More than 50 percent of students who have completed Algebra II in high school find themselves in a remedial math course in college. (Even 13 percent of those who complete Calculus do.) How can this happen?

A new report suggests that these students have been pushed through basic math concepts, such as math modeling and complex measurement, so they can complete high school graduation requiContinue Reading »

President Obama, in last night’s State of the Union address, announced a new competitive grant program to award schools that “better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy.” A key way to do so is by developing partnerships with local community colleges and employers. Obama heralded P-Tech in Brooklyn, the result of a collaboration between public high schools, CUNY and IBM, that Continue Reading »

Statistic of the day. Nearly 90 percent of Americans say students should receive college credit for work experience and other skills learned outside of the classroom. An Education Sector-New America Foundation report last fall highlighted ways that institutions can measure learning based on competencies and prior learning assessments like these. (Gallup)

Oh, the irony. A MOOC intended toContinue Reading »

Measuring learning, not seat time. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching will reconsider the credit hour, something Amy Laitinen pushed for in one of our recent reports. (Carnegie Foundation)

The gift of ed data. Surprisingly, better outcomes data in higher education makes the legislative to-do list in the upcoming Congressional session. (Higher Ed Watch/New America FouContinue Reading »

Will this time be different? The potential of MOOCs to deliver a college education to anyone—anywhere—sounds very similar to what was said about correspondence courses in the 1920s. (NPR)

“(College) credit is currently not as it should be; it’s almost a game.” A college graduate explains how he got an associate’s degree without ever stepping foot on campus. (Say Something/The Chronicle oContinue Reading »

Where ed chiefs aren’t elected, but appointed. Indiana’s outgoing ed chief Tony Bennett, who was defeated during the November elections, is seeking the top education spot in Florida. (Indianapolis Star)

Try before you pilot. The college scorecard, a proposed online tool meant to help students make smarter decisions about college, needs the input of actual users, not policymakers, argues Continue Reading »

Banned Books Week. In honor of all the books that have been banned (from Harry Potter to To Kill a Mockingbird), we strongly suggest you check out a banned book and read it this week. In public.

Moving beyond just cracking the credit hour. A new competency-based associate’s degree is poised to blow up the credit hour altogether. Total cost $5,000, according to Southern New Continue Reading »

Most three-year degree programs currently available in the United States simply condense four years’ worth of work into three, notes the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ report this month that warns against this shortened version of a bachelor’s degree. While high-achieving students may benefit from the fast-paced, intensive nature of a condensed curriculum, many collegeContinue Reading »

Remember when you got your driver’s license? Remember parallel parking for the licensing instructor? How did you learn how to do that? Some of us learned from Dad; others through drivers’ education courses; and a few lucky ones absorbed it all through manuals. In the end, it didn’t matter which way we learned, as long as we could demonstrate those perfect parking skills on test day.*

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The cost of college for students goes up every time they’re placed in a remedial course or they lose credits because of a transfer, says Teresa Lubbers, Indiana’s Commissioner for Higher Education. “It is abundantly clear that whatever we’re doing in remediation isn’t working,” she said, while testifying at the U.S. House Education and Workforce Development subcommittee hearing. She encouraged Continue Reading »