Some "reverse transfers," as they are known, seek practical expertise that can translate into secure jobs, are foundering academically or socially at a traditional university, intend to advance no further than the associate degree awarded by two-year colleges, or cannot afford the rapid rise in university tuition. In addition, says a senior researcher at the American Association of Community Colleges, two-year programs appeal to mobile adults in their 20s who aren't ready to commit four years to one institution. Students today, he said, want to choose among online offerings and classes at satellite campuses, four-year colleges and community colleges.

Education Budget Cuts

In his new budget proposal, President Bush proposes to cut more than $3 billion of federal spending on education, but also wants to launch new initiatives to strengthen math and science achievement and reform America's high schools. The $12.7 billion Title I program, which accounts for about half of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funding, would receive no new funding under the proposed budget. Bush, however, did propose a 4.6% increase for new NCLB programs, including initiatives aimed at boosting America's international competitiveness in math and science and extending NCLB requirements into high school. The overall federal education budget would be cut by $3.1 billion, or 5.5 percent from 2006 levels. Much of the cuts would come from eliminating 42 education programs, including those focused on student achievement by underserved populations.

Districts Use Incentives to Lure Teachers

Faced with competing against districts with many more resources, school district’s on the Valley’s fringes and in inner-city Phoenix are trying or considering unique incentives to recruit teachers. The Coolidge Unified School District is developing an incentive package that they hope will include housing deals for new teachers. The Florence Unified School District is considering a move to a four-day school week, and ASU is offering scholarships to student teachers in hard-to-place districts.

Closing the Gap: An Overview

Persistent gaps between the academic achievements of different groups of children are thoroughly documented by the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress and other statistical analyses of state assessments, grades, course selection, and dropout rates. Despite improvements in some years, the gap endures as a consistent and disturbing phenomenon that contradicts the fundamental belief that any child who studies and works hard, regardless of socioeconomic status, skin color, or country of origin, will succeed in school and in life. Public discourse about the achievement gap is stuck between grim statistics and shining stories of success in the public schools.

“The Achievement Gap—Closing the Gap: An Overview”, an ASCD Infobrief, is the first in a series that will focus on the achievement gap. The intent of the series is to provide guidance for policymakers and practitioners seeking to institutionalize processes that successfully address achievement gap issues.

Learning From What Doesn't Work

In these achievement-driven times, educators are flooding the professional learning community with requests for strategies that work to improve reading comprehension in the upper-elementary and secondary grades. The answers are not simple for most students, since the needs of adolescent readers are complex and varied, even within specific cultural and linguistic groups. In figuring out what works, sometimes it's helpful to first consider what doesn't work. An issue of Educational Leadership examines five ineffective strategies for developing reading comprehension in older students.

Emerging Technologies in the
Education Field

It is well known that schools are among the earliest adopters of new technologies. Educators see new technologies and immediately ask how these breakthroughs can be used to enhance learning and boost academic achievement. Each year, eSchool News publishes scores of stories about products and services so fresh that educators are still exploring their potential. Now, thanks to financial support from CDW-G, they have compiled a remarkably informative collection of news articles and links related to educational technology's next frontier.