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THE ARTS 2008: MUSICAL & VISUAL ARTS. National Center for Education Statistics. Shelley Keiper et al. June 15, 2009.
Full Text: [PDF format, 40 pages]
The report presents the results of the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) arts assessment. It was administered to a nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade public and private school students. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts. [Note: contains copyright material]
MULTIPLE CHOICE: CHARTER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN 16 STATES. Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Stanford University. June 2009.
Full Text: [PDF format, 57 pages]
The report by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that there is a wide variance in the quality of the nation’s several thousand charter schools with, in the aggregate, students in charter schools not faring as well as students in traditional public schools. [Note: contains copyright material].
DIPLOMAS COUNT 2009 - BROADER HORIZONS: THE CHALLENGES OF COLLEGE READINESS FOR ALL STUDENTS. Education Week and Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. June 11, 2009.
Full Text: [HTML format with links]
The report shows a cautiously optimistic picture of high school graduation trends, finding that the national graduation rate has improved over the past decade, though a recent one-year downturn, the first significant annual decline in that 10-year period, raises cause for concern. The report also points out that there is no firm consensus among states, schools, and policymakers on what it means to be ready for postsecondary education or how to measure college readiness. It investigates one of the most critical issues facing the nation’s educational and economic future, the challenge to prepare all students for college. [Note: contains copyright material].
LATE HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS: CHARACTERISTICS, EXPERIENCES, AND CHANGES ACROSS COHORTS. National Center for Education Statistics. Ben Dalton et al. Web posted June 10, 2009.
Full Text: [PDF format, 71 pages]
The report presents information about selected characteristics and experiences of high school sophomores in 2002 who subsequently dropped out of school. It also presents comparative data about late high school dropouts in the years 1982, 1992, and 2004. The findings address only dropping out in late high school and do not cover students who dropped out before the spring of 10th grade. For this reason, the reported rates are lower than those based on the students’ entire high school or earlier school career.
AA09207
Fischer, Karin INTERNATIONALLY, THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION IS BOOMING (Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 55, No. 38, May 29, 2009, pp. A1, A31-A32)
Available on request
Despite the global economic downturn, the business of education is booming. The number of students who study outside their home countries is projected to grow from three million this year to eight million by 2025, and most U.S. colleges and universities not only lack the capacity to deal with the rising numbers but probably cannot efficiently create the needed capacity. Instead, they are turning to the rapidly-growing business sector that provides services to international educators – everything from medical evacuations for sick students to recruitment, internships and evaluation of foreign academic credentials. U.S. colleges also need help with the 1.25 million foreign-educated people who come to the U.S. each year and the many more they hope to recruit. Most of the U.S.-bound students used to be coming for study at the graduate level, but now colleges are seeking undergraduates, “who typically pay full tuition,” Fischer says. To find such students, colleges are paying companies for marketing plans, advertising materials, international recruitment tours and fairs, and similar services.
TRANSFORMING OUR SCHOOLS. American Association of School Administrators. June 4, 2009.
Full Text: [PDF format, 20 pages]
The report takes an in-depth look at the challenges facing today’s school superintendents as they work to transform the nation’s public schools. The report summarizes discussions held among the country’s top public school superintendents at the 2008 National Superintendent of the Year Forum, an intensive, three-day leadership event. The 2008 State Superintendents of the Year from urban, suburban and rural school systems participated in interactive discussions on best practices for transforming their schools to meet the needs of all students. Transforming a school district takes leadership, commitment and time. It also requires the support of stakeholders, the participants noted. [Note: contains copyright material].
DIPLOMAS AND DROPOUTS: WHICH COLLEGES ACTUALLY GRADUATE THEIR STUDENTS (AND WHICH DON’T). American Enterprise Institute. Frederick M. Hess et al. June 2009.
Full Text: [PDF format, 80 pages]
The report exposes the dramatic variation in completion rates across nearly 1,400 colleges and universities. Less than 55 percent of first-time students at the average four-year college graduate within six years, and at many institutions, students have less than a one in three chance of earning a degree. The authors find that completion rates vary dramatically across institutions with similar admissions standards. “Such differences suggest that while student motivation, finances, and ability matter greatly when it comes to college completion, the practices of higher education institutions matter, too,” Frederick M. Hess, lead author of Diplomas and Dropouts, said. [Note: contains copyright material].