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EMERITUS NEWS EDUCATION
STUDY CLAIMS CLASS SIZE, PER PUPIL SPENDING AND TEACHERS WITH ADVANCED DEGREE OFFER NO CORRELATION TO SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- In a study of 35 charter schools New York City, two Harvard researchers found class size, per pupil expenditure, the fraction of teachers with no certification, and the fraction of teachers with an advanced degree -- are not correlated with school effectiveness. In stark contrast, according to the study, an index of five policies suggested by over forty years of qualitative research -- frequent teacher feedback, the use of data to guide instruction, high-dosage tutoring, increased instructional time, and high expectations and explains approximately 50 percent of the variation in school effectiveness. The study's results, according to authors, Will Dobbie, Roland G. Fryer, Jr. , are robust to controls for three alternative theories of schooling: a model emphasizing the provision of wrap-around services, a model focused on teacher selection and retention, and the "No Excuses'' model of education. Full text of study purchase page, from National Bureau of Economic Research , click here - 01/28/2012 VIDEO: SCHOOLS PHASING OUT HARD COPY TEXTBOOKS FOR THOSE ONLINEMore in the video below from Voice of America- 01/27/2012
VIDEO: LESS FAT, MORE FRUIT BRING CHANGES IN SCHOOL LUNCHESMore in YouTube video below from Voice of America- 01/25/2012
HOUSE REPUBLICANS REVISION OF "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" INCLUDES MANDATING TEACHER EVALUATIONS & REMOVING FEDERAL SCHOOL TAKEOVER AUTHORITY AT LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLSMore in this article from Congressional Quarterly, click here - 01/11/2012 ONLINE EDUCATION RESULTS TAKE BEATING IN SURVEYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- In a survey of for-profit and non-profit education management, the National Education Policy Center has found the number of online or virtual schools operated by for profit EMOs increased from 60 in 2009-2010 to
79 in 2010-2011. This represents 10% of all schools managed by for-profit EMOs. The The Center found that of the 79 virtual schools operated by for-profit EMOs in 2010-2011, 68 are run by five Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ratings and state-specific school performance ratings were included. This information was gathere using official state department of education sources. In some cases where data were not up to date or complete, however, we relied on the EMOs themselves to update this information. The AYP ratings for virtual schools managed by for-profit EMOs were substantially weaker than the ratings for the brick-and-mortar schools. While only 27.4% of the virtual schools met AYP, 51.4% of the brick-and-mortar schools met AYP. In the previous year, 30% of the virtual schools met AYP. The 46 district schools managed by for-profit EMOs had slightly lower performance ratings (47.8% met AYP) relative to the charter schools operated by EMOs (53.5% met AYP). Those companies with the
lowest proportion of schools meeting AYP are White Hat Management (7%), Charter The National Education Policy Center is located at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Home page of website, click here. RESEARCH FINDS TEACHERS WHO IMPROVE STUDENTS TEST SCORES MORE LIKLEY TO BRING THEM HIGHER LIFETIME INCOMESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A survey commissioned by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds "Value Added"(VA) teachers or those based on their high impact on students’ test scores, are more likely to improve the economic future of their students. The report was written by, Raj Chetty, Harvard University,
John N. Friedman, Harvard University and The authors recognize that opinion is split as whether the comparison is fair, with supporters believing that using VA can improve student achievement (e.g. Hanushek 2009), while critics argue that test score gains are poor proxies for a teacher’s true quality (e.g. Baker et al. 2010). The trio stated the report was compiled tracking one million children from a large urban school district from 4th grade to adulthood. They found that when a high VA teacher joins a school, test scores rise immediately in the grade taught by that teacher; when a high VA teacher leaves, test scores fall. Test scores change only in the subject taught by that teacher, and the size of the change in scores matches what we predict based on the teacher’s VA. These results establish that VA accurately captures teachers’ impacts on students’ academic achievement and thereby reconcile the conflicting conclusions of Kane and Staiger (2008) and Rothstein (2010). These methods provide a simple yet powerful method to estimate the bias of value-added models in any district; interested readers can download computer code to implement these tests from this link. In the second part of their study, the authors analyze whether high VA teachers also improve students’ long-term outcomes. The report concludes that students assigned to higher VA teachers are more successful in many dimensions. They are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, live in better neighborhoods, and save more for retirement. They are also less likely to have children as teenagers. Full text of executive summary of report, click here. 01/06/2012 ARCHITECTURE, ARTS GRADUATES MORE LIKELY TO BE UNEMPLOYED / STATE BY STATE BREAKDOWN ON AVAILABLE JOBSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A college graduate's passion may ease his path to a degree, but not employment. That's been the conclusion for years with the stark reality of recession now adding an exclamation point. The latest survey showing the widening gap between arts and science based fields, comes from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. According to the center's report, called, "Career Clusters", regardless of education, those employed in the hospitality and tourism industry are among the lowest paid workers, and those in information technology are among the highest. However, for those looking for any kind of job in the interim, job openings are considerably more plentiful in hospitality and tourism than any other category. Other highlights of the report,
the report also states that only one in three of high school-level jobs will pay wages of $35,000 or more; although in some cases, with experience, these jobs can provide up to $50,000. ANOTHER VALUABLE PART OF THE REPORT IS A STATE BY STATE BREAKDOWN OF JOBS AVAILABLE AND QUALIFICATIONS NEED TO GET THOSE JOBS. Full text of executive summary, click here. State by state analysis of available jobs, click here. Corrections for state data since being published, click here. Center for Education and the Workforce home page, click here Flickr slides of graphics from report, click here - 01/03/2012 FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES FIGHT BACK, WIN REDUCTIONS ON NEW FINANCIAL AID RULESMore in this article from the New York Times, click here- 12/10/2011 HIGH COST COLLEGE DEGREES AND LOW PAY JOBSMore from this article from Bloomberg News, click here - 12/07/2011 UPDATE ON COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM CHEATING SCANDALMore in this article from the New York Times, click here- 12/02/2011 SCIENTISTS HELP TEACHERS BOOST STUDENT INTEREST - VOICE OF AMERICA REPORT (3 MINUTES) - NOV. 18 2011
NATION'S EDUCATION REPORT CARD SHOWS OVERALL PROGRESS SINCE 2009More from the Emeritus Newsroom- Results from the latest Nation's Report Card from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows, READING- At grade 4, the average reading score in 2011 was unchanged from 2009 but 4 points higher than in 1992.
At grade 8, the average reading score in 2011 was 1 point higher than in 2009, and 5 points higher than in 1992.
At grade 4, the percentages of students performing at or above Basic, at or above Proficient, or at Advanced did not change significantly from 2009 to 2011 but were higher in 2011 than in 1992. At grade 8, the percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level in 2011 was higher than in 2009 and 1992. The percentage of students at Advanced in 2011 (3.4) was higher than in 2009 (2.8). The percentage of students at or above Basic did not change significantly from 2009 to 2011 but was higher in 2011 than in 1992. MATHEMATICS- Both fourth- and eighth-graders score higher in 2011 than in previous assessment years. At grade 4, the average mathematics score in 2011 was 1 point higher than in 2009, and 28 points higher than in 1990.
At grade 8, the average mathematics score in 2011 was 1 point higher than in 2009, and 21 points higher than in 1990.
Full text of summaries and full report for reading, click here. For Mathematics, click here. Link to National Center for Education Statistics website, click here. 11/02/2011 OBAMA CUTS LOAN PAYMENTS FOR STUDENTSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- With college graduates starting their careers an average $24,000 in debt, student debt has now surpassed credit card debt. President Obama has proposed consolidating and lowering student loan repayments. Specifically, the administration is proposing current college students be given the chance to limit loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income starting in 2012. In addition, the debt would be forgiven after 20 years instead of 25, as current law allows. For many who struggle to manage their student loan debt – including teachers, nurses, public defenders and others in lower-paying jobs – these proposed changes could reduce their payments by hundreds of dollars each month. Overall, this proposal would provide an estimated 1.6 million borrowers with more manageable monthly payments. Approximately 5.8 million borrowers have both a Direct Loan (DL) and a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) that require separate payments, which makes them more likely to default. To address the needs of these borrowers, the Administration will allow borrowers the convenience of a single payment to a single lender for both loans. Borrowers who take advantage of this consolidation option, which begins in January, would also receive up to a 0.5 percent reduction in their interest rate on some of their loans, which means lower monthly payments that would save hundreds of dollars in interest. Eligible borrowers will be contacted by their federal loan servicer early next year with information on how to consolidate. These changes carry no additional cost to taxpayers. As part of the “Know Before You Owe” project, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in collaboration with the Department of Education, will release today a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet -- a draft model financial aid disclosure form. This sheet will be a tool that colleges and universities could use to help students better understand the type and amount of aid they qualify for and easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions. The form would also make the total costs -- and risks -- of the student loans clear before they enroll by outlining their total estimated student loan debt, monthly loan payments after graduation and additional costs not covered by federal aid. The CFPB is taking feedback on how to further improve the form, especially looking for input from college students and their families. They can log onto http://www.consumerfinance.gov/students/knowbeforeyouowe/ to sign up to provide feedback on the CFPB’s website. The National Consumer Law Project also has a website dedicated to helping students with loan debt. Go to, http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/2011/10/28/obama-administrations-student-loan-proposals/Full text of the President's speech, click here. Full text of White House details of loan changes, click here. YouTube video of speech below . 10/27/2011
DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENT AID FRAUD RISING ACCORDING TO INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT / SOME PEOPLE NOT AWARE THEIR INFORMATION BEING USEDMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A virtual explosion of distance learning student aid fraud cases has happened since 2005, according to an investigation by the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General. In one of the most recent examples, according to the GI's office, Michelle Owens, 36, of Florence, South Carolina, who is a former inmate at Leath, Correctional Institution in South Carolina. She was sentenced September 28th , in federal court, for 51 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $128,852.00 in restitution. Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that Owens submitted fraudulent applications and fraudulent Department of Education financial aid applications in the names of twenty-three different Leath, South Carolina Correctional Institution inmates seeking admission and student loans in the approximate amount of $467,500. Owens was confined to Leath from December 2007 to September 2008, and worked in the prison’s Education Department where she had access to the personal information of other inmates. According to court documents, from December 2007 to October 2009, Owens submitted online applications for admission to St. Louis's Webster University distance learning program in the names of individuals who were inmates at Leath without their knowledge. Owens intended to use the financial aid funds for improper non-education purposes. On those applications, Owens used several residential addresses located in South Carolina. Based upon the information contained on the applications, Webster University, which operates more than 100 campuses worldwide, accepted the individuals and mailed the letters to South Carolina. Additionally, Owens falsely applied for federal student financial aid on behalf of the inmates by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) either by computer over the internet or by paper application using the inmates personal information. Once Webster University received the required supporting documentation, they created a financial aid package for that "applicant" and mailed the award notification to the same South Carolina addresses controlled by Owens. Owens received the excess financial aid intended for the inmate “applicants” through Higher One, Inc. in the form of debit/MasterCard cards which she cashed or used for personal expenses totaling $124,821. An IG's probe says that in 2005, there were 16 distance learning fraud investigations. By August 2011, there were 100 with another 49 as possible cases, including one case alone that may have involved 10,000 people. The rings may or may not inform those whose names were submitted for the loan amounts. Those "Straw" students with knowledge their information may be used, may be given a percentage of the take from the fraudulent loan applications, with the ring leader or recruiter, getting the rest. Full text of press release on the Owens case, click here. Full text of IG's report, click here. 10/14/2011 THE BLINDNESS IN EDUCATION REFORMMore in this commentary from Richard Rothstein, click here- 10/12/2011 LOOPHOLES IN EDUCATION FUNDING HURT MOST VULNERABLE SCHOOLSMore in the YouTube video below from the Center for American Progress- 10/03/2011
ASPIRING LAW STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES WINS FIRST CASE / HIS OWN AGAINST FIRM ADMINISTERING LSATMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The U-S Justice Department has announced a settlement with the Law School Admission Council, Inc. (“LSAC”), which administers the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) . The case was filed on behalf of a 22-year old resident of Minnetonka, Minnesota, has Congenital Hypotonia, Attention Deficit Disorder (“ADD”), and a Learning Disability. Complainant is a person with disabilities under the ADA because he has impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. Complainant has received services and accommodations for these disabilities since elementary school, including an IEP and testing accommodations in other standardized testing settings. He sought testing accommodations for the October 2008 and 2009 LSAT examinations from LSAC, but LSAC denied his request. Pursuant to that denial, Complainant filed a complaint under the ADA with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. LSAC denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to terms of the settlement with the Justice Department. The terms include, LSAC agrees that it will grant Complainant the following testing accommodations when he takes the LSAT on October 1, 2011 and/or December 3, 2011:
Full text of Justice Department filing and terms of agreement, click here. 10/03/2011 COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM SCANDAL YIELDS ARREST OF COLLEGE STUDENT / PROBE WIDENS INTO WHO PAID HIM TO TAKE THEIR TESTSMore from the New York Times, click here - 09/30/2011 COLLEGE ENROLLMENT IS UP / NO IMPROVEMENT IN GRADUATION RATESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Entitled, "Time is the Enemy", a report from the advocacy group, Complete College America, tells a troubling story of increasing enrollment at colleges and universities, with NO corresponding effect on graduation rates. The group wrote in its report, "Surprisingly, until this report, no one has
bothered to measure and report the success or
failure of all U.S. college students. We’ve been
tracking only students who are first-time and are
going full-time. That’s all the federal government
requires of colleges and universities, and until
now few exceeded this minimal standard.
But 4 of every 10 public college students are
able to attend only part-time. Which means
leaders have been making policy decisions bout The report underscores the need for specific reforms. * Divert students from traditional remedial programs — they aren’t working. * Mainstream as many students as possible into college-level courses. Provide co-requisite and embedded support for those needing extra help. * Intensify instruction and minimize the time necessary to prepare students for entry into college-level courses. * Eliminate the many exit points where students are lost by either not passing or not enrolling in courses. * Provide alternative pathways to a career certificate or career-related credential for students with major academic weaknesses. * Answer the fundamental question — is what’s being taught in developmental education what students really need? It’s time to revisit both the structure and goals of remedial math. Math should be a gateway, not a gatekeeper, to successful college and everyday life. Reading and writing should be integrated. *Overhaul the current placement system. Current placement tests are not predictive. If placement tests are given, provide students with pretest guidance, practice tests, and time to brush up. Full Complete College America Report, including summary and graphics, click here. 09/28/2011 $500 MILLION RELEASED TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR RETRAINING JOBLESSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- As part of a four year $2 billion dollar aid package for unemployed workers, scores of community colleges throughout the country will get a portion of the first $500 million for retraining programs. The Labor Department says the grants support partnerships between community colleges and employers to develop programs that provide pathways to good jobs. Efforts include building instructional programs that meet specific industry needs, strengthening technology-enabled learning, and allowing students and workers to access free learning materials online. Importantly, every community college grantee has at least one employer partner – a sponsor that has jobs available and needs trained workers to fill them. Through these grants, schools will be able to expand their capacity to put more people into high-quality jobs and start new careers in fields ranging from advanced manufacturing and transportation to health care and STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — areas. Officials claim program also is designed to have a lasting impact on higher education, emphasizing the use of evidence in program design, collection of student outcome data and conducting evaluations to build knowledge about which strategies are most effective in placing graduates in jobs. These investments, combined with the president's proposals in the American Jobs Act, will help individuals to receive the skills they need to work in high-demand sectors and provide additional pathways back to work for the unemployed. The grants are part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training initiative, for which the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act included a total of $2 billion over a four-year period. Complete list of the colleges getting grant funds, click here. EDITORS NOTE! The colleges listed in bold type are the consortium leaders for the group of other community colleges, which will be sharing the grant money. In many cases, one community college is distributing grant money to all the other community colleges throughout a state. Full text of the Labor Department announcement, click here. 09/26/2011 STRENGTHENING THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM - WEEKEND VIDEO ADDRESS FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA (5 MINUTES)
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES CONTINUE TO FAILMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The Massachusetts blog monitoring education for students with disabilities says since a report in 2007 on the regressive trends among disabled students in the state's education system, the problem has only worsened. According to the blog Spedwatch, only 10% of students with disabilities who participated in the 2011 MCAS testing did so using the MCAS-Alt, a version of the exam reserved for students who have significant cognitive impairments or are otherwise unable to demonstrate their knowledge on a paper and pencil test. Spedwatch points out that the rest, 90%, took the standard MCAS test (with or without accommodations) because, according to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) guidelines, they are taught at or near grade level and have no significant cognitive impairment. They are as intellectually capable of reaching academic proficiency as their non-disabled peers if they are given the services they need in order to learn at a rate commensurate with their ability. Spedwatch says these students are routinely denied those services by school districts that violate special education law, and ESE refuses to intervene. In this Letter to now-retired ESE Deputy Commissioner Karla Brooks Baehr, SPEDWatch asks ESE (for a second time) to help students harmed by school district noncompliance with special education law, and ESE again refuses. Spedwatch website, click here. MCAS test trends below. MCAS (Massachusetts) Statewide Results - Aggregate Performance Percent of Students Scoring Proficient or Better Students Students without with Achievement
disabilities diabilities Gap Year/Exam 2011 English Language Arts 78.0% 30.0% 48.0 points 2010 English Language Arts 77.0% 28.0% 49.0 2009 English Language Arts 75.0% 28.0% 47.0 2008 English Language Arts 73.1% 26.3% 46.8 2007 English Language Arts 74.1% 27.3% 46.8 2006 English Language Arts 70.7% 26.1% 44.6 2005 English Language Arts 67.9% 24.4% 43.5 2004 English Language Arts 69.4% 25.4% 44.0 2003 English Language Arts 67.8% 25.2% 42.6
2011 Mathematics 67.0% 21.0% 46.0 points 2010 Mathematics 66.0% 21.0% 45.0 2009 Mathematics 64.0% 20.0% 44.0 2008 Mathematics 63.0% 19.3% 43.7 2007 Mathematics 60.5% 18.3% 42.2 2006 Mathematics 53.1% 15.5% 37.6 2005 Mathematics 53.2% 14.5% 38.7 2004 Mathematics 51.1% 13.0% 38.1 2003 Mathematics 48.2% 12.4% 35.8
09/23/2011 HOW COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY COSTS AND FEES FAVOR WEALTHYMore in this Op-Ed from the New York Times, click here - 08/22/2011 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE GROUP FOR MORE THAN $11 BILLIONMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The U-S Department of Justice is suing Education Management Corp. (EDMC), a Pittsburgh based company, which operates for- profit colleges, including, Art Institute, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College and South University. In court filings, the government alleges that EDMC falsely certified compliance with provisions of federal law that prohibit a university from paying incentive-based compensation to its admissions recruiters that is tied to the number of students they recruit. Congress enacted the incentive compensation prohibition to curtail the practice of paying bonuses and commissions to recruiters, which resulted in the enrollment of unqualified students, high student loan default rates and the waste of program funds. Investigators say that close to 90% of EDMC's net earnings come from state and federal financial aid. The suit was originally filed by Lynntoya Washington, a former EDMC admissions recruiter, who later filed an amended complaint, jointly with Michael T. Mahoney, a former director of training for EDMC’s Online Higher Education Division. The states of California, Florida, Illinois and Indiana have also intervened as plaintiffs. For-profit colleges have come under increasing scrutiny since President Obama took office. For-Profit colleges make up about ten per cent of college enrollment nationwide, but are involved in close to half of all defaults on student loans. The Justice Department lawsuit has been filed in Western District Federal Court in Pittsburgh. The suit is United States ex rel. Washington et al. v. Education Management Corp. et al., Civil No.07-461 (W.D. Pa.). EDMC denies the allegations and will respond with specifics in their response to the court. Justice Department press release, click here. EDMC website, click here. 08/09/2011 VIDEO: EDUCATION SECRETARY DUNCAN SAYS NO REFORM OF "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" FORCES OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO GIVE WAIVERS TO STATES / SURVEY SHOWS MOST STATES MISSING THEIR TARGETSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- In another showdown with congress over failure to reform the "No Child Left Behind Act", Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he is willing to grant most states and exemption from the 2014 standards requirements. In a meeting with reporters, Duncan characterized "No Child Left Behind" as a, "slow motion train wreck". Duncan said earlier this year that about 80,000 of the nation's estimated 100,000 schools would not pass the 2014 standards, as determined by test scores. Republicans in the house claim Duncan doesn't have the authority to do so. The initiative, according to Duncan, is favored by President Obama, who could order the change, instead of Duncan. Duncan says, in view of the stalemate in congress, it is now important to take steps to prepare ALL public school students, for college and/or a career, broadening state authority to determine what those standards might be, rather than only standardized tests, which teachers unions say, concentrates too much on testing, reading and math. According to a White House statement, the administration's proposal to fix NCLB has been with Congress for 16 months, been the topic of numerous meetings and hearings, and been subjected to partisan politics in the House. Last March—a full year after submitting his proposal—the President called for a bill before the start of the school year. "America's future competitiveness is being decided today, in classrooms across the nation. With no clear path to a bipartisan bill in Congress, the President has directed us to move forward with an administrative process to provide flexibility within the law for states and districts that are willing to embrace reform," said Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. Barnes says the waivers for states will "not a pass on accountability". "There will be a high bar for states seeking flexibility within the law. We'll encourage all states to apply and each one should have a chance to succeed. But those that don't will have to comply with No Child Left Behind's requirements, until Congress enacts a law that will deliver change to all 50 states." Barnes said. The administration's proposal for fixing NCLB calls for college- and career-ready standards, better training and retention of the best teachers and principals and a more flexible and targeted accountability system based on measuring annual student growth. The final details on the waivers, called "ESEA flexibility package", will be made public in September. Department of Education press release, click here. Video of announcement below. ( This is video of the daily White House briefing, of which Duncan and Melody Barnes are the first 19 minutes) 08/08/2011
CALIFORNIA GOV. BROWN SIGNS INTO LAW, STATE VERSION OF 'DREAM ACT" / PROVIDES PRIVATE EDUCATION GRANTS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTSMore in this article from the LA Times, click here- 07/26/2011 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATION PROGRESS FINDS U-S STUDENTS WEAK ON GEOGRAPHYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Results show that some students are improving, but still have a long way to go. Even many 12th grade students have a had time identifying states in southwest. Beyond Texas and California, many students have trouble identifying other states other than their home states. Most can only name less than 20 countries around the world on a map, other than the U-S, Canada and Mexico. According to the Nation's Report Card 2010: Geography",
Fewer than 30 percent of students perform at or above the Proficient level in 2010Lowest performing students make gains at all three grades
Black and Hispanic fourth-graders close score gaps
VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS FACE CUTS IN FEDERAL AID / PRESSURE BUILDS TO INCLUDE MORE ACADEMIC COURSESMore in this article from the New York Times, click here - 07/10/2011 GEORGIA GOVERNOR'S PROBE REVEALS EXTENSIVE TEST CHEATING BY ATLANTA SCHOOLS PERSONNELMore from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here - 07/06/2011 BARE BONES SCHOOL BUDGETS CUT CLASS TIMEMore in this article from the New York Times, click here - 07/06/2011 TEACHERS UNION ACCEPTS REPONSIBILITY FOR STUDENT LEARNING IN POLICY CHANGEMore form the Emeritus Newsroom- At its annual convention in Chicago the National Education Association today announced a policy change that accepts teachers responsibility for student learning. The policy includes the category, "High Quality Teacher Evaluation Systems", which outlines , *Indicators of Teacher Practice demonstrating a teacher’s subject matter knowledge, skill in planning and delivering instruction that engages students, ability to address issues of equity and diversity, and ability to monitor and assess student learning and adjust instruction accordingly. Such indicators may include the following indicators or others chosen by a local or state affiliate: classroom observations, proof of practice (e.g., lesson plans, curriculum plans, student assessments, minutes from team planning meetings, curriculum maps, and teacher instructional notes), teacher interviews and self-assessments. * Indicators of Teacher Contribution and Growth demonstrating a teacher’s professional growth and contribution to a school’s and/or district’s success. Such indicators may include the following indicators or others chosen by a local or state affiliate: completion of meaningful professional development that is applied to practice; structured collaboration with colleagues focused on improving practice and student outcomes (e.g., by way of professional learning communities and grade or subject teams); evidence of reflective practice; teacher leadership in the school, district or educational community; collaborative projects with institutions of higher education; and positive engagement with students, parents and colleagues. The new NEA policy also stresses fairness and integrity in applying those evaluations, stating, *Evaluations must be fair, conducted by highly trained and objective supervisors or other evaluators as agreed to by the local affiliate, whose work is regularly reviewed to ensure the validity and reliability of evaluation results. If an evaluation will be the basis for any action relating to a teacher’s employment, ratings by more than one evaluator must be provided in support of the action. Where a teacher believes an evaluation does not accurately reflect his or her level of practice, the teacher must have the right to contest the evaluation, and have access to the information necessary to do so. * To satisfy these requirements, evaluation systems must be adequately funded and staffed, and fully developed and validated, including by training all teachers on the new systems, before they are used to make any high stakes employment decisions. NEA recognizes that our schools do not currently have enough staff trained to provide meaningful evaluative and non-evaluative feedback to teachers. To expand the number of people who can do so, the Representative Assembly directs NEA to examine existing mentorship, peer assistance and peer assistance and review programs, and report back to the October 2011 NEA Board meeting regarding those programs, their compliance with the requirements set forth in D-10 (Mentor Programs) and D-11(Peer Assistance Programs and Peer Assistance & Review Programs), and to make programmatic recommendations as to whether to expand such programs or develop others in partnership with state and local associations. The union has also given ground on time allowed for teachers to improve from two years to one. The NEA announcement today comes as various court challenges begin over over the firing of teachers based on evaluations and layoffs in financially distressed districts where the basis of of who stays and who goes is murky. See this Washington Post article, click here. Full text of NEA policy statement, click here. 07/05/2011 MOST U-S SCHOOL STUDENTS NOT PROFICIENT WITH AMERICAN HISTORYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The latest "Nation's Report Card" reveals too many elementary and secondary school students don't know much about this nation's history. When shown a picture, most fourth graders could not identify Abraham Lincoln. The National Association of Educational Progress says, only twenty percent of fourth-graders, 17 percent of eighth-graders, and 12 percent of twelfth-graders performed at or above the Proficient level on the 2010 U.S. history assessment. At grades 4 and 8, the percentages of students at or above Proficient in 2010 were higher than the percentages in the first assessment in 1994, but over the same time period the percentage of twelfth-graders at or above Proficient was not significantly different. However, minority students have improved their scores over previous years.
Summary of "Nation's Report Card" and links to full report, click here. 06/14/2011 BATTLE OVER VOUCHER PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON DCMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The debate over school vouchers has prompted a split among those who believe the district school system is beyond repair and those insisting on spending to improve what is already in place. Voice of America report, click on YouTube picture below. 06/08/2011
FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES FACE NEW RULES TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR "GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT" / FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS AT STAKEMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- After proposing rules last year to make for profit colleges accountable for student outcomes, the Obama Administration today announced those proposed rules were now in effect. The Department of Education today released final regulations requiring career college programs to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing access to Federal student aid. Education Department officials stated that many career college programs are helping to prepare America's workforce for the jobs of the future. However, far too many students at these schools are taking on unsustainable debt in exchange for degrees and certificates that fail to help them get the jobs they need or were promised. The regulations will be phased in over the next four years, giving colleges time adjust their business models and loan programs. According to the Education Department, a program would be considered to lead to gainful employment if it meets at least one of the following three metrics: at least 35 percent of former students are repaying their loans (defined as reducing the loan balance by at least $1); the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 30 percent of his or her discretionary income; or the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 12 percent of his or her total earnings. While the regulations apply to occupational training programs at all types of institutions, for-profit programs are most likely to leave their students with unaffordable debts and poor employment prospects. Government estimates claims 12 percent of all higher education students attend for-profit institutions. They make up 26 percent of all student loans and 46 percent of all student loan dollars in default. The median Federal student loan debt carried by students earning associate degrees at for-profit institutions was $14,000, while the majority of students at community colleges do not borrow. More than a quarter of for-profit institutions receive 80 percent of their revenues from taxpayer-financed Federal student aid. "While for-profit schools have profited and prospered thanks to federal dollars, some of their students have not. This is a disservice to students and taxpayers, and undermines the valuable work being done by the for-profit education industry as a whole,", according to Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. In a response to the new rules, the Association for Private Sector Colleges and Universities stated, "We remain very concerned that the gainful employment regulation, while reflecting the fact that the Department has listened to the sector and made changes to its initial proposal, is still using the same ill-advised metric approach to this matter and is clearly outside of its statutory authority. Notwithstanding the changes, the real question is how the regulation will impact students, particularly non-traditional students served by our institutions. We will not know the answer to that until we have had the opportunity to run an independent analysis of the Department’s metric. Our concern is that the regulation will still penalize programs with great outcomes while allowing under-performing programs to continue. We need to trust but verify the impact of the new regulation. The APSCU Board will review the regulation’s impact on students carefully before deciding its next steps". Some critics of the final rules says the federal government is not going far enough. Center for American Progress Analyst Julie Morgan says, "Only colleges with extremely low repayment rates and high debt burdens are subject to any sanction. Programs with dubious debt burdens and repayment rates can continue unrestricted. Career-education programs that meet any one of the metrics (repayment rate above 35 percent or debt-to-income ratio below 12 percent or a debt burden of less than 30 percent of discretionary income) will not be restricted in any way.To give some context, the median repayment rate for programs subject to the rule is around 50 percent. By the department’s own estimates, only 1 percent of all programs subject to the rule will lose eligibility for federal student aid in 2015.The final rule also gives the poorest-performing education programs significant time to comply with the rule in addition to eliminating the restrictions on dubious-but-not-ineligible programs". Full text of Department of Education statement, click here. Full text of Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities response to new rules, click here. Julie Morgan statement, click here. 06/02/2011 NEW HIGH SCHOOL BUILT WITH NO MONEY FOR STAFF OR TEACHERSMore from this article in the LA Times, click here- 05/31/2011 BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL IN MEMPHIS WINS WHITE HOUSE COMMENCEMENT CHALLENGE / PRESIDENT WILL BE THERE GRADUATION DAYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- After several days of waiting, the White House today announced that memphis Tennessee's Booker T. Washington High School will have their commencement address delivered by President Obama. The school is the winner of the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. Vice President Joseph Biden called Principal Alisha Kiner today to tell her the school had won. Video from Booker T. Washington High School below. Full text of White House announcement, click here. 05/10/2011
FEDS ENDS IMMIGRATION BARRIER PROGRAM FOR THOSE FROM TARGETED COUNTRIES / IMMIGRATION STATUS CANNOT BE USED TO KEEP KIDS OUT OF SCHOOLSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Immigration rights groups called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System or NSEERS legalized discrimination against muslims. That why the American Civil Liberties Union and others welcomed last week's decision by the Department of Homeland Security to suspend NSEERS indefinitely. The ACLU says NSEERS singled out immigrant men and boys from designated countries for extraordinary registration requirements with DHS, ranging from an extra half-hour of screening on arrival, through tracking of whereabouts while in the United States, to limitations on points of departure. Repeatedly condemned by the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, NSEERS mandated ethnic profiling on a scale not seen in the United States since Japanese-American internment during World War II and the "Operation Wetback" deportations to Mexico of 1954. Former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner James Ziglar was right in his appraisal of NSEERS, which the ACLU opposed from day one. Ziglar described NSEERS as a "disruption in our relationships with immigrant communities and countries that we needed help from" after 9/11, and lamented that it "caused us to use resources in the field that could have been much better deployed".Then, last Friday, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice sent letters to school administrators throughout the county, outlining the fact that it is illegal to deny entry to students on the basis of immigration status or to demand immigration documents. According to the fact sheet sent by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education, all children in the United States are entitled to a basic public elementary and secondary education regardless of their race, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or the status of their parents/guardians. School districts that either prohibit or discourage children from enrolling in schools because they or their parents/guardians are not U.S. citizens or are undocumented may be in violation of Federal law. Below are some examples of acceptable enrollment policies — including proof of residency in the school district — as well as policies that may not be used by schools to deny enrollment to your child. • Proof of Residency in the School District. o School officials may require o However, a school district you to provide proof that you live within the boundaries of the school district. Copies of phone and water bills, lease agreements, or other documents may be requested for this purpose. A school district’s requirements to establish residency must be applied in the same way for all children. may not ask about your or your child’s citizenship or immigration status to establish residency within the district, nor may a school district deny a homeless child (including a homeless child who is undocumented) enrollment because he or she cannot provide the required documents to establish residency. Full text of ACLU announcement, click here. Fact sheet from the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. 05/09/2011 NEW YORK CITY PROPOSES ELIMINATING MORE THAN 6,000 TEACHING POSITIONSMore in this article from the New York Times, click here. 05/06/2011 STUDENT SURVEY FINDS LITTLE PROGRESS AMONG OLDER TEENS IN CIVICS KNOWLEDGEMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- After months of gathering and analyzing the results, the National Center for Education Statistics has released the results of their comprehensive, 2010 survey of primary and secondary school students knowledge of civics. The national results for grades 4, 8, and 12 are not catagorized by state or urban districtss. Our sample consisted of approximately 7,100 fourth-graders, 9,600 8th graders and 9,900 12th graders.At each grade, students were asked questions in five areas of civic knowledge; the emphasis on the individual content areas varied from grade to grade. The five areas are civic life, politics, and government; foundations of the American political system; the U.S. Constitution and the principles of American democracy; the United States and world affairs; and the roles of citizens in American Democracy. In addition to civic knowledge, the assessment also measured a broad range of students' intellectual skills, which are inseparable from knowledge. Again, the degree of emphasis varied from grade to grade. The intellectual skills featured in the assessment include identifying and describing; explaining and analyzing; and evaluating, taking, and defending a position. Each question on the assessment measured both civic knowledge and intellectual skills. Participatory skills and civic dispositions are also important parts of civic education. These skills and dispositions were measured by a portion of the questions on the assessment. Participatory skills include interacting, monitoring politics and government, and influencing their processes. Civic dispositions include a variety of activities relating to an individual becoming an independent member of a democratic society and functioning as an active participant in that society. The results, with a maximum possible score of 300 were: At grade 4, the average score of 157 for 2010 was higher than in either 1998 or 2006. At grade 8, the score of 151 for 2010 showed no significant difference when compared to either earlier assessment. At grade 12, the score of 148 was lower in 2010 than in 2006 and not significantly different from 1998. Scores were higher in 2010 than in 1998 for White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students at grade 4. There were no significant differences for any of the five racial/ethnic groups between 2006 and 2010 At grade 8, there were increases for Hispanic students only, comparing 2010 results with those for both 1998 and 2006. At grade 12, only Hispanic students showed an increase, and only in comparison to 1998. For American Indian/Alaska Native students, the sample in 1998 was too small to provide reliable results, so comparisons to that year are unavailable. Full text of NCES survey, click here. American Bar Association President Stephen Zack issued a statement in response to the results. "The results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ civics test of high school students translate to an F for our society. A government cannot survive if it is not understood and embraced by its people. When we lose an understanding of our history, basic American values are in danger.This lack of knowledge is unacceptable, especially because it’s a solvable problem. Currently, fewer than half of all states test students on their knowledge of civics or government. Civics needs to be counted as another basic, like reading and mathematics. The C — for civics — is just as crucial to our future as a nation as are the three Rs.At the national level, the Department of Education can help schools re-embrace civics classes by fostering a competitive grant funding program for civic education in elementary, middle and high schools that require civics classes.The American Bar Association is so concerned about increasing civics knowledge among the next generation that it recently started the ABA Civics and Law Academy program. The academy supports civics in schools nationwide by organizing lawyer volunteers to teach civics lessons. The NAEP test results are a wake-up call we cannot ignore. The ABA remains dedicated to reinvigorating American civics in our classrooms". MUST SEE video from the American Bar Association below. ABA response, click here. 05/05/2011 THREE FINALIST HIGH SCHOOLS SELECTED FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA COMMENCEMENTMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- President Obama is expected to announce, by week's end, the winner of the contest for a Presidential visit and commencement speech. The finalists are mentioned in the short video below from White House. 05/03/2011
WOMEN WITH BACHELOR OR ADVANCED DEGREES NOW OUTNUMBER MEN IN THE WORKPLACEMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- for the first time since the Census Bureau has been recording the trend, more women than men in the workplace have college degrees. According to the Census Bureau, among the employed population 25 and older, 37 percent of women had
attained a bachelor's degree or more as of 2010, compared with 35 percent
of men, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast,
among all adults 25 and older, 29.6 percent of women and 30.3 percent of
men had at least a bachelor’s degree. The data come from tabulations on Educational Attainment in the United
States: 2010 and not only examine gender differences in attainment but also FEDERAL AND STATE PRESCHOOL EDUCATION FUNDING DROPSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Rutgers University Graduate School of Education today released a study showing PreSchool education taking a huge step backward, as federal and state dollars have been cut. the report summary claims that in the 2009-2010 school year the effects of the recession became fully apparent despite federal government aid to the states for education. Total enrollment barely increased over the prior year. Total spending by the states decreased, and per child spending declined in inflation-adjusted dollars. Without the aid from federal economic stimulus, funding per child would have been even lower, approaching its lowest level since 2002 when NIEER began tracking spending. The depth of the decline varies considerably by state. A few states made modest progress. Many held steady. Others faced cutbacks that were sometimes severe. Overall, state cuts to pre-K transformed the recession into a depression for many young children in the 2009-2010 school year. All the news was not bad. Alaska and Rhode Island created new pre-K programs in the 2009-2010 school year. These are the first new states to provide pre-K in many years, though both efforts are modest pilot programs. Nationally, pre-K enrollment was just over 26 percent at age 4 as the total across all states increased by nearly 27,000 children. Yet the bad news outweighed the good. The decline in spending per child comes on top of the previous year’s decline. Many states already failed to provide enough funding to ensure programs could meet minimum quality standards, so this is a serious problem. Rather than raising quality, states are struggling not to lose what they have. Researchers also found: • Total state funding for pre-K decreased by nearly $30 million and would have fallen by at least an additional Full PDF text of Rutgers Pre School report, click here. 04/26/2011 EMPLOYERS SURVEY SHOWS HIRING OF COLLEGE GRADUATES PROJECTED UP 19%More from the Emeritus Newsroom- The job picture for college graduates this year, will be better than last. the National Association of Colleges and Employers reports their survey projects employers will hire 19 percent more new college graduates this year than they did last year, according to a new survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In September, employers projected hiring 13.5 percent more new graduates from the Class of 2011 than they hired from the Class of 2010. Employers responding to NACE’s current survey upped that increase to 19.3 percent. “This is the first time since 2007 that we’ve seen a double-digit increase in spring hiring projections. That’s a good indication that the job market for new college graduates is gaining momentum,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. NACE’s survey also found that hiring increases were expected across regions and across most industries. In particular, oil/gas extraction companies; chemical manufacturers; computer/electronics manufacturers; and finance, insurance, and real estate employers report the most aggressive hiring plans. “The survey also found that employers are receiving fewer applications per job opening as current graduates now have more opportunities to choose from,” says Mackes. Overall, responding organizations reported the number of job applications has risen nearly 45 percent since last year at this time. At the same time, however, the total number of positions reported by respondents has tripled. As a result, the average number of applications per opening has fallen from 40.5 in 2010 to just over 21 currently. Full text of NACE press release, click here. 04/22/2011 COLLEGE GRADUATES FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR DISMAL JOB PROSPECTSMore from the Chicago Tribune, click here- 04/20/2011 PELL GRANTS PROTECTED FROM 2011 BUDGET CUTSMore from Associated Press, click here- 04/17/2011 MARYLAND LAWMAKERS DECIDE IT'S BETTER TO EDUCATE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAN IMPRISON THEMMore in this article from the Washington Post, click here- 04/15/2011 VIDEO: CAN THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM COMPETE GLOBALLY?More in this video from the Bookings Institution, click on frame below- 04/09/2011
NUMBER OF PROVIDENCE R-I TEACHERS LOSING JOBS UNSETTLEDMore in this article from the Providence Journal, click here- 04/09/2011 STATE EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS IN NEW JERSEY LIKELY FACE TROUBLE IN COURTMore from this article in the Newark Star Ledger, click here- 03/23/2011 STUDY TACKLES THIRD RAIL IN EDUCATION DEBATE / TEACHER PAY AND STATUS NEED A BOOSTMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- An education conference gets underway in at the Hilton New York in New York City today to tackle problems with U-S education. Partially sponsored by the U-S Department of Education and the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, the International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP), features education administrators and leaders from around the world, national union leaders, and accomplished teachers from countries with high-performing and rapidly-improving educational systems (as measured by the 2009 PISA results). In addition to the United States, according to the NEA, fifteen countries will be participating: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China/Shanghai, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The NEA says two recent studies have supported their assertion that MORE money spent wisely on classroom will improve teaching and results among students. The NEA claims High-performing countries have strong teachers unions with strong support for teachers and their involvement in the reform process. The union claims Finland, Canada, Singapore, and other nations, include teachers unions in their successful efforts to improve student achievement – along with vigorous policies to recruit, retain and support their teachers. Two studies to be discussed at the conference, the McKinsey report, How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA, focus on differences between countries funding and reform of education and teacher / student testing. Although the U-S spends more per student than every country in the study except the tiny European nation of Luxembourg. However, when measured by each county's economic and pay scale, American teachers make an average 40% LESS than other college graduates in the U-S. Compare that with a disparity of only 13% in Finland, which gets scores higher for teacher performance and student testing results. According to a review of the PISA study results by the New York Times, the top-scoring countries were Finland and Singapore in science, Korea and Finland in reading and Singapore and Korea in math. On average, American teenagers came in 15th in reading and 19th in science. American students placed 27th in math. Only 2 percent of American students scored at the highest proficiency level, compared with 8 percent in Korea and 5 percent in Finland The “five things U.S. education reformers could learn” from the high-performing countries, the report says, include adopting common academic standards — an effort well under way here, led by state governors — developing better tests for use by teachers in diagnosing students’ day-to-day learning needs and training more effective school leaders. Full text of the NEA press release on studies, click here. Conference press release from the NEA, click here. Article from the New York Times, click here. Conference agenda, click here. Video streams of conference closing speeches, Thursday, March 17, 2011 , click here. 03/16/2011 STUDENT LOAN DELINQUENCY RISES / REPORT SAYS DEFAULTS HIGHER AMONG FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE STUDENTSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Delinquency rates for student loans are up and those who have not graduate and those who graduated from for-profit colleges are those most likely to default. In a study prepared for the Institute for Higher Education Policy the results show: • Most of the borrowers who left post secondary education without graduating had difficulty in repaying their loans—33 percent of undergraduate borrowers who left without a credential became delinquent without defaulting, and 26 percent defaulted. • Forty-eight percent of undergraduate borrowers who graduated with a credential were repaying in a timely manner, but 21 percent became delinquent without defaulting and 16 percent defaulted—a considerably lower number than among non graduates, but still significant. • A third or less of borrowers at four-year, public or private nonprofit institutions became delinquent or defaulted on their loans, while nearly half or more (45 percent and 53 percent, respectively) of their borrowers were making timely payments on their loans. • In contrast, only one-quarter to one-third of borrowers at for profit and public two-year institutions were making timely payments on their loans, and more than half of all borrowers in these sectors were delinquent or had already defaulted. Students at for profit institutions make up 12 percent of student enrollment in the U-S and get 25 percent of student aid funded by the federal government. For-profit colleges have been fighting new federal requirements which would cut off aid to programs whereas students graduate with high debt to income ratios. But the study also found that the majority of community college students also end up in default. Full text of Institute for Higher Education Policy study, click here. 03/16/2011 THE REAL SCHOOL OF ROCK / VOA VIDEO STORY
OBAMA EXTENDS COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS VISIT DEADLINES TO FRIDAY / NOT ENOUGH CANDIDATE SCHOOLS SO FARMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Because of a shortage of nominations for the President's Commencement Challenge, the deadline has been extended to Friday. See video below. For nominations, direct link to Commencement Challenge website, click here. 03/09/2011
COLLEGE PROMOTES ON CAMPUS JOBS TO BOOST ENROLLMENT
PROVIDENCE, RI: ALL TEACHERS FACE TERMINATION NOTICES / MAYOR AND UNION STILL TALKINGMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Union leaders and the Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, are continuing discussions to avoid serving termination notices to nearly 2,000 teachers in the city. Angel Taveras, the city's first Hispanic mayor, said last week, he had no choice, since the city's financial picture for next year appears dire. By state law, the city must notify all those it intends to terminate by March 1st. Since the number of teachers to be retained has not yet been determined, the city intends to hire back most of the teachers. How many teachers losing their jobs also depends on how many schools will close. Because the mayor decided to fire the teachers, the city is free from layoff rules, under the union contract, as to which teachers would return. The city faces a nearly $60 million deficit. More in this article from the Providence Journal, click here. Rhode Island Federation of Teachers Website, click here. 02/28/2011 PRESIDENT OBAMA PROPOSES CUTS TO STUDENT AID PROGRAMS / TRIES TO RETAIN AID LEVELS THROUGH RECYCLING OF PAYMENT MONEYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- As part of a trillion dollars worth of cuts over the next ten years, President Obama today released his budget proposal for 2011-2012. It answers Republican calls to cut 100 billion dollars over the next year from various programs, from student loans to federal payments for health care. However, rather than simple cuts to some programs, the President proposes formulas, such as college loan repayments, to protect current funding levels for students, including the $5,500 yearly maximum Pell Grants. In a summary of the budget handed out by Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew, the administration presents proposals for cutting spending while realizing there will be disagreements. Lew explains that the budget, "... lays out a strategy for significant deficit reduction – the most deficit reduction in a comparable period since the end of World War II – that will bring our deficit down to about 3 percent of the economy by the middle of the decade and maintain it there for the rest of the budget window. Changing the trajectory of our fiscal path is a significant accomplishment, but to do this, it will take some tough choices. Let me highlight a few of them: "As we take these steps to live within our means, we also invest in the areas critical to future economic growth and jobs creation: education, innovation, clean energy, and infrastructure. And even in these areas, the budget cuts programs in order to fund high-priority investments". "For instance, in education we maintain the increased maximum Pell Grant level that we instituted, helping 9 million students afford college. We pay for it with $100 billion in savings, primarily from eliminating summer school Pell awards and the graduate student in-school loan subsidy". "In the area of innovation, we support simplifying, expanding, and making permanent the R&D tax credit, $148 billion in R&D investments -- including a robust $32 billion for NIH -- and meeting visionary goals to bring about a new clean energy economy. To help pay for these investments, lower priority programs are cut, and we eliminate 12 tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal companies that will raise $46 billion over 10 years". "And to build the infrastructure we need to compete, the Budget increases our annual investment by $35 billion a year, which is a 60 percent increase over the last surface transportation reauthorization bill. Not only does this plan consolidate 60 duplicative, often earmarked programs into five and demands more competition for funds, but we insist that this bill be paid for -- and we look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to do that". "In my last tour of duty here in the 1990s, we made the tough, bipartisan decisions needed to bring our budget into surplus. Once again, it will take tough choices to put us on a sustainable fiscal path. But we should not settle for shortcuts. We need to be true to our values and make the right investments to win the future. As we make these choices, it is critical that we do not cut areas that are essential to helping our economy grow and making a difference for families and businesses. After all, a growing economy where more Americans are working is the best way to reduce our deficits and debt. It is the wind we need at our backs for this already difficult journey". "Another clear lesson in working in the Congress and here at OMB is that cutting spending and cutting our deficits requires us to put political differences aside and work together. It takes putting the country ahead of party, and the next generation ahead of the next election. Along with the entire Administration, I standready to do that and look forward to working with both sides on Capitol Hill to crafting a set of policies that enable us to live within our means and invest in the future". Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew Summary, click here. Sections of the actual budget document, click here. 02/14/2011 THE 2011-2012 FEDERAL BUDGET PROPOSAL-INVESTING IN EDUCATION
STUDENT AID CUTS PART OF REPUBLICAN PROPOSAL TO CUT SPENDINGMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A letter from 30 presidents of colleges and universities has been sent Education Secretary Arne Duncan calling for renewal and proper funding of the so called, "Perkins Loans". It's money used by colleges and universities to provide student financial aid since 1958, but has not been properly funded for at least the last five years. Administrators are also concerned about Republican proposals revealed on Friday, advocating more cuts in student aid. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the new proposal would have devastating implications for student aid beginning this July 1. Among the cuts are a reduction of up to $845 to the maximum Pell Grant, and the elimination of SEOG and LEAP (a program that gives states funding to maintain their own state grant programs). For the nation's poorest students this could add up to a loss of thousands of dollars in grant aid for the coming academic year. Republican leaders floated a gentler proposal for budget cuts earlier in the week, but newly-elected conservative members of the House rebelled, saying that the cuts weren't deep enough. U-S NEWS AND WORLD REPORT GRADING SYSTEM FOR TEACHERS' COLLEGES FACES TOUGH REVIEWMore in this article from the New York Times, click here - 02/09/2011 REVIEW OF NEW SCHOOL FOOD LAW WITH ELMO AND WHITE HOUSE CHEF SAM KASSMore from the White House- Elmo joins White House Chef Sam Kass in White House kitchen to talk about the importance of healthy and delicious school meals following President Obama’s signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act - http://wh.gov/OoZ - This legislation is an important step forward toward ensuring that no child goes to school hungry and that all children have access to healthy, nutritious foods at school. 12/20/2010
CONGRESS PASSES FIXES TO G-I BILL / PRESIDENT WILL SIGNMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve two bills to strengthen benefits and services for America’s veterans and their families. S. 3447 (Akaka) builds on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which was enacted in June 2008 and provides education benefits for veterans at World War II levels, recognizes the sacrifice of our 1.8 million Reserve and National Guard troops by better aligning their educational benefits with their length of service, and also allows unused education benefits to be transferred to spouses and children. S. 3447 seeks to rectify many of the ongoing technical concerns that were highlighted after passage of the bill. First, the bill would address a major shortfall expressed by the veterans’ community by those who would prefer to attend a non-college degree program that would meet their professional goals. This bill seeks to expand on the eligible programs of education to include apprenticeship and on-the job training, in addition to flight training and non-college degree programs of education. This legislation would also provide veterans with a housing stipend when taking courses strictly through long distance learning and would allow student veterans to use their education benefits for pay for national tests, and licensure and certification tests. Finally, this bill seeks to recognize a families’ role of caring for an injured veteran by extending the period that a family member can use his or her education benefits. “Returning veterans have shown their commitment to our country by their service and it is important to provide to our most dedicated citizens an opportunity to receive the education and training they missed while serving in the military,” said House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman, Rep. Bob Filner (D) CA. “Providing veterans with the means to better themselves through educational opportunities has been a goal of this nation since 1944, when the first G.I. Bill of Rights laid a foundation for veterans to have the support necessary to readjust to civilian life. The changes approved by the House today will help make more veterans part of the economic recovery. Again, this Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, has come together to fully invest in the future of our heroes and support those who have borne the heaviest burdens of war.” S. 3860 (McCaskill) addresses recent reports which identified a number of troubling problems at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). The bill requires reports to Congress on the management of ANC, including gravesite discrepancies, the management and oversight of contracts, and the implementation of recent Army directives. This comprehensive survey will further investigate reported burial errors, determine the full scope of the problem, and provide the first step to a concrete solution. Filner offered the following statement on the Floor of the House: “Arlington National Cemetery is our most hallowed ground, the final resting place of many of our heroes. Every year, nearly 4 million people visit the cemetery. Because of the importance of Arlington to our national memory the American people expect Arlington to be run reverently and meticulously, but as we all know, this has not been the case. The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has worked closely with our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee to get answers and find a way forward. We will continue to work closely with our colleagues on Armed Services, with the Administration, and with our Senate colleagues in the months ahead to fix what is wrong at Arlington and to ensure that the operation of this national shrine honors the men and women who lie at rest there.” The bills will next be sent to the President’s desk for signature. 12/17/2010 CENSUS BUREAU SURVEY SHOWS REGIONS WITH BETTER INCOMES HAVE BETTER EDUCATED WORKERSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Today's release of data and maps from the U-S Census Bureau confirms more of what education reform advocates have claimed. Education levels dictate, not only earnings of graduates, but also, the bleak future for some geographic regions of the country. States with the highest percentage workforce possessing a bachelor degree or higher, are in the northeast and the atlantic seaboard. Undeniably, most of the best educated areas are concentrated in the top 100 metropolitan areas, where most of the country's job growth is determined. The latest American Community Survey, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, uses census data from 2005-2009. No data is used from the 2010 census. When comparing the bureau's maps showing median family income and education level, both largely reflect the best educated workforce, which gravitate toward academia, medicine, government centers and military installations.. See maps and data from latest BLS Community Survey, click here. 12/14/2010 FEDS PROBE FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE DEALS WITH VETERANSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Sen. Tom Harkin (D) IA, fears the nation's veterans are being targeted by fast buck recruiters from for-profit colleges. Harkin claims a report backs up his concerns. The report shows a dramatic increase in Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans’ Affairs (VA) funds flowing into for-profit education companies. At the same time, the report explains that military service members and veterans are especially attractive to for-profit colleges because their DoD and VA education benefits do not count toward the so-called “90/10 rule,” a regulation that prevents for-profit colleges from taking in more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal student aid money. Harkin claims the report shows:
Also, according to the report, Individual for-profit colleges saw similarly precipitous growth in their funding from DoD and VA. The 30 schools receiving document requests from the Committee reported 23,766 students receiving military benefits of any type in 2006. That number increased to 109,167 students in 2009, and 100,702 students through only the first half of 2010. Full text of report, click here. Sen. Harkin's press release, click here. 12/10/2010 FOR PROFIT COLLEGES SAY AUGUST GAO REPORT INNACCURATE AND BIASEDMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A group representing for profit colleges says the recent GAO report was bias and based on erroneous information. The Coalition for Educational Success claims, " ...damaging ramifications of this now acknowledged error-riddled work extend both to the much-publicized hearings by Senator Harkin based upon GAO's inaccurate work as well as to the U.S. Department of Education's own gainful employment proposal that specifically cited GAO’s now discredited work. The Coalition has been for some time calling upon GAO and DOE to release all of the tapes and work products leading to the report. The revised GAO report validates the Coalition's concerns and may be just the tip of the iceberg in revealing a coordinated effort to demonize an industry in the run-up to the Harkin hearings and in support of DOE’s proposed regulation. It appears as though, in its first report, the GAO selectively edited or changed the tenor of conversations to make the original report appear more negative. This raises serious questions about the credibility of the GAO’s analysis and process,” said Coalition for Educational Success Spokesperson Lanny J. Davis. “Despite repeated requests, the GAO has not yet released any of the original tapes or transcripts used in the report. It is highly unusual for the GAO to issue an amended report. So, it comes as no surprise that the agency chose to release the corrected version as quietly as possible in the hopes no one would notice, because the amended version stands in shocking contrast to the original.” According to the group, the GAO made 16 meaningful amendments to the report, including material changes to the transcriptions of words used by the “undercover applicants” and career college representatives. For example, in the amended version of the report, “instructions” from college representatives to undercover applicants are now described as “suggestions.” Items previously attributed to college representatives are now reported as responses to suggestions from the undercover applicants. Full text of revised GAO report, click here. Coalition for Educational Success press release, click here. Summary and full text of August 2010 original report from GAO, click here. 12/10/2010 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SURVEY FINDS U-S IN THE MIDDLE / KOREA & FINLAND AT THE TOPMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, a Paris based think tank, today released their latest rankings by country on education, called the "PISA" study. Korea and Finland are the highest performing OECD countries, with mean scores of 539 and 536 points, respectively. Girls outperform boys in reading skills in every participating country. Parents’ engagement with their children’s reading life has a positive impact on their children’s reading performance. Students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child “every day or almost every day” or “once or twice a week” during the first year of primary school performed higher in PISA 2009 than students whose parents reported that they had done this “never or almost never” or “once or twice a month”.Full text of PISA study, click here. See short video from PISA study below .Webcast of actual news conference, direct link, click here.
12/07/2010 GRADUATION RATES IMPROVE IN U-S / ARIZONA, NEVADA AND UTAH REGISTER DECLINESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- A group headed by former Secretary of state Colin Powell says the U-S has made significant progress improving graduation rates since 2002. All but three states have either held their rate of graduation or improved, with the exception of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The Report from America's Promise Alliance, was released today with a wealth of statistics showing signs of hope in the nation's schools, especially in the south, where the most progress has been made, when compared with 2002. According to the report, "The U.S. graduation rate increased from 72 percent in 2002 to 75 percent in 2008. The report reveals that the number of “dropout factory” high schools fell by 13 percent – from 2,007 in 2002 to 1,746 in 2008. While these schools represent a small fraction of all public high schools in America, they account for about half of all high school dropouts each year. Experts say targeting these high schools for improvement is a critical part of turning around the nation’s dropout rate". Other highlights of the report:
"Just as Secretary of State George C. Marshall launched a plan to rebuild Europe after World War II, we must rebuild our broken school system. We are launching a “Civic Marshall Plan,” comprising policymakers, educators, business leaders, community allies, parents and students to address the dropout epidemic by focusing on the dropout factory high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools".Full text of America's Promise Alliance report, click here. 11/30/2010 FOR- PROFIT COLLEGES BEAT PUBLIC COLLEGES IN ASSOCIATE DEGREE GRADUATION RATES / LAG IN OTHER AREASMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Two reports released by separate organizations this week, paint a more complicated picture of the job for profit colleges are doing. The Pew Research Center, which has conducted numerous studies on the subject, released their latest survey showing that for profit schools graduate with far more debt than those graduating from public or private institutions. The Pew survey found that,
More troubling is the fact that, regardless of the type of college, undergraduate college student borrowing has risen dramatically in recent years. Graduates who received a bachelor's degree in 2008 borrowed 50% more (in inflation-adjusted dollars) than their counterparts who graduated in 1996, while graduates who earned an associate's degree or undergraduate certificate in 2008 borrowed more than twice what their counterparts in 1996 had borrowed, according to a new analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project. The other report released this week, comes from The Education Trust, which offered a stinging overview of college graduation rates, claiming that student financing only amplifies the chasm between the "haves" and "have nots", of society. The Education Trust report, entitled, "Sub Prime Opportunity", says, "For-profit colleges provide high cost
degree programs that have little chance
of leading to high-paying careers, and saddle
the most vulnerable students with heavy debt, instead of providing a solid pathway to the "To start with completion rates, among first-time, full time,
bachelor’s degree-seeking students who enroll at for-profit institutions, only 22 percent earn degrees from those
institutions within six years. By contrast, students at public
and private nonprofit t colleges and universities graduate at
rates two to three times higher—55 and 65 percent, respectively.The graduation rates at two-year and less than two-year
for-profi t colleges are better. At two-year for-profits, 60
percent of students earn an associate’s degree or certifi cate
within three years. At less than two-year for-profi ts, 66
percent earn a credential within three years. These completion
rates are considerably higher than the 22-percent rate
at public community colleges". Full text of Pew report, click here. Full text report on Education Trust report, click here. 11/24/2010 WHAT SHOULD COLLEGE STUDENTS BE REQUIRED TO LEARN? THE CONTROVERSY OVER REQUIRED COURSESMore in this article from the Washington Post, click here- 11/19/2010 BLACK MALES CONTINUE DOWNWARD SPIRAL IN HIGH SCHOOLSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- "Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country
on almost every indicator," says the groundbreaking report titled A Call for Change: The But the study points out that there has been no concerted national effort to improve the education, social and employment outcomes of African American males, who are not receiving appropriate attention from federal, state and local governments or community organizations. "This is a national catastrophe, and it deserves coordinated national attention". stresses the report. "The issues that emerge from the data are both moral and economic, calling into question the nation's ability to harness all of its talent to maintain a leadership footing in the world," says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. Other points of the report include: · In black male achievement in selected big city school districts, 50 percent of fourth and eighth grade black males in most urban districts and nationwide scored below Basic levels. · In college and career preparedness, black males were nearly twice as likely to drop out of high school as white males. In 2008, 9 percent of black males dropped out of high school compared with 5 percent of white males. In addition, black male students nationally scored an average 104 points lower than white males on the SAT college entrance examination in reading. And black students generally were about one third as likely to meet ACT college readiness benchmarks as white students. · In school experience, black students were less likely to participate in academic clubs, more likely to be suspended from school, and more likely to be retained in grade than their white peers. · In post secondary experience, the unemployment rate among black males ages 20 and over (17.3 percent) was twice as high as the unemployment rate among white males of the same age (8.6 percent) earlier this year. In 2008, black males ages 18 and over accounted for 5 percent of the college population, while black males accounted for 36 percent of the nation’s prison population. Full text of press release, click here. 11/10/2010 TEACHERS UNIONS FACE OBSTACLES WITH EDUCATION REFORMMore in this article from the LA Times, click here- 11/07/2010 OBAMA ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS SPECIFICS TO BATTLE STUDENT LOAN ABUSES / FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES OPPOSEDMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The Obama administration has proposed 14 regulation changes related to student loans. The most controversial is the 14th proposal dealing with "gainful employment" for students bogged down in debt upon graduation. In a press release today, the Department of Education stated it received over 90,000 comments during the public comment period on the Department's "gainful employment" proposals dealing with a college program's eligibility to receive federal student aid. The Department announced plans in September to change the publication date of these final regulations from November 1 to early 2011, click here. "This will still allow the Department to publish final regulations in time for them to go into effect on or around July 1, 2012, as originally planned. The Department is taking additional time to hold several meetings with interested parties (See list, click here) over the coming weeks, as well as public hearings on November 4th and November 5th. These meetings will give people the opportunity to clarify the comments they've submitted and respond to questions from Department officials". The Obama administration says its goal is to protect, "students from aggressive or misleading recruiting practices, providing consumers with better information about the effectiveness of career college and training programs, and ensuring that only eligible students or programs receive aid" Students at for-profit institutions represent 11 percent of all higher education students, 26 percent of all student loans and 43 percent of all loan defaulters. The median federal student loan debt carried by students earning associate degrees at for-profit institutions was $14,000, while the majority of students at community colleges do not borrow. More than a quarter of for-profit institutions receive 80 percent of their revenues from taxpayer financed federal student aid. This rapid growth of enrollment, debt load, and default rates at for-profit institutions in recent years prompted an 18-month negotiation with the higher education community over new regulations, which was required by Congress. During the negotiation, the Department of Education says it worked with stakeholders to develop a set of proposals around 14 specific issues (outlined below) that strengthen the integrity of the federal student aid program and ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately. The regulations, published today in two parts, follow a year-long process and will go into effect on July 1, 2011. They address 13 of the 14 issues in their entirety, and partially address the 14th issue, which involves the definition of "gainful employment". For-profit schools and lobbyists have been mounting a campaign all year to battle more regulations of student loans. In September , Todd S. Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Education Management Corporation, said, "We believe that the proposed rule is counter to President Obama's goal of the United States becoming the world leader in college graduates by 2020, and impacts quality institutions rather than the 'bad actors,' as stated by the Department". Department of Education press release, click here. Education Management Corporation statement on proposals, click here. 10/28/2010 SPARSELY POPULATED SMALL TOWN RECRUITS FOREIGN STUDENTS TO KEEP SCHOOLS ALIVEMore in this article from the New York Times, click here - 10/27/2010 COLLEGE DROPOUTS COST U-S ECONOMY BILLIONSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- First year college dropouts cost the U-S economy and the government an estimated $6.2 billion from 2003-2008. The information provides the basis for establishment of a new website (www.collegemeasures.org) with information linking completion rates of four year colleges and universities. The study, by the American Institutes for Research, finds that between 2 to 8 percent of states expenses to educate college students is wasted on those who drop out of college, most often after the first year. The new website details graduation rates and expenditure data for all 50 states, six metropolitan areas and more than 1,500 institutions can be found at the site. The website allows users to evaluate the performance of colleges and state systems on a range of measures, including student progression and graduation rates, graduates’ ability to secure gainful employment, the efficiency and productivity of education-related expenditures, the cost of student attrition, and the amount of financial aid going to students who do not graduate. Full text of press release and report, click here. 10/11/2010 DENIAL OF ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING FOR SUSPENSIONS LIMITED BY NORTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURTMore in this article from the New York Times, click here- 10/09/2010 LAID OFF CHICAGO TEACHERS WIN FEDERAL COURT DECISION /JUDGE ORDERS HALT TO ADDITIONAL LAYOFFS / ORDERS TEACHERS BE GIVEN RIGHTS TO NEW POSITIONSMore in this article from the Chicago Tribune, click here- 10/05/2010 HOW A LARGE FAILING SCHOOL BECAME A SUCCESS STORYMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The turnaround of a hard care failing school into one of the best success stories of education, has propelled a high school in Brockton, Massachusetts to national prominence and better students. The story of Brockton High School is cited in a report entitled, "How High Schools Become Exemplary", written by Harvard University researcher, Ronald Ferguson. Ferguson details how the more than a third of the school's students dropped out, and only 25% of the students passed state exams. So administrators and teachers, with the strong involvement of the teachers union, were able to improve students basic skills in rather unconventional ways, such as writing assignments for gym class. Entire report, "How High Schools Become Exemplary", PDF download, click here. The Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University special web page, click here. New York Times story on Brockton Schools, click here. 9/28/2010 DESPITE RECESSION, COLLEGE BOARD SAYS COLLEGE DEGREE PAYS OFFMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Workers with Bachelor degrees $21,900 more per year than those with just a high school education. The College Board says that statistic and other information confirms that those with a college degree are less likely to be unemployed and when employed, average more yearly earnings. unemployment rates for those with college degrees are also about half of those without. Other findings highlighted by the College Board in their report...that those with college degrees are more likely to have health insurance, exercise, be involved with community volunteering and voting. Full text of College Board report, click here. 09/21/2010 EDUCATION: REPORTS SHOW WOMEN OUTNUMBER MEN FOR FIRST TIME OBTAINING DOCTORATE DEGREES / GROWING DISPARITY OF MINORITIES FOR SCHOOL SUSPENSIONSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Two new reports on education have been released. One showing women earning more doctoral degrees than men for the first time and another showing growing disparity of suspensions among minorities. The Council of Graduate Schools report shows, "Over the last decade, doctoral degree production increased in all broad OUT OF SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS WERE THE SUBJECT OF ANOTHER STUDY just released by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Their findings show out of school suspensions have risen dramatically since the 1970's as corporal punishment in schools declined. "Some have argued that suspensions remove disorderly students and deter other students from misbehaving, thereby improving the school environment so that well-behaving students can learn without distractions. Yet, despite nearly two decades of implementation of zero tolerance disciplinary policies and their application to mundane and non-violent misbehavior, there is no evidence that frequent reliance on removing misbehaving students improves school safety or student behavior (APA, 2008). Because suspended students miss instructional time, frequent use of out-of-school suspension also reduces students’ opportunity to learn". The study states, "A review of national suspension rates since the early 70’s for K-12 public schools reveals a substantial increase in the use of suspension for students of all races, as well as a concomitant increase in the racial discipline gap". "While the average suspension rate was 11.2% in 2006 in the middle schools surveyed, disaggregating the data by race and gender reveals great disparities in the use of out-of-school suspension. For example, for middle school Blacks, 28.3% of males and 18% of females were suspended. This 10-point difference in suspension rates by gender for Black students was the largest of any racial group, but all racial/ethnic groups showed large internal differences by gender. Even greater disparities existed between racial groups when comparing suspension rates by race and gender: there was a 26.2 percentage point difference between the suspension rates of Asian American/Pacific Islander females (2.1%) and Black males". Full Text of Doctoral Degree Study, click here. Southern Poverty Law Center study on suspensions, click here. 09/14/2010 FOR PROFIT COLLEGES ESCALATE CAMPAIGN AGAINST NEW REGULATIONSMore in this article from the New York Times, click here- 09/08/2010 AMERICA'S WORST COLLEGESMore in this article in Washington Monthly, click here- 08/27/2010 "RACE TO THE TOP" GRANTS AWARDED / MOST SCHOOLS EAST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVERMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Reaction to the Department of Education decision on those states winning the "Race to the Top" education grants includes criticism from civil rights advocates. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced nine states and the District of Columbia will share most of the $3.4 billion dollars set aside for winning applications based on education reforms advocated in the grant program. Delaware and Tennessee had won earlier during an initial competition. Those states taking the second round were: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island, in addition to DC. Education Department officials say a total of 46 states and the District of Columbia put together comprehensive education reform plans to apply for Race to the Top in Phases 1 and 2. Over the course of the Race to the Top competition, 35 states and the District of Columbia have adopted rigorous common, college- and career-ready standards in reading and math, and 34 states have changed laws or policies to improve education. Opponents of the concept have said the grants only provide more to the "have" states while providing less to the "have not" states. Reacting to the announcement of the winning states, most from the east coast, California NAACP and other civil rights leaders claim the program undermines schools of the disadvantaged. Louis Freedburg of the blog, California Watch, points out, "Even if California were to be awarded funds in today's announcement, most children in most states will experience a real decrease in federal support when inflation and state and local budgets cuts are taken into consideration The document noted that the selection of two small states, Tennessee and Delaware, in the first round of the competition meant that Race to the Top currently impacts only 2.5 percent of the students in the United States eligible for free and reduced lunch, 3 percent of the nation's black students and less than 1 percent of Latino … students. What's extraordinary is that the joint statement represents by far the most vehement critique on President Obama from a constituency that, all things being equal, he should have been able to count on as among his strongest supporters. But in an indirect attack on the No Child Left Behind legacy of former President Bush, now being extended by Obama, they say:
An estimated $75 million dollars remains from the $3.4 billion program. So far, no indication as to how that money will be spent. Full text of Department of Education press release, click here. Video of announcement by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, click here. Blog post by Louis Freedberg of California Watch , click here. 08/24/2010 SCHOOLS STALL REHIRING TEACHERS DESPITE NEW $10 BILLION AID PACKAGEMore in this article from the New York Times, click here - 08/18/2010 FOR PROFIT COLLEGES TAKE HIT IN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT REPORTMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- For profit colleges have the lowest student repayment rates according to a report released Friday from the U-S Department of Education. At 36% for profit college repayment rates are considerably lower than private colleges (56%) and public institutions (54%). some for profit colleges had repayment rates lower than 20%. The Department of Education report lists student repayments by each college or university. The significance of the report is that some programs at for profit colleges, funded by college loans from the federal government could be ineligible, due to low student repayment rates. That could mean a huge dent in earnings at a majority of for profit colleges, since they get most, in some cases, more than 80% of their revenues from federal student loans. The Career College Association, in a response to the report, issued a statement on Friday. “We have said consistently that the current laws are clear and the rules exist to provide the necessary oversight,” said CCA President Harris N. Miller. “If institutions or individuals are not playing by the rules, and that is established after careful review of the facts, they need to be held accountable. To that end, we agree that the Department should add resources to carry out its functions properly and to help assure quality education for students. We support activities that improve education quality while at the same time not denying access to millions of non-traditional students, those with the fewest opportunities in life to obtain post secondary education. We look forward to working with the Department to achieve these goals.” More in this article from Reuters News Service, click here. Full text of CCA statement, click here. U-S Department of Education proposed rulemaking involving loan repayment rates and press release , click here. Also see this August 16 2010 article from Washington Post. 08/14/2010 PRESIDENT SAYS U-S IS "NOT PLAYING FOR SECOND PLACE" IN EDUCATION / REMINDS STUDENTS OF NEW FINANCIAL INCENTIVESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- During a Speech at the University of Texas in Austin, President Obama said the U-S will boost its standing in the world by educating its workforce. And he underlined the administration's initiatives, putting more money in the hands of colleges and their students. Obama outlined what he hopes will attract more students to colleges and graduate them to higher paying jobs.
"...we need an economy that puts Americans back to work, an economy that’s built around three simple words -- Made in America. Because we are not playing for second place. We are the United States of America, and like the Texas Longhorns, you play for first -- we play for first", said Obama. "I’ve called for doubling our exports within the next five years, so that we're not just buying from other countries, I want us to sell to other countries. We've talked about doubling our nation’s capacity to generate renewable energy by 2012, because I'm actually convinced that if we control the clean energy future, then our economic future will be bright -- building solar panels and wind turbines and biodiesel. And I want us to produce 8 million more college graduates by 2020, because America has to have the highest share of graduates compared to every other nation.But, Texas, I want you to know we have been slipping. In a single generation, we’ve fallen from first place to 12th place in college graduation rates for young adults", explained the President. The President's tour of Texas included a fundraiser for Democratic Gubernatorial candidate and former Houston Mayor, Bill White. White faces an uphill battle trying to defeat incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who has held the job since former President George W. Bush resigned the office to run for President in 2000. Text of President's speech, click here. 08/10/2010 HIGH SCHOOLS HELD ACCOUNTABLE WHEN GRADUATES MOVE TO COLLEGEMore from this article from the New York Times, click here- 08/10/2010 COLLEGE BOARD SAYS U-S EDUCATION LIMITING ECONOMIC GROWTHMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- An education deficit that could place the U-S at an economic disadvantage for decades, perhaps indefinitely. The assessment comes from the College Board's College Board's Commission on Access, Admissions, and Success in Higher Education. Formed in 2008, the commission was charged with studying the education pipeline as a single continuum and identifying strategies to significantly increase the proportion of students, especially low-income and underrepresented minority students, who graduate from college and are prepared to succeed in the 21st century. In the Commission's recently released 2010 report, the problem is summarized with a proposal to fix what is broken and reach a goal of 55% college educated population by the year 2025. "The country is not keeping pace with other industrialized nations: Once a world leader in the proportion of adults ages 25 to 34 with post secondary credentials, the United States now ranks 12th", according to the report. Some of the specific deficiencies:
The commission's report, Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future, established 10 interdependent recommendations to reach a goal of ensuring that at least 55 percent of Americans hold a post secondary degree by 2025. The College Board made a commitment to measure progress toward this goal on an annual basis. "The initial progress report issued by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center underscores both the critical challenges and the vital importance of advancing the college completion agenda. The United States' downward drift among industrialized nations in post secondary completion threatens our nation's future economic well-being as well as our position of global leadership. The coordinated, comprehensive approach recommended by the College Board gives us the opportunity to plug the numerous "leaks" in the education pipeline, reverse the troubling trends in college completion, and secure America's economic and social future for generations to come. I am heartened by the progress we are seeing in some areas, but a broader commitment is required if we genuinely wish to succeed," said Chancellor Kirwan, who chaired the commission. Full text of College Board press release, click here. Link to College Board Executive Summary, full text of report and graphics, click here. Excellent Commentary by Columnist Bob Herbert on the report, click here. 08/08/2010 HOUSE TO BE RECALLED FROM SUMMER BREAK TO SAVE TEACHING JOBS AND MEDICAIDMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will be called to vote next week on a $26 billion aid package for states which passed the Senate on Wednesday. The money goes for state education and medicaid payments. The funding for education is expected to save at least 130,000 teaching jobs across the country as states face major cutbacks due to the recession and high unemployment. The House broke for summer recess last week, however, with Senate approval of the aid package, which had been blocked by Senate Republicans, Pelosi was forced to recall the House next week, in order to get a vote and critically needed money before the start of the school year. 08/05/2010 FOR PROFIT COLLEGES TAKE HEAT FOR STUDENT LOAN PRACTICESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- Loan practices by 15 for-profit colleges were singled out in a Government Accountability Office report, the focus of a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The GAO report called attention to deceptive and questionable practices, where students were encouraged to lie on their applications to better their chance for loans. A video presented by the agency was played at the hearing, featuring investigators posing as students being consulted by recruiters and financial aid advisors from for-profit colleges. The GAO report included problems reported at some of the best known for-profit institutions including, University of Phoenix, Kaplan, The industry has been subjected to increasing accusations that students are not told the true cost of the education at for profit colleges, the impact of their debt loads, and the prospects for employment, earning potential, and ability to repay the loans. For-profit colleges received an estimated $4 billion in aid and $20 billion in Department of Education loans last year. For some, that money constituted most of their revenues, in some cases, as high as 90%. The Senate hearing revealed instances of students being told by college financial aid representatives to lie on their applications through such tactics as lying about their savings and even suggesting applicants list children, when they had none. Also, in his testimony before the committee, Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director Forensic Audits and Special Investigations for the GAO said the agency found, "that for the five associate’s degrees we were interested in, tuition at a for-profit college was significantly more than tuition at the closest public college. On average, for the five colleges we visited, it cost between 6 and 13 times more to attend the for-profit college to obtain an associate’s degree than a public college". Responding to the accusations, executives of the Career College Association, which represents for profit colleges on Capitol Hill, “Even if the problems cited in the GAO report are limited to a few individuals at a few institutions, we can have zero tolerance for bad behavior,” said CCA President and CEO Harris N. Miller. “As educators, our commitment must always be to put students first, even if that means taking action against individual employees or institutions that color outside the lines. We understand that employees can make mistakes, but it is up to employers to take the set of comprehensive and multifaceted preventative and corrective actions that minimize the risk of such problems and correct those that occur. “We will expand our existing compliance program to help CCA member institutions achieve the highest standards,” Miller continued. “The rules exist to protect students and taxpayers, and must be observed.” Steps CCA will immediately implement in response to the GAO report:
“Our resolve is to answer any questions about the quality, suitability and value of career education for our students. We are moving as one community to address the issues raised in the GAO report. We will continue to add to this ‘zero tolerance’ program until all such doubts about our sector are removed,” Miller concluded. New loan practice requirements at for-profit colleges are proposed to start this year. They range from complete disclosure of total loan costs, graduation rates, job placement percentages and incentive payments to recruiters. Full text of GAO hearing statement, click here. CCA (For-Profit Colleges) statement on GAO report, click here.Full video replay of hearing, click here. Selected video clips of GAO investigators posing as prospective students and GAO report summary, click here. Associated Press article on proposed new rules at for-profit colleges, click here. 08/05/2010 DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS ASK FOR G-A-O PROBE OF STUDENT AID TO "FOR-PROFIT" COLLEGESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom - The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, June 24th, focusing on what is considered by some lawmakers, to be a disproportionate share of federal student aid dollars going to "for-profit" colleges. Members of both the House and Senate Education Committees have sent letters to leaders of the "for-profit" colleges explaining their concerns. Federal stats show that "for-profit" colleges have about 10% of the nation's student enrollment, yet command about 25% of the student aid dollars. THE HEARING WILL BE WEBCAST AT http://help.senate.gov. In a statement posted on the Senate Education Committee web site, Senator Tom Harkin (D) IA, wrote: “More than two decades have passed since Congress last examined the for-profit education sector and in that time, we have seen an explosion in growth in for-profit colleges, and in the federal taxpayer dollars they receive,” said Harkin. “With students, families and taxpayers investing so heavily in for-profit institutions through large loan debt and billions of dollars in federal student aid, we must ensure that student are actually getting the knowledge and skills they need to pay off the debt. Meanwhile, the lobbying group involving "for-profit"colleges, which earlier this month changed its name from The Career College Association (CCA) to the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU), responded: The "Senate hearing later this week on private sector higher education is composed almost entirely of sector critics and, as a result, is unlikely to help the American people understand the important changes taking place in post secondary education. “What we will hear from one of the witnesses—a Wall Street short-seller born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who got his first big paycheck the old fashioned way, through his parents—will be self-serving attacks on non-traditional students designed to fatten his wallet, not to inform the American people on how best to get unemployed and underemployed Americans educated and back to work,” stated Harris N. Miller, CCA President and CEO. “We welcome oversight by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, but are surprised that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan or one of his lieutenants is not the primary witness to give the Committee a broad overview of higher education and our sector’s role in it.” Miller continued: “We look forward to working with the HELP Committee on future hearings, bringing students, graduates, institutions, employers and post secondary education experts--especially those whose comments are based on facts, not enriching their own bank accounts--into the conversation.” DEVELOPING BETTER ALTERNATIVES FOR THOSE WHO WILL NOT ATTEND COLLEGEMore from the New York Times, click here- 05/15/2010 OBAMA WANTS 26 BILLION EMERGENCY AID TO SAVE 300,000 TEACHING JOBSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are requesting $26 billion in emergency funds to save 300.000 teaching jobs that are expected to be lost over the summer. In a letter to congressional leaders, Duncan requested supplemental appropriations bills totaling $23 billion to preserve education jobs, along with $1 billion in funds to preserve early childhood education jobs and an additional $2 billion to support public safety. Full text of Department of Education press release, including letter to congressional leadership, click here. 05/14/2010 IOWA ENGLISH TEACHER IS TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Brown Wessling is a high school English teacher at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa, and the recipient of this year’s National Teacher of the Year Award.More from the Emeritus Newsroom- A proponent of open learning, Sarah Brown Wessling, says, “The desk in the back of the room” displaces hierarchies, creates an environment where a teacher becomes a lead learner, and evolves into a web of interdependence where the classroom walls become boundless. When we embrace this open-model of learning, the consumers of our curriculum will become designers of their own learning". The latest Teacher of the Year graduated from Winterset High School and Iowa State University and is only the second Teacher of the Year to come from Iowa. In achieving the honor, Wessling begins a national speaking tour to push education issues, beginning June 1st. Wessling told those gathered to honor her at the White House Rose Garden that, " In front of us all is the collective responsibility to create hope and opportunity for every child in this country". Full text of Wessling speech, click here. Video of Wessling ceremony at the White House, click here. 04/29/2010 100,000 VETERANS TRANSFER THEIR EDUCATION BENEFITS TO FAMILY MEMBERSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The Department of Veterans Affairs claims it has received more than 100,000 family transfer requests for remaining education benefits. According to the Armed Forces Press Service, Signed into law in June 2008, the new GI Bill is a Department of Veteran Affairs-sponsored program that provides the most comprehensive educational benefit package for veterans since the original GI Bill -- the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 -- was authorized toward the end of World War II. A provision in the new bill, which permits service members to transfer their unused educational entitlement to a spouse or child, has transferred "months of benefit eligibility to over 240,000 family members," Robert E. Clark, assistant director of accession policy for the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told lawmakers today. "To date, over 105,000 requests from career service members have been approved," Clark said in a prepared statement to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "transferring months of benefit eligibility to over 240,000 family members". Full text of Armed Forces Press Service. 04/21/2010 IOWA SENATOR HARKIN PROPOSES $23 BILLION BAILOUT FOR SCHOOLSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- With the prospect of thousands of educators losing their jobs in the coming year, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) has proposed a 23 billion dollar bailout of the nations schools. Just outside Washington DC, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, at least 800 positions are to be cut in schools there with thousands of others, mostly in major cities, such as Los Angeles where up to 6,000 positions, many of them teachers, are expected to be terminated. Even U-S Education Secretary Arne Duncan admits there could be 300,000 education related positions cut by year's end when Recovery and Stabilization Act funds for education run out. Sen. Harkin is Chairman of Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Harkin announced his proposal today saying the country cannot wait until August for action. “Recent headlines make the case that two pillars of the American dream – a good job and a good education – are at risk for millions upon millions of our citizens,” Harkin said. “At this point in our fragile recovery, we need to put Americans back to work educating the next generation, and that’s what this bill does.” The $23 billion included in the Keep Our Educators Working Act is roughly half of the amount dedicated to state aid in the SFSF, and is equal to the amount passed by the House in its December 2009 jobs legislation. Funding could be used for: • Compensation and benefits and other expenses necessary to retain existing employees, and for the hiring of new employees, in order to provide early childhood, elementary, secondary, or post secondary educational and related services; or • On-the-job training activities for education-related careers. Full Text of Harkin press release, click here. Senator Harkins comments during subcommittee hearing on education funding, click here. Video of Subcommittee hearing, click here. 04/14/2010 OBAMA SIGNS HOUSE BUDGET RECONCILIATION BILL / INCLUDES HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM AND STUDENT LOAN REFORM WITH MORE PELL GRANTSMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- After singing the Senate version of health insurance reform last Tuesday, President Obama today signed the House budget reconciliation version. The reconciliation version contains much of the funding for health insurance reform as well as student loan reform. During the signing ceremony at Northern Virginia Community College, President Obama told students the legislation will generate nearly $68 billion in savings over the next 11 years by finally putting an end to bank subsidies to act as middlemen for student loans. Some of the savings, according to the President, will be used to reinvest in community colleges, 800,000 more Pell grants, increasing the per student Pell grant to almost $6,000, and limiting to ten per cent, the percentage of your income that will be used at any one time to repay your student loans. the proposal also includes forgiveness for some of the loans if the student selects some of the target job categories after graduation, such as enlisting in the armed forces, or being a teacher or a nurse in under served and poor areas. Text of President's speech, click here. Text of review of the new law from Brian Levine of the Middle Class Task Force, click here. MP4 Video from Dr. Jill Biden on details of the student loan reform bill, click here. Text and action listings on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872), click here. 03/30/2010 TENNESSEE GETS $500 MILLION AND DELEWARE $100 MILLION IN "RACE TO THE TOP" COMPETITIONMore from the Emeritus Newsroom-According to the U-S Department of Education, the first phase of the "Race to the Top" competition has brought the state of Delaware $100 million and Tennessee $500 million to be used to implement their comprehensive school reform plans over the next four years. As with any federal grant program, budgets will be finalized after discussions between the grantees and the Department, and the money will be distributed over time as the grantees meet established benchmarks. The U.S. Department of Education will have about $3.4 billion available for the second phase of the Race to the Top competition. "We set a very high bar for the first phase," Duncan said. "With $3.4 billion still available, we're providing plenty of opportunity for all other states to develop plans and aggressively pursue reform." The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund is an unprecedented federal investment in reform. The program includes $4 billion for statewide reform grants and $350 million to support states working together to improve the quality of their assessments. The Race to the Top state competition is designed to reward states that are leading the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education reform across four key areas:
Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for the first phase of grants. Delaware and Tennessee were selected from among 16 finalists who presented their proposals to panels of peer reviewers earlier this month. In a statement released today by the National Education Association, a teachers union, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said: “Educators are key partners in any successful effort to turn around low-performing schools. You can’t build a good plan that will yield long-lasting, sustainable results that are positive for students and their schools without having buy-in from all stakeholders. By selecting Delaware and Tennessee’s proposals—two states that submitted highly collaborative and comprehensive plans—the administration did what was right for students. “Unfortunately, the Race to the Top competition does not address the pressing needs of students in all states. For Delaware and Tennessee, it is only a stopgap effort for the sustained funding those states need. For the other 48 states that did not receive any funding, their financial situations are still just as bleak. The competition cannot comprehensively take on the looming problems of fiscal inequity among America’s public schools or systemically improve our nation’s schools. “America’s students need more than a program that only rewards a few throughout the country, and that is why it is vital that the administration and Congress move forward to revamp and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.” Full text of Department of Education press release, click here. Full text of NEA statement click here, 03/29/2010 READING SCORES STAGNANT UNDER "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" / AMERICAN STUDENTS NOT IMPROVING FAST ENOUGHMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The latest study on American student reading abilities reveals more challenges ahead. According to a statement today from U-S Education secretary Arne Duncan, American students reading test results are not "improving fast enough". Duncan was responding to test results released today from the National Assessment of Education Progress, which bills itself as the "Nation's Report Card". Among the highlights, according to NAEP, "National results show that gains in overall average scores seen in earlier years did not continue at grade 4 but did continue at grade 8. The overall average score for fourth-graders in 2009 was unchanged from the score in 2007 but was higher than the scores in other earlier assessment years from 1992 to 2005. The average score for eighth-graders in 2009 was 1 point higher than in 2009 and 4 points higher than 1992 but was not consistently higher than in all the assessment years in between. There were no significant changes from 2007 to 2009 in the score gaps between White and Black students or between White and Hispanic students at either grade 4 or grade 8. State results for grade 4 show score increases since 2007 in three states and jurisdictions and decreases in four states. At grade 8, scores were higher in 2009 than in 2007 in nine states and jurisdictions, and no states showed a decline". Direct links to 4th and 8th Grade reports, including state statistics, click here. Full text of National Report Card, click here. Press release from Education Secretary Duncan, click here. 03/24/2010 SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF STUDENT BILLED FOR SCHOOL LOAN INTEREST CHARGES AFTER BANKRUPTCY / BUT COURT TAKES DIM VIEW OF DISMISSING STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCIESMore from the Emeritus Newsroom- The U-S Supreme Court has ordered that Francisco Espinosa does not have to pay interest charges on a college loan that was wiped out in a bankruptcy. Espinosa also wanted interest on his college loans dismissed in his 1993 bankruptcy, but the loan servicer refused. Now in a confusing set of circumstances, Espinosa has won his case and will not be liable for over $4,582 in interest on four loans. In short, the Supreme Court ruled his loans were improperly dismissed in the original bankruptcy case, but since the bankruptcy court approved the agreement, Espinosa could not then be liable for interest charges on a loan that had been dismissed in a bankruptcy. The court's decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, stated, "Respondent Espinosa’s plan proposed repaying the principal on his student loan debt and discharging the interest once the principal was repaid, but he did not initiate the required adversary proceeding. The student loan creditor, petitioner United, received notice of the plan from the Bankruptcy Court and did not object to the plan or to Espinosa’s failure to initiate the required proceeding. The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the plan without holding such a proceeding or making a finding of undue hardship. Once Espinosa paid his student loan principal, the court discharged the interest. A few years later, the Department of Education sought to collect that interest. In response, Espinosa asked the court to enforce the confirmation order by directing the Department and United to cease any collection efforts. United op-posed the motion and filed a cross-motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4), seeking to set aside as void the confirmation order because the plan provision authorizing discharge of Espinosa’s student loan interest was inconsistent with the Code and the Bankruptcy Rules, and because United’s due process rights were violated". And the Supreme Court found the bankruptcy judge and the loan servicer both made mistakes handling the case and the loan. "Given the Code’s clear and self-executing requirement for an undue hardship determination, the Bankruptcy Court’s failure to find undue hardship before confirming Espinosa’s plan was a legal error. See Part III, infra. But the order remains enforceable and binding on United because United had notice of the error and failed to objector timely appeal". "We thus assume that, in some cases, a debtor and creditor may agree that payment of a student loan debt will cause the debtor an undue hardship sufficient to justify discharge ". And the court found that, “Debtors and their attorneys face penalties under various provisions for engaging in improper conduct in bankruptcy proceedings,” id., at 644; see Fed. Rule Bkrtcy. Proc. 9011. The specter of such penalties should deter bad-faith attempts to discharge student loan debt without the undue hardship finding Congress required. And to the extent existing sanctions prove inadequate to this task, Congress may enact additional provisions to address the difficulties United predicts will follow our decision. The Supreme Court's decision thereby, upheld the previous decision of the U-S Ninth District Court of Appeals. Full text of the actual Supreme Court decision, click here. 03/23/2010 CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE GIVES POSITIVE REPORT ON DEMOCRATS STUDENT LOAN PROPOSAL / SAYS IT WILL PRODUCE "SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS"More from the Emeritus Newsroom - House and Senate Democrats pushing a new student loan bill as part of the reconciliation package that includes health insurance reform, got positive news this morning from the Congressional Budget Office. According to Director Doug Elmendorf, "CBO estimates that the President’s proposal would generate significant cost savings using both the FCRA and fair value approaches, but the savings would be smaller under the fair-value approach. (Both estimates were constructed relative to CBO’s most recent set of baseline budget projections, which were issued earlier this month.) Using the FCRA methodology, CBO estimates that replacing new guarantees of student loans with direct lending would yield savings in mandatory spending of about $68 billion over the 11 years from 2010 through 2020. That figure represents the estimated savings in mandatory costs that would be shown in a CBO cost estimate for legislation under consideration by the Congress. However, adjusting for the projected increase in annual discretionary administrative costs in the direct loan program, the net reduction in federal costs from the proposal would be about $62 billion. On a fair value basis, incorporating administrative costs and the cost of risk, CBO estimates that replacing new guarantees of student loans with direct lending would yield savings of about $40 billion over the 2010-2020 period. The primary reason for that $22 billion difference is that payments from the government to lenders are risky—they terminate when a borrower defaults on or prepays a loan. Those payments are less valuable to lenders and less costly to the government when the cost of that risk is taken into account, so terminating those payments by eliminating the guaranteed loan program yields smaller savings for the government". Full text of Elmendorf CBO blog on student loan proposal, click here. 03/17/2010
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