mills applauds efforts to boost graduation rate
Date CapturedFriday March 31 2006, 8:09 AM
Leave No Adult Behind Program Could Help 30 Million Adults Earn HS Diplomas
Date CapturedMonday March 27 2006, 8:54 AM



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