Sharpton and Carey, together at last- August 7, 2008 I'll be on the Reverand Al Sharpton show talking about class-based school integration policies, starting in about five minutes. I think you can listen here.Update: The muzak you hear while on hold waiting for the Reverand Tremendously funky.Update 2: The first segment seems to have gone well. Good questions. Keeping it real!Update 3: On to the callers! Jack from Baltimore says the public school system gets a lot of money but wastes it; we need higher standards, AP course, hold the...http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/sharpton-and-carey-together-at-last.html What We Do Cannot Be Measured- August 7, 2008 Two main camps square off in education over and over again. One side, typified by the Broader, Bolder coalition in K-12, emphasizes student demographics. They point out, justifiably, that students enter school with widely divergent skills and expectations. As such, schools can only do so much to rectify the situation. The other, reformist side, says demographics be damned, every child deserves a quality education. Children and schools should all be held to high standards, and we can...http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/what-we-do-cannot-be-measured.html The GI Bill Equation- August 7, 2008 Jon Oberg (of whistle-blower fame) has a guest post over at Higher Ed Watch on the new GI Bill. While he praises the recent expansion of benefits, he also points out that it will take the cooperation of college financial aid offices in order for veterans to see the full benefits of the bill. As we've shown, colleges have been increasing the institutional aid they give to higher income students over the years, which means fewer dollars for low-income students - and possibly for veterans....http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/gi-bill-equation.html The Supposedly Unfriendly Skies- August 7, 2008 USAir charged me a dollar for a cup of coffee yesterday morning. I know this is supposed to make me angry, what with the evil airline industry coming up with ever-more-nefarious schemes to suck money from my wallet even as the flying experience deteriorates to levels formerly unknown outside of various former Soviet republics. But I just can't get worked up about it. Most of the whinging is unjustified, I think.I fly fairly often, probably twice a month on average, short flights and long,...http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/supposedly-unfriendly-skies.html Obama on Affirmative Action- August 4, 2008 As the New York Times noted yesterday, Barack Obama sensibly believes that his daughters shouldn't benefit from affirmative action when they apply to college, particularly if it comes at the expense of less-privileged white applicants. Applying a much stronger economic lens to college admissions is a good idea and I'm glad Obama agrees. Because college admissions is zero-sum, that might mean trading some racial diversity for income diversity. But if that means the children of two wealthy,...http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/obama-on-affirmative-education.html How to Know Your "Merit" Financial Aid Is Out of Whack- August 3, 2008 Last night my wife and I were sipping adult beverages at a swanky Georgetown pizza and beer joint. This is Georgetown, not exactly your local Pizza Hut. I overheard the couple next to us talking about Harvard's financial aid plan. He was describing how it works:He: Students under $60,000 pay no tuition. He (whispering): And they give need-based aid for families making up to $180,000. She (incredulous): $180,000 That's a lot. My sentiments exactly.http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/how-to-know-your-merit-financial-aid-is.html Charts You Can't Trust (continued)- August 1, 2008 When done well, graphs and charts tell a story or make a point quickly and coherently. Education Sector has a regular feature we call Charts You Can Trust, where we use a new data source to make a point about the state of education policy. You can read them all here. Despite Kevin's best intentions, we've never actually run one you can't trust. That critique is left for The Quick and the Ed.Look at the chart below. It measures the changes in the University of Georgia's undergraduate female.http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/charts-you-cant-trust-continued.html HEA, at Long Last- August 1, 2008 Congress passed a new version of the Higher Education Act yesterday, which President Bush is expected to sign. This is a real milestone -- it's been ten years since the last reauthorization, which is supposed to happen every five years. There's a lot in there to discuss, but in my mind the most disappointing thing is that even as InsideHigherEd calls it a "Huge, Exacting Accountability Bill," and institutions begin complaining about various onerous reporting requirements, the legislation is...http://www.quickanded.com/2008/08/hea-at-long-last.html |