|
THE NEWS
ACADEMIC PREPARATION
ACT scores dip, but more students college-ready
By Eric Gorski, The Washington Post
Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam inched downward this year, yet slightly more students who took the test proved to be prepared for college, according to a report released Wednesday. The findings sound contradictory. But the exam's authors point to a growing and more diverse group of test-takers - many are likely scoring lower overall, but more are also meeting benchmarks used to measure college readiness. Last spring's high-school seniors averaged a composite score of 21.0 on the test's scale of 1 to 36, down slightly from 21.1 last year and the lowest score of the last five years.
For Black, state’s high school graduation rates still far behind whites’
By Grace E. Merritt, The Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
A new national report shows that while African American males in Connecticut graduate high school at a higher rate than the national average, the rate is still only 60 percent and lags far behind white males in the state. The "Yes We Can" report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education also found that African American male students are expelled or suspended much more often than their white counterparts, and are much less likely to be put in gifted or advanced placement classes. The report found that 60 percent of African American males in Connecticut graduated in the 2007-08 school year, better than the overall national rate of 47 percent.
Special Education students disciplined twice as often
By Kate Ergenbright, The Texas Tribune
Special education students in Texas public schools are nearly twice as likely to be suspended as students in the general education population, according to a recent Texas Education Agency report to the Senate Committee on Education. The expulsion rate is also disproportionate: Though special education students make up just 10 percent of the enrollment in Texas public schools, they account for 21 percent of expulsions, according to the School-to-Prison Pipeline report published by Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit public interest law center. According to the TEA report, for every 100 special education students in Texas, there were 55.8 in-school suspensions and 25.1 out-of-school suspensions in the 2007-2008 school year, compared to 33.2 in-school suspensions and 12.1 out-of-school suspensions for non-special-ed students.
POSTSECONDARY ACCESS SUCCESS
‘Early alert’ systems send students warnings, advice
By Carisa Chappell, The Community College Times
A growing number of colleges are using such “early alert” systems to help support services staff to identify and engage students who may be at risk of failing a course or dropping out of college, according to officials from colleges that use the systems. “The system will catch students who didn’t know that they were on the verge of failing,” said Sue DeRose of Lexnet, an early alert system vendor. “The goal is to catch students before they fail so that they won’t get discouraged then lack the confidence or self-esteem to continue.”
The care and feeding of freshmen
By Jon Marcus, The US News and World Report
Eight freshmen in flip-flops, shorts, and T-shirts assemble around a library table at the University of South Carolina to puzzle out homework from an introductory accounting class. With thick textbooks open before them, they struggle over one complicated problem after another in a lesson on preparing a balance sheet. Several look lost. In the past, they might have stayed that way, perhaps becoming so frustrated that they eventually dropped out of school. But colleges like South Carolina, having studied failure rates of new students as well as their own balance sheets, are stepping in with safety nets. The Student Success Center is part of a nationwide proliferation of orientation programs to help students survive what can be a perilously intimidating first year in college.
NSSE data helps institutions foster minority students success
By Toni Coleman, Diverse Issues in Higher Education
University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) officials in recent years created a minority mentoring program to connect students of color with business leaders in the community. The university recruited minority staff and students to work in its career center. It hired an adviser to work with minority student groups to ensure campus events reflected their interests. All of these changes came about due to data—survey data that, for instance, revealed minority students were not taking advantage of the career services center. UNCW is one of 1,400 institutions that have participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the survey instrument that signaled the need for changes in the career services center to better meet minority students’ needs.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
U.S. warning halts Americans’ studying in Mexico, but Europeans are filling the gap
By Marion Lloyd, The Chronicle of Higher Education
When the U.S. government warned Americans against traveling to the most violence-torn regions of Mexico in March, the impact on study-abroad programs in the country was immediate and severe. Universities across the United States canceled research projects and warned their students against studying or even traveling in northern Mexico. But six months later, a record number of students from other parts of the world are flocking to Monterrey, the northern Mexican city that has been a focal point of the drug war. In some cases, university administrators say, European students are even making up for the shortfall from the United States.
Libs to cut incentives for poorer university students
By Andrew Trounson, The Australian
The Labor government has allocated $325 million over three years as a per student loading to encourage universities to enrol more students from poorer backgrounds. But in its election costings the Coalition is proposing to cut $227m from the program. Students from the poorest 25 per cent of society make up only 15 per cent of university places. Labor has set a target to raise that participation to 20 per cent by 2020. Universities last night slammed the Coalition policy as short-sighted.
The art of joy in short supply at creative colleges, NSS shows
By Hannah Fearn, The Times Higher Education
Art colleges are struggling to satisfy their students, with the UK's National Student Survey revealing that four of the five unhappiest student bodies are at creative institutions. The University of the Arts London has the least-satisfied students for the second year running, with 62 per cent saying they are content with their course - a drop of 1 per cent on last year. The University for the Creative Arts, the Glasgow School of Art and Ravensbourne, along with Thames Valley University, follow close behind. The private University of Buckingham has the most satisfied students, with 95 per cent stating that they are happy with their degree course.
REPORTS WORTH READING
Condition of College and Career Readiness 2010
ACT-tested U.S. high school graduates appear to be making slow but steady progress at becoming ready for college and career, according to ACT’s annual Condition of College and Career Readiness report for 2010. The 2010 ACT test results show a growing percentage of students meeting all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, an increase of 1 percentage point over last year and 3 percentage points over five years ago. This has occurred as the population of ACT-tested graduates has grown to new levels—up by 30 percent since 2006—and become more diverse.
A Smart Move in Tough Times: How SREB States Can Strengthen Adult Learning and the Work Force
A new report from the Southern Regional Education Board argues that even a modest investment in adult learning programs can fill vital workforce needs and bolster state economies. After noting the benefits of adult learning – including increased employment and earnings for those with at least a high school diploma and greater tax revenues for states – the report urges policymakers to make a “second investment” in adults without high school credentials. SREB further recommends statewide coordination of adult learning efforts and goals and creativity in the delivery of current programs and resources.
|
HACU/EPI Student Retention Workshop
