In 1997, Jonathan Levin, the son of former Time Warner Chair Jerry Levin and a dedicated high school teacher in the South Bronx, was murdered in his home by one of his students. The apparent motivation was robbery.

Levin’s murder sent shock waves throughout New York City and its public schools. In honor of Levin’s memory, a new high school was founded five years later; the Jonathan LevinContinue Reading »

Getting more high-schoolers on the graduation stage. Flexible, online courses; tuned-in counselors; and technical training programs at the high school level are some of the initiatives noted in states that are making headway with graduation rates. The national average could reach 90 percent at this pace, the new analysis notes. (Reuters)

“Why preschool isn’t enough.” President Obama’s plContinue Reading »

With President Obama’s re-election last night, we can be even more confident that the Administration’s No Child Left Behind waivers are likely to continue, at least until they expire in 2014*. The waivers rely on educational accountability systems that place much more weight on normative comparisons than performance against an absolute standard. That means concerns about setting the “righContinue Reading »

Think before you act. In order to reform Pell grants (and other student financial aid), policymakers must first know more about the programs that exist: which work best, for which students, and in what ways, argues Andrew Kelly. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

A standard definition, no longer. Several states are defining high school graduation rates as they see fit, thanks to the fleContinue Reading »

Repairing the pipeline. This paper looks at the gaps in college-going rates among California students versus their minority peers. Education Sector analysts have also outlined how California schools can better prepare (all) students for postsecondary success in this report. (Education Trust-West)

Ill-informed complacency. Recent upticks in the NAEP science assessment scores have begun a Continue Reading »

For those list-lovers. College Measures ranks community colleges, based on the percentage of students who graduated or transferred to a four-year university within three years. (CNNMoney)

How about the good news first? The U.S. high school graduation rate is the highest it’s been in more than 30 years, but researchers still predict 1.1 million students won’t get their diploma this year. Continue Reading »

How do you like them now? Learning Matters checks in on Shelbyville, Ind., which six years ago was pictured on the cover of TIME magazine next to the headline “Dropout Nation.” Nowadays, the community is boasting a 90 percent graduation rate. (h/t This Week in Education) (PBS NewsHour)

Oopsie. The vice dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania reportedly Continue Reading »

Michelle Obama at Anacostia High School's graduation in 2010 (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

I love a good headline. Yesterday DCist reported: ‘D.C. Schools’ Graduation Rate Falls, Officials Applaud.’ Was this a typo? An April Fools’ joke?

Nope. In 2010, 73 percent of DC’s high school graduates received their diploma within four yContinue Reading »

Profiting from state dollars without state oversight. The Miami Herald has produced an investigative series on Florida’s charter school movement, which has grown into a $400-million-a-year business that still relishes in little state oversight. (Miami Herald)

Getting away from the ‘willy-nilly.’ In light of the New York Times piece on K12.com and online learning, Mike PContinue Reading »

8%

The percent of respondents in a recent survey of 900 school board members conducted by Frederick Hess and Olivia Meeks who said that the most important goal of education is to prepare students for college or the workforce.  (Education Week)

3%

The cost-of-living adjustment that was eliminated for members enrolled in Colorado state pension plans last year.  This is one opContinue Reading »