Printer-friendly versionSome of the News Fit to Print
AS PUBLIC EDUCATION GOES, SO GOES CALIFORNIA
How appropriate that, as one of the biggest education protests in history unfurled across the state, California's application for a Race to the Top school reform grant was rejected by federal officials. Could there possibly be a louder wake-up call? Given the chaos and infighting that muddied the state's halting attempt to qualify for Race to the Top, the rejection is no surprise. But if education funding continues to decline, and if turf battles continue to prevent real reform, it's not just students who will suffer. California's greatness is at risk. For much of the late 20th century, our public schools, colleges and universities were the envy of the nation, driving an economic boom that made the Golden State a global power. It's no coincidence that this happened when taxpayers' commitment to education was at its zenith. That support has been declining for years, and the results are alarming. This editorial is in the San Jose Mercury News.
U.S. TECH PLAN PRODS K-12 TO INNOVATE
The Obama administration urged educators and policymakers today to embrace a host of digital-learning approaches it says will make K-12 schools better, including putting a computing device in the hands of every student. Guided by an overarching goal set by President Barack Obama to raise national college-completion rates from 40 percent to 60 percent by 2020, the first National Educational Technology Plan issued by his administration outlines the big-picture approaches it says U.S. schools need to employ in the areas of classroom learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity to help meet that goal. The plan, titled “Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” was written over nine months by educators, researchers, and policymakers, with input from the public. It emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to customize learning for each student, citing tactics such as mobile computing and online coursetaking. This premium article is compliments of Education Week and ECS.
GRADES ON THE RISE
Grades awarded to U.S. undergraduates have risen substantially in the last few decades, and grade inflation has become particularly pronounced at selective and private colleges, a new analysis of data on grading practices has found. In “Grading in American Colleges and Universities,” published Thursday in Teachers College Record, Stuart Rojstaczer, a former Duke University professor of geology, and Christopher Healy, an associate professor of computer science at Furman University, illustrate that grade point averages have risen nationally throughout most of the last five decades. The study also indicates that the mean G.P.A. at an institution is “highly dependent” upon the quality of its students and whether it is public or private. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
SHRINKING NEWSROOMS
At a time when newspapers are slashing their staffs and squeezing out education coverage, it is more difficult for colleges to communicate their relevance and messages to the public. Many are tapping the expertise of out-of-work journalists as they navigate a media landscape that is increasingly moving online. But the void those reporters leave in shrinking newsrooms has raised questions about whether colleges are being held accountable, and whether too many college news releases show up, almost verbatim, on newspapers' Web sites. The article is in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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