Afternoon Announcements: Paying for Lunch with a Fingerprint

The federal government can make changes to the way that money is given to public school to improve equity, some civil rights leaders and education advocates argue. One suggestion is to amend the Race to the Top competition so that it rewards states in a way that would distribute money based on student need. Politics K-12

Blended learning has taken over some classes at San Jose State and other California State Universities. In  one dreaded engineering program, students now listen to lectures at home and work on assignments in class. Student achievement in the class has increased in the last year. Mercury News

Several dozen states are considering dropping the GED because prices for the pencil and paper test are too high. The states are exploring a more cost-effective alternative to the GED. Huffington Post

Students at Carnegie Mellon University can pay for their lunch by scanning their fingertips. The new technology connects the fingerprints with a debit card. PSFK Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: March 23, 2012

Happy Friday. We’re sure you’re anxious to get a head start on your weekend celebrations but before you head out the door make sure you’re caught up on all the education news.

According to the Associated Press, the leader of the American Federation of Teachers called on Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and state lawmakers to boost funding for education in in the state, saying that teachers and schools already have sacrificed all they can.

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Afternoon Announcements: December 14, 2011

More like evening announcements? Enjoy the latest in education news as you make your way through the rush hour commute. 

Being unemployed in this economy is not uncommon and incredibly difficult. But being unemployed and uneducated may just set you back even more. Education Week reports that the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a bill that would require Americans filing for unemployment insurance to have a high school diploma or GED in order to receive benefits. Those who don't must be working toward one. Ouch.

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Afternoon Announcements: November 21, 2011

Starting in 2014, the General Education Development (GED) test will make changes with the goal of encouraging adults to continue studying for an associate's or bachelor's degree, reports U.S. News & World Report, which states that the test's five subject areas—writing, social studies, science, reading, and math—will be revised to more closely reflect the set of English and math common core state standards and topics that students are expected to learn. According to the article, New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman is quoted in the article saying, "If you do not have a high school degree that allows you to get through college without significant remediation, there is literally nothing for you." The article also cites this finding from an Alliance report: If half of the Class of 2010's 1.3 million high school dropouts had graduated, America would have gained nearly $7.3 billion in annual potential earnings.

While more students from all backgrounds are finishing college, the difference in graduation rates between the top and bottom income groups has widened by nearly 50 percent over two decades, reports CNN.

The Washington Post writes that failure of the congressional supercommittee tasked with reducing the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion could lead to across-the-board budget cuts, which would have a serious impact on already-distressed public education funding.

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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.

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Afternoon Announcements: November 14, 2011

According to Education Week, U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers want performance targets for different subgroups of students in ESEA bill.

When it comes to education, reports the Washington Post, “the republican field of presidential candidates has a unified stance: Get the federal government out of schools.”

The Huffington Post writes that minority students will likely outnumber white students in the next decade or two, but the failure of the national teacher demographic to keep up with that trend is hurting minority students.

In a MetroWest Daily story, experts say social media isn't hurting today's teens.

The Wall Street Journal writes about those who are for cyberschooling and those who have other opinions on it.

The Bangor Daily News reports that businesses in Maine have jobs to offer, but job applicants don’t have the skills.

Teachers facing low salaries opt to moonlight, reports the Associated Press.

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Stats That Stick: October 6, 2010

On average, students in the U.S. spend 6 1/2 hours a day in the classroom for 180 days. According to the International Bureau of Education, students in Japan and South Korea have a 196-day school year. -The Southern Illinoisan

Among the cohort of students in the first-grade class of 1999–2000 who had progressed to eighth grade in the 2006–07 school year (representing about 80 percent of the eighth-grade class of 2006–07), 33 percent were enrolled in an algebra class in the eighth grade and 6 percent were enrolled in an advanced mathematics course other than algebra (i.e., algebra II, geometry, or integrated or sequential mathematics). Forty-four percent were taking an introduction to algebra or pre-algebra class, and 17 percent were in a general mathematics course, which is typically intended for students who are not yet ready for pre-algebra. -National Center for Education Statistics  

More young (20 to 34-year-old) African American men without a high school diploma or GED are currently behind bars (37 percent) than employed (26 percent).-Pew Charitable Trusts

A U.S. Department of Education study found that bullying and harassment affect nearly one in every three American schoolchildren in the sixth through 10th grades. Another study estimated that 60,000 American students skip school each day because they fear being bullied. -The Philadelphia Inquirer

While only 25% of kids have read a book on a digital device (including computers), many more (57% of kids age 9-17) are interested in doing so. When asked if they would read more books for fun if they had access to eBooks, one-third of kids age 9-17 of kids said yes, including frequent readers (34%), moderately frequent readers (36%), and even infrequent
readers (27%; PAGES 14–16). -Scholastic

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New Issue of Straight A's Spotlights Workforce Challenges of High School Dropouts

The June 28 issue of Straight A's, the Alliance's biweekly newsletter is now available. The following articles are included in this issue:

• HELP WANTED: New Report Finds Nearly Two Thirds of All Job Openings Will Require Postsecondary Education by 2018
• THE GED: New Report Finds that GED Recipients Fare Little Better Economically Than High School Dropouts
• JOBS WATCH: High Unemployment Rates Continue to Disproportionately Affect High School Dropouts

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