Stats That Stick: November 16, 2011

Here are this week's Stats That Stick courtesy of our policy intern, Bill DeBaun:

Number of finalists receiving 2011 Investing in Innovation (i3) grants from the U.S. Department of Education: 23
587 applicants were competing for almost $150 million in funding. This is the second year of the i3 grant competition, which funds innovative and promising education strategies that have a good record of success. Last year, 49 grants worth approximately $650 million were awarded. The largest grant awarded this year is likely to go to Old Dominion University Research Foundation, which asked for almost $25 million for a grant “providing high-need middle schools with increased access to challenging math courses.”

Number of states (including DC) that have signed on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative: 47
Montana became the 47th state (including the District of Columbia) to support the English/language arts and math common core state standards on November 4. That number almost dropped back to 46 less than a week later, but Alabama’s State Board of Education passed a resolution by a 6–3 vote reaffirming its commitment to the standards.

Price poor families will pay for broadband internet service under an initiative from the FCC: $9.95 per month
One-third, or approximately 35 million, of American households do not have access to broadband internet. Starting next summer under the Connect-to-Compete initiative, homes with children eligible for free school lunches will also be eligible to receive broadband internet at a discounted rate for two years. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “cobbled together” the deal, which includes all of the nation’s major cable companies. "The broadband adoption gap in the U.S. is very large, and the costs of digital exclusion are high and getting higher," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.

Five Myths About the Common Core State Standards

Writing for the Harvard Education Letter, Alliance Senior Fellow Robert Rothman explores five myths about the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by forty-five states and the District of Columbia.

To hear more from Rothman on the common standards, register for the book release party the Alliance is hosting for him on October 18 in Washington, DC. Alternatively, you can order a copy of his new book, Something in Common: The Common Core Standards and the Next Chapter in American Education, at http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/146/SomethingInCommon.

Rothman's five myths about the Common Core State Standards appear below: