Quick Hits (3.16.12)

Predicting the end of the semester. Officials at Austin Peay State University are piloting a new tool, Degree Compass, that guestimates a student’s chances of success, based on past academic performance. Last fall, it fell within 0.02 of a point when predicting grade point averages (GPAs). Could this replace those ineffective placement tests that too often (incorrectly) place students in remedial courses, as Education Sector’s Susan Headden pointed out last year? (Inside Higher Ed)

Tapping his way to a college degree. A 20-year-old Penn State University student taps on New York City subways on the weekends to pay his college tuition. (Well, until, Ellen DeGeneres caught wind of this.) (Huffington Post)

A large IOU. Minnesota lawmakers are proposing to pay back some of the $2.4 billion owed to public schools, using the state’s rainy day funds. (Pioneer Press)

Teaching what they know. Paul Bruno pushes against the “teaching to the test” argument by citing pre-NCLB reports that show dismal percentages of time being dedicated to science instruction—and adding a reference to a more recent WestEd report that finds only one-third of teachers say they are prepared to teach science. (This Week in Education)