Stats That Stick: May 30, 2012

We’re back with another edition of Stats That Stick. Do you have any particularly sticky stats from this week? Leave them for us in the comments!

Number of states that have been approved for a No Child Left Behind Waiver: 17

With yesterday’s approval of eight more NCLB waivers, the number of states who have been awarded flexibility from the current iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act stands at 17. 26 additional states and the District of Columbia still have pending waiver requests, according to the Associated Press

Stats That Stick: May 23, 2012

Oh those Sticky Stats! Here are some education statistics that made headlines in the past week that you (hopefully) won’t be able to get out of your head.

Maximum amount of funds a district could receive from the Department of Education’s newly-announced school district level Race to the Top program: $25 million.

This week, the Department of Education announced that school districts will be able to submit proposals for education innovations to improve their schools. This round of Race to the Top, which as a competitive program is now in its third year, will focus on individualized instruction and also require applying school districts to agree to evaluate school board members and superintendents. This round of Race to the Top is expected to have about $400 million up for grabs for 15-20 winning districts.

Stats that Stick: May 9, 2012

The economic downturn seems to have worsened an already-vast gap between the numbers of men and women teachers, particularly in the early grades. Experts argue that the diminishing status of teachers generally, coupled with continuing sexism against men working with children, is helping tamp down the number of men willing to enter the field.

Stats that Stick: May 2, 2012

Number of schools in Los Angeles seeking Charter School status: 24

The high-performing L.A. Unified campuses hope to gain funds and flexibility from the move while maintaining most ties with the district. Although many of the schools considered the move in hopes of greater funding, campus officials said they also began to see the benefits of increased freedom over such things as curriculum, testing and schedules.

Millions of dollars Chicago Public Schools must spend on tutoring: 16

Cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools is racing to spend about $16 million in federal tutoring grants by the end of the summer to avoid losing the money in a program plagued by dwindling participation and financial missteps.

Stats that Stick: April 25, 2012

Number of public schools at risk of closure in Philadelphia: 64

Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. So Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen announced a plan that would essentially blow up the district and start with a new structure.

Stats that Stick: April 18, 2012

Number of Atlanta Public School teachers whose teaching permits were revoked in cheating scandal: 67

Georgia’s Professional Standards Commission (PSC) has revoked the teaching permits of 67 more educators implicated in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal that involves unusual erasures from standardized tests to reflect higher scores.  Some of the teachers were barred from the classroom for two years; others had their certificates permanently revoked.

Stats that Stick: April 11, 2012

Millions of dollars to be returned to Missouri public education programs: 6.8

Republican Governor Jay Nixon moved to restore about $6.8 million previously cut from Missouri’s public education programs thanks to a boost in lottery sales from the recent record-high Mega Millions jackpot. The governor’s administration said it's providing $5 million for K-12 transportation assistance.

Stats that Stick: April 4, 2012

Estimated number of students who will be deterred from taking this year’s Advanced Placement examinations due to cost: 29,000

The College Board, which administers the exams, will increase its subsidy for low-income students' fees this year from $22 to $26 per exam. Still, the nonprofit estimates that about 29,000 low-income students nationwide will be deterred by the $15 cost and will not take AP exams this year. Because of a federal budget cut, tens of thousands of low-income high school students will face steeper price tags for their Advanced Placement exams this May

Stats that Stick: March 28, 2012

Average reading level of high school students today: 5.3

A compilation of the top 40 books teens in grades 9-12 are reading in school shows that the average reading level of that list is barely above the fifth grade. The report reflects trends in national reading scores, which remain low. On the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 34 percent of fourth and eight grade students were rated reading "proficient."

Stats that Stick: March 21, 2012

Graduation rate for the United States of America in 2009: 75.5.

That is up a total 3.5 percent since 2002 according to the report, Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, brought to you by the Alliance for Excellent Education along with Civic Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center, and America's Promise Alliance. The report also found that the number of drop factories have decreased nation-wide.