Small steps toward increasing retention. Iowa’s largest community college this school year mandated orientation for new, full-time students. The result? The number of students who stayed on through the second semester was 12 percentage points higher. (Des Moines Register)

Love #eddata? This new blog is for you. (Education By The Numbers/Hechinger Report)

Well, that’s one way of geContinue Reading »

More data, but is it good data? A new analysis finds that 47 states currently use high school feedback reports, which provide information on how graduates fare after high school (such as college enrollment, remediation, degree and certification completion, and employment outcomes). But how many of these include the four Ts of ed data (transparent, timely, tailored, and thorough) outlined by EduContinue Reading »

Placement tests still rule. The vast majority of colleges rely on placement tests, like ACCUPLACER, to determine whether students need to take remedial courses, despite their questionable accuracy. Education Sector’s Susan Headden wrote about the limitations of these “short, inexpensive, one-shot multiple-choice” tests in this piece. (h/t Inside Higher Ed) (National Assessment Governing Board)<Continue 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 »

School district efficiency. The Ohio Department of Education has developed two measures that allow researchers to identify efficient school districts, or those that demonstrate high student achievement while spending less than their peers. (Education Gadfly)

The best facilitator for better ed data? States. (Data Quality Campaign’s new blog, The Flashlight)

“Meducation.” Stephen CoContinue Reading »

Cutting back on remediation. Georgia state universities will no longer admit students who test into all three remedial education courses (English, math, and reading), under new rules that also limit the number of times that students can take the courses. (Get Schooled/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

When can he run for office? A 9-year-old Detroit boy sets up a lemonade stand to raise moneContinue Reading »

So Google doesn’t know everything. This writer tries to answer the question: How many college students never finish school? She ends up with a bottle of aspirin. Education Sector’s Anne Hyslop would sympathize. She has argued for the 4 Ts of edu-data (timely, thorough, tailored, and transparent) to save folks these exact headaches. (The Atlantic)

To tweed or not to tweed? A Notre Dame faContinue Reading »

Why hide data? For the first time, Jay Matthews includes a sampling of private schools in his annual High School Challenge Index. But he questions why many schools are reluctant to participate. As Education Sector’s Anne Hyslop has said before, outcomes data is particularly important for determining college readiness. (Class Struggle/Washington Post)

Prehistoric school days. National TeaContinue Reading »

Shuttering bad charter schools. Poor performing charter schools need more oversight and accountability – and they should be closed if they’re not living up to expectations. (New York Times)

Transparency in higher ed data. Congressional lawmakers are making a better go of measuring “gainful employment” than federal officials have in the past, thanks to new bipartisan proContinue Reading »