Measuring Up 2008

Measuring Up 2008, released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, reports that states are making little or no progress in providing affordable college opportunities or improving college completion rates for their residents. The report finds that while states have made modest gains in preparing students for college, more students are failing to graduate from high school; while college enrollment rates for young adults are improving, enrollment rates are declining for older adults; the burden of paying for college is now higher for students in every state; and low college completion rates have barely improved. Additionally, disparities persist in college access and success by income, race and ethnicity, and state. The findings come as states face massive budget shortfalls that threaten higher education funding, and the United States continues to lag behind other advanced nations on measures of higher education performance.

Find the link to Arizona’s report card Here.

Educational Leadership

The latest edition of The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s magazine, Educational Leadership, focuses on how educators can use the data they collect to transform instruction and enhance learning. Articles include Driven Dumb by Data?; The Spectrum of Education Research; The New Stupid; Student Driven Research; The Learning Leader: Looking Deeper into the Data; and The Principal Connection: Data That Count.

Enrollment boom

As decimated college-savings accounts force parents to seek less expensive higher education options and rising unemployment sends laid-off workers back to school for retraining, community colleges brace for a jump in enrollment. Administrators at the nation's 1,200 community colleges anticipate tens of thousands of students who expected to attend four-year colleges will take an unplanned detour for one or two years en route to a bachelors degree. In addition, a sharp increase in the number of laid-off workers enrolling in associate-degree and certification programs to train for a new career or enhance existing skills is expected. "Even before the downturn, we've seen more high-school students going to community colleges first because of rapidly increasing costs of four-year schools," says George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges. “Community college can be an affordable option that will give their child good value for the money," says Jeff Kraus, an assistance vice chancellor for the Virginia Community College System.

Measuring What Matters

According to the Data Quality Campaign’s newest report, there are ten essential elements of a longitudinal data system that can track student progress from preschool through college. The elements include a unique statewide student identifier; the ability to match individual students’ test records from year to year to measure academic growth; student-level graduation and dropout data; the ability to match student records between the P-12 and postsecondary systems; and a state data audit system assessing data quality, validity and reliability. The report reveals that only six states have all ten essential elements of a comprehensive data system, and that 48 states have at least half the elements. Despite progress, the report notes some areas where much work remains.

Nation's First Tech-Literacy Exam

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) governing board has announced that American students will be tested on technological literacy for the first time, starting in four years. Beginning in 2012, the test will measure students' proficiency with technology in addition to reading, math, science, history, writing, and other subjects. The new test will mark the first time students' technology literacy has been assessed on a national level. WestEd, a nonprofit educational research, development and service agency based in San Francisco, will develop the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Framework. NAEP's Technological Literacy Assessment comes at a time when there are no nationwide requirements or common definitions for technological literacy. The governing board is slated to review and approve the technological literacy framework in late 2009.

STEM-Focused Program at East Valley Elementary School

The East Valley Tribune reports that Navajo Elementary School and Arizona State University are "executing a partnership through the STEM program -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- to provide a hands-on approach to engineering and science as well as mathematics,” which has resulted in a 13 percent climb in enrollment. The program, benefiting students in kindergarten through sixth grade, is helping to instill interest in engineering and science in younger children. Programs currently include Lego Robotics and building with K-Nex components. Next semester, ASU engineering students will help implement a small-rocket launching program, and STEM will expand into after-school and enrichment activities.