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College degrees protected recent grads from great recession’s worst

staff and wire services reports — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:37:11 +0000

It was a defining image of the Great Recession: floundering college grads stuck back home, living in mom and dad’s basement. But while rooted in some truth, that picture doesn’t show fully how the prolonged economic downturn broadly impacted people in their early 20s, according to a new study out Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. In fact, those degrees offered strong protections against the recession’s worst effects. The study, an analysis of U.S. Census data by the Pew Economic Mobility Project, makes no claim recent years have been golden ones for new college graduates. Wages were down and have yet to recover, unemployment and student debt were up, and fewer grads have found jobs befitting their education-level. But the report finds all of those negative effects came in much smaller doses for college graduates than for those with associate’s degrees and only a high school credential, and that fewer graduates fell out of work entirely…

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Report: Most kids who need mental health care don’t get it

staff and wire services reports — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:35:29 +0000

Hot off the presses, here’s a report from the Government Accountability Office on the state of children’s mental health care. It reveals some major problems, the Huffington Post reports.

“Most children whose emotions or behavior, as reported by their parent or guardian, indicated a potential need for a mental health service did not receive any services within the same year,” the GAO wrote.

The report comes after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.) requested that the GAO look into how psychotropic drugs affect the long-term development of kids who grow up in foster care. While the report is very specific in its scope, it’s sure to be a relevant piece of evidence as the Obama administration formulates policy to deal with the ramifications of the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting. The shooting has sparked a nationwide debate on gun control, but it has also directed America’s attention to the state of its mental health care system…

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No one knows how many vets graduate: Why it’s a problem

staff and wire services reports — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:33:07 +0000

The federal government has spent more than $20 billion helping 817,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan go to college, the Huffington Post reports. Yet, nine months after President Obama signed an executive order directing the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense and the Department of Education to track completion rates, no one knows how many vets actually graduate. Earlier this month, a partnership was announced between the Department of Veterans Affairs, Student Veterans of America and the National Student Clearinghouse. Together they will research and track student veteran college completion rates, Stars & Stripes reports. The news comes as veterans’ advocates worry Congress may cut some post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits as they squabble over the federal budget deficit…

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Rise of the next digital divide: Women and the web

Meris Stansbury — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:08:56 +0000

Experts believe 600 million new female internet users can be added within the next 3 years.

A first-of-its-kind report gathered data from thousands of women in developing countries to shed light on the lack of women on the web. On average, 25 percent fewer women than men are online today; yet, if action is taken now, 600 million women could have access to the internet in the next three years.

“Women and the Web: Bridging the internet gap and creating new global opportunities in low and middle-income countries,” commissioned by Intel Corp. in consultation with the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s issues, UN Women, and World Pulse, aims to answer questions such as “What is the size of the internet gender gap?” and “What prevents women from accessing the internet?”

“200 million fewer women than men are online today,” said Shelly Esque, president of Intel Foundation and vice president of corporate affairs for Intel. “In many regions, the internet gender gap reflects and amplifies existing inequalities between the sexes.”

According to Michelle Bachelet, undersecretary general and executive director for UN Women, internet access enhances women’s economic empowerment, political participation, and social inclusion through initiatives that support increased productivity and income generation, mobilization, and accountability, as well as improved livelihoods and expansion of services.

(Next page: What the report recommends)

Other countries facing common ed-tech struggles

Laura Devaney — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:46:59 +0000

Other countries share common U.S. ed-tech concerns.

U.S. educators spend much time touting the benefits of taking a global look at classroom technology, but many countries struggle with the same ed-tech challenges facing the U.S., including dwindling funds, accessibility issues, and adequate teacher support.

“This is a challenging time today in education technology,” said Robert Martellacci, president and publisher of MindShare Learning, a Canadian ed-tech consulting, news, and events firm. “We sometimes refer to it as the Wild West. We realized there is a pent-up demand to understand what’s really working in the classroom.”

There are 15,500 K-12 schools and 5.1 million K-12 students across Canada, with 85 to 90 percent of the country’s population living within 100 miles of the U.S border. There is no national department of education, but control is segmented among 10 provinces and three territories. On average, the country maintains a one-to-five computer-to-student ratio, and Martellacci said mobile computing and BYOD initiatives are “gaining serious traction” as they are in the U.S. Also similar to U.S. schools is a strain on financial systems.

(Next page: What a Canadian survey revealed about classroom technology)

Gates Foundation: Test scores not enough for teacher evaluation

staff and wire services reports — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:54:19 +0000

The most reliable systems for measuring teacher effectiveness include a balanced mix of evaluation methods, researchers said—including student test scores, lesson observation, and student surveys.

After three years of research on measuring teacher effectiveness, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Jan. 8 that it takes multiple measures to most accurately evaluate teachers.

The Seattle foundation concluded in its final report on its Measures of Effective Teaching research that test scores or principal evaluations are not enough on their own. The findings mirror what teachers unions have been saying.

Through incentives grants (such as Race to the Top) and waivers to No Child Left Behind rules, the federal government has been pushing states to update their teacher evaluation systems because it felt existing systems were inadequate.

At the same time, the Gates Foundation was studying these issues, saying it wanted to add to the discussion. Most states and big city districts have adopted some elements of the recommendations.

(Next page: What the research says)

Watch: Kindergarten bias sets boys up for failure

staff and wire services reports — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:23:27 +0000

Academics from the University of Georgia and Columbia University think they have more insight into why girls earn higher grades on report cards than boys do, despite the fact that girls do not necessarily outperform boys on achievement or IQ tests, the Huffington Post reports. Christopher Cornwell, head of economics at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, UGA’s David Mustard and Columbia’s Jessica Van Parys have published a study that they say shows “gender disparities in teacher grades start early and uniformly favor girls.” The researchers analyzed data from 5,800 elementary school students and found that boys performed better on standardized exams in math, reading and science than their course grades reflected. The authors suggest that girls are truly only outperforming boys in “non-cognitive approaches to learning” — defined as attentiveness, task persistence, eagerness to learn, learning independence, flexibility and organization — leading to better grades from teachers. The study is published in the latest issue of The Journal of Human Resources…

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How school design heavily affects students

staff and wire services reports — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:08:36 +0000

Great teachers, stable families and a school’s location have long been said to be key to student success. But a new study out of the United Kingdom suggests that a school’s physical design can improve or worsen children’s academic performance by as much as 25 percent in early years, the Huffington Post reports. The year-long study by the University of Salford’s School of the Built Environment and British architecture firm Nightingale Associates examined 751 students in 34 classrooms across seven primary schools for the 2011-2012 academic year. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the year for academic performance in math, reading and writing, and classrooms were rated on environmental qualities like classroom orientation, natural light, acoustics, temperature, air quality and color. The researchers found that classroom architecture and design significantly affected academic performance: Environmental factors studied affected 73 percent of the changes in student scores…

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Which universities are more highly ranked by high school counselors than by colleges officials?

staff and wire services reports — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:03:33 +0000

Do high school counselors and college officials view universities differently? To answer this question, U.S. News is publishing a first-ever analysis of colleges in our National Universities rankings category that shows the academic reputation rankings gap between high school and college officials in our 2013 Best Colleges rankings. How should these results be interpreted? If a school is more highly ranked by high school counselors than by college officials for its undergraduate academic reputation, it means that the school’s undergraduate reputation among its academic peers is lagging behind the evaluation of the school by high school counselors. If a school is less highly ranked by high school counselors than by college officials for its undergraduate academic reputation, it means that the school’s undergraduate reputation among its academic peers is considerably greater than the view of the school held by high school counselors…

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Four key parts of successful online education programs

Laura Devaney — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:55:31 +0000

A number of considerations are necessary for success with online learning.

Progress monitoring tools and proper training in online teaching are critical factors in supporting and sustaining successful online education programs, according to a survey of school leaders.

The survey, released by K12 Inc. and conducted by MDR’s EdNET Insight, included responses from superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum directors, principals, and special-education directors who are experienced in implementing online education programs. The 220-plus respondents identified and ranked a number of key success factors.

Four factors were ranked by at least 80 percent of respondents as “extremely important” to the success of full-time online education programs, individual online courses, and credit recovery programs.

(Next page: The four factors in particular that contribute to successful online education programs)