Identifying potential dropouts in middle school. A Louisiana school is seeing reduced suspension and failure rates, plus a higher attendance rate, thanks to—officials say—a data-driven program that flags students who show signs of falling behind. (PBS NewsHour)

Who will hold colleges accountable? Kevin Carey argues for elimination of the “antiquated credit hour.” How else can we measure Continue Reading »

There’s no doubt that the ongoing crisis of governance in California and resulting disinvestment in the University of California system is deplorable. But this recent Washington Post dispatch from UC-Berkeley doesn’t exactly paint a picture of a campus in deep crisis:

Star faculty take mandatory furloughs. Classes grow perceptibly larger each year. Roofs leak; e-mail crashes.Continue Reading »

Ellin Winn’s Lesson #4 of education reform advocacy: “Partners-in-the-making, from religious organizations to businesses and community groups are everywhere. The more your coalition looks like a collection of strange bedfellows the better. By bringing seemingly disparate groups together you draw increased attention and make your cause harder to pigeonhole and dismiss.” (NeContinue Reading »

The University of California is facing a tight budget because the state hasn’t funded it adequately. To raise money, the University of California is cutting the number of Californians who can attend the state’s flagship universities in favor of out-of-state and international students who pay higher tuition. Where does this end? Are state legislators going to be willing to provide fuContinue Reading »

The University of California is planning a new online degree program comparable in quality to its on-campus classes. It’s a good-but-not-entirely novel idea whose time is well past due, but what’s troublesome is the logic employed by the university:

Long term, the idea is to expand access to the university while saving money. Tuition for online and traditional courses would Continue Reading »

On April 26, 1960 the California Legislature signed into law the California Master Plan for Higher Education. Read a brief history of the Plan, how it intersects with the SAT and affirmative action, how the transfer function is failing, and how better coordination is needed.

California is a state of extremes when it comes to educational attainment. It ranks near the top of the states inContinue Reading »

50 years ago Monday the California Legislature signed into law the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education. Read a brief history of the Plan and how it intersects with the SAT and affirmative action.

The California Master Plan is best understood through a word that was just becoming popular at the time: meritocracy. The Plan reflected the idea that the best and brightest young aContinue Reading »

How is the University of California-Berkeley solving its budget crisis? By increasing the percentage of out-of-state students, who pay more in tuition than their in-state California peers, from 14 to 27 in the course of a single year. Tweet Continue Reading »

Could it take “Eyeballs in the Fridge” to get girls interested in science? A new study says maybe so. (h/t The Answer Sheet )

Plan A: Elect a legislature less friendly towards public employees.  Plan B: Quit school and become a state billboard inspector.  WSJ asks: Which will it be UC students? (The Wall Street Journal)

Will charter-like autonomy make American schools moContinue Reading »

One argument that’s commonly expressed to explain rising college tuition costs is that states devote smaller percentages of their budgets to higher education than they used to. Here’s Mark G. Yudof, Chancellor of the University of California (UC), in yesterday’s Chronicle explaining why tuition at his schools needs to go up 32 percent over the next two years:

In the 198Continue Reading »