Quick Hits — By the Numbers

> 90,000

The number of comments the U.S. Department of Education received between its first draft of ‘gainful employment’ regulations and the revised set it released today. (Inside Higher Ed)

$120,000+

The average salary of those who major in petroleum engineering in the United States. In comparison, the average salary for psychology and counseling majors is $29,000.  Richard Colvin argues that all undergraduate degrees are “worth it” in a new Huffington Post column. (HuffPost College)

$400 million

The total award that Georgia received under the second round of the Race to the Top competition. Georgia governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed met with U.S. Department of Education officials this week to learn more about the pre-K funds available in the third round. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

15%

The percent of the original 500 companies listed on the S&P 500 in 1957 that still exist today as independent companies. This fact leads Jay Greene to wonder why we don’t close schools that have been persistently failing their students and replace them with completely new organizations with new missions and new educational methods. (Jay P. Greene’s Blog)

1994

The year that ‘zero-tolerance’ ideas became part of federal education law through the passage of the Gun-Free Schools Act. Some education policymakers are currently considering scaling back zero-tolerance discipline policies. (The Washington Post)