An F in Literature and a C in History

Today's teens are surprisingly short on knowledge about historical or cultural reference such as Uncle Tom's Cabin or McCarthyism a study out today finds. Though students scored poorly in some topics, those subjects covered in school, of those surveyed, 88% knew about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and 97% could identify Martin Luther King Jr. as the man who delivered "I Have a Dream."

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-02-26-teens-history_N.htm

Colleges not crediting IB courses

Enrollment in International Baccalaureate (IB) programs is booming and College admissions counselors love seeing IB courses on a student's transcripts. What's the catch? Well, many colleges are not granting college credit for one-year IB courses even though they are akin to the one-year Advanced Placement, or AP, courses which do come with credit. Moreover, some students can get credit for passing tests after a two-year IB course, but that credit is equivalent to one year in AP.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/24/AR2008022402191.html

Gap in Higher Education Affects Climbing the Income Ladder

Scholars at the Brookings Institute concluded, on Wednesday, that economic mobility, the chance that children of the poor or middle class will climb up the income ladder, has been almost stagnant for the past three decades. "A growing difference in education level between income and racial groups, especially in college degrees, implies that mobility will be lower in the future than it is today," stated Ron Haskins, a former Republican official and welfare expert who authored the education section of the report.

Check out the rest of the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/us/20mobility.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=education&adxnnlx=1203688902-F1wkmGfRLaHi2dOGa2JRFA

Endowments widening disparity amongst colleges

Stanford and Harvard had an exceptional 2007 in fund-raising; individually, they raised over half a billion dollars for their respective institutions. All totaled, colleges and universities raised approximately $30 billion. This is sure to fan the flames of those who feel universities are turning into fund-raising machines.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/education/20educ.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Science wins in Florida, but not by much

Despite objections of religious conservatives, a divided Florida Board of Education adopted new science standards that embrace evolution. To reach a compromise, the slim majority agreed to re-word the references to evolution as "scientific theory."

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080220/NEWS/802200457/1039

Harmful or Helpful - the focus on standardized testing

Teacher groups in Texas requested that a special state committee ease up on high-stakes testing that has forced many schools to put their focus on test preparation and school ratings than learning. All four of the teacher groups asked the panel to consider major changes in the state's school accountability system.

Check out the article at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021908dntexschoolratings.35a109c.html

More AP test takers, Racial gap still wide

According to a recent report released by the College Board, more public school students are taking and passing Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The proportion of students taking these exams has grown as well as the proportion scoring a 3 or higher--a 3 is the benchmark at which some colleges will offer course credit. Black and Hispanic test takers, however, still lag behind their white counterparts in taking and passing these exams.

Check out the entire article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/education/14exam.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin