Course Credit Accrual and Dropping Out of High School

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Course Credit Accrual and Dropping Out of High School, by Student Characteristics."

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this report examines the number of credits earned by high school students and the relationship between course credit accrual and dropping out. Findings indicate that high school dropouts earned fewer credits than did on-time graduates within each year of high school, and the cumulative course credit accrual gap increased with each subsequent year.

International Comparison: Math & Science Achievement for US 4th and 8th Grade Students

This report from the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences summarizes the performance of U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students on the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), comparing their scores with their peers internationally as well as documenting changes in mathematics and science achievement since 1995. The report also describes additional details about trends in the achievement of students within the United States, by sex, racial/ethnic background, and the poverty level of the schools they attend.

TIMSS is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international organization of national research institutions and governmental research agencies. The United States participate in all four TIMSS administrations: 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. (IES Newsflash 12/9/2008)

Purdy Library Reference Area Redesign

To create a more comfortable environment for our library users, we will be installing new furniture in the computer and reference area on the first floor of Purdy Library.This installation will begin December 18 and will last through the holiday break. Library users will not have access to this area during that time. However, the stacks will be open to users and reference services will be available. We apologize for any inconvenience and encourage patrons to visit the Undergraduate Library or the Science & Engineering Library during the upgrade.

Click this link to see a simulation of the redesigned Purdy Reference area. The first 50 seconds of this video is the Purdy side of the library.

Public School Enrollment report issued by IES

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006-07."

This report presents 2006-07 school year information at the national and state level on student enrollment by grade and by race/ethnicity within grade, the numbers of teachers and other education staff, and several student/staff ratios.
From IES Newsflash service, 11/24/2008

From Education Week: "Study to Size Up Doctoral Programs"

"Two national education groups are launching a first-time effort to assess—and possibly even rank—the hundreds of doctoral programs that prepare education researchers.

The field of education produces an estimated 1,800 doctorates a year, according to the American Educational Research Association, which is overseeing the three-year study with the National Academy of Education, known as NEAD. Such programs, however, have come under scrutiny in recent years, with scholars and policymakers complaining that they suffer from uneven quality and “mission muddle.” Education Week, October 29, 2008

WSU Students, Faculty and Staff can access the Oct 29, 2008 issue of Education Week via the ProQuest Research Library database:

Student Victimization in US Schools--New Report from NCES

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Student Victimization in U.S. Schools Results From the 2005 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey."

This report provides estimates of student victimization as defined by the 2005 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). This report incorporates findings from student respondents ages 12-18 in grades 6-12 that were interviewed during the 2005 school year.

It shows that student victims of crime are more likely to report conditions of an unfavorable school climate, security measures at school, and exhibit fear and avoidance behaviors. Additional topics covered in this report include the prevalence and type of student victimization at school and selected characteristics of victims, including their demographic characteristics and school type; and victim and nonvictim reports of the presence of gangs and weapons and the availability of drugs.
Posting from IES Newsflash 10/21/2008

RAND Research Brief: Florida's Middle School Reading Coaches: What Do They Do? Are They Effective?

This research brief reports the results of a study examining the implementation and effectiveness of a middle school reading coach program in Florida. "Reading coaches in Florida middle schools have helped teachers and administrators build their knowledge and skills, and have had a positive influence on students' motivation to read, but their impact on achievement is mixed, a report on the little-studied topic says." (Education Week, 9/17/2008)

Projections of Education Statistics to 2017 NCES Report Released

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Projections of Education Statistics to 2017."

This publication provides projections for key education statistics. It includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment and earned degrees conferred expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2017. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2017. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008078
(From IES Newsflash Subscription Service announcement 9/17/2008)

Reading First Heads for Extinction

From Education Week, July 15, 2008: House and Senate panels decided to eliminate its funding in the fiscal 2009 budget. The Ed Money Watch blog weighs in on this decision.

Policy Archive--Education

PolicyArchive is digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. Through the PolicyArchive, you can access summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research. PolicyArchive is supported by the non-profit Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) in partnership with the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) University Library and major U.S. charitable foundations.

NCES Report Released: Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the U.S. 2005-06

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2005-06 (NCES 2008-339)."

"This annual report provides basic information from the Common Core of Data about the nation's largest public school districts in the 2005-06 school year. The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Findings include: In 2005-06, these 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students and employed 22 percent of all public school teachers. The districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2004-05. Across the districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 69.5 percent. Three states -- California, Florida, and Texas -- accounted for almost half of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $5,104 in the Puerto Rico School District to a high of $18,878 in the District of Columbia Public School District." IES Newsflash

Encyclopedia of Language and Education (2nd Edition) available online

The 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Edition, is available online through the WSU libraries.

"In this second, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments including two new volumes of research and scholarly content essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of sociogeographic experience in the field." (Springer.com, About This Book)

avorite Children's Authors and Illustrators available online

The 8 volume Favorite Children's Authors and Illustrators (edited by Primm) is now available online.

You can link to it directly through the following (you can also put this link in your Blackboard site if you like. Students will be able to link directly to the resource)

http://elibrary.wayne.edu/record=b3327537~S1

After you link to the record, click on Connect to online resource-WSU on-site and authorized users

When you get to the online book, click eTable of Contents OR eBook Index to get to the contents of the books

A new task force addresses shortcomings in education reform

"A new task force of national policy experts with diverse religious and political affiliations, in public policy fields including education, social welfare, health, housing, and civil rights today launched a campaign calling for a “Broader, Bolder Approach to Education” to break a decades-long cycle of reform efforts that promised much and have achieved far too little.

Co-chaired by Helen Ladd, a Duke University professor of public policy studies, Pedro Noguera, a sociologist at New York University and an expert on educational policy, and Tom Payzant, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a former Boston schools superintendent and U.S. assistant secretary of education, the Task Force’s framework points to the many flaws in the approach of the current No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law and charges that the nation's education and youth development policy has erred by relying on school improvement alone to raise achievement levels of disadvantaged children. Task Force News Release, June 10, 2008

Cultural Attitudes Affect Girls' Math Performance

The article Culture, Gender and Math in the May 2008 issue of Science, reports on research which compared the results of more than 276,000 15-year-olds in 40 countries who took a test in 2003 run by the OECD. On average, girls scored 2 percent lower than boys in mathematics. When they compared the gaps in mathematics scores to various measures of gender inequality, they found a possible reason for those national variations. In the countries that had the greatest gender inequality, such as Turkey and Korea, girls tended to fare worse compared to boys. In countries with more equality, such as Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, the gender gap in mathematics test scores disappears. (As reported in the Choronicle of Higher Education, 5/30/2008).

Condition of Education 2008

The National Center for Education Statistics has released The Condition of Education 2008, a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States

• This year, public school enrollment is expected to approach about 50 million students. Total public school enrollment is projected to set new records each year from 2008 to 2017, at which time it is expected to reach 54.1 million.
• Minority students make up 43 percent of the public school enrollment overall.
• In 2005–06, about a third of Black students and a third of Hispanic students attended high-poverty schools compared with 4 percent of White students.
• Average reading scores of 4th- and 8th-graders were higher in 2007 than in 1992.
• Average mathematics scores increased 27 points for 4th-graders and 19 points for 8th-graders between 1990 and 2007.
• Among public high school students in the class of 2005, about three-fourths graduated on time.
  

IES Newsflash 5/29/2008

Report to the Community on the Education for the 21st Century High School Redesign Initiative: 2002-2007 and Beyond

Sacremento City Unified School District and LEED (Linking Education and Economic Development) have partnered since 2001 to transform the City's six high schools into 42 distinct, theme-based choices to reflect the community’s workforce needs and economic objectives. Their redesign report highlights the redesign accomplishments, lessons learned, ongoing challenges and ways in which the community can help support the district, high schools and students.

Reading First Suffers Another Blow: Interim Report shows "no significant effect"

"The beleaguered Reading First program is likely to receive another round of scrutiny, as the U.S. Department of Education released an interim report on Thursday saying that the federally supported program has had no significant effect on students' reading-comprehension skills." Reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, May 5, 2008

Still a Nation at Risk?

From Newsweek Magazine, 4/24/2008
"This weekend marks 25 years since the publication of the U.S. Department of Education's explosive report "A Nation at Risk." Its powerful indictment of American education launched the largest education-reform movement in the nation's history, paving the way for strategies as different as charter schools and the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. But even after a vast political and financial investment spanning two and a half decades, we're far from achieving the report's ambitious aims. "

Graduation Rate Watch: Making Minority Student Success a Priority

"Some colleges have found ways to improve the graduation rates of black students, and others should adopt their methods, a new report" states a new report from Education Sector. Announcement from Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/24/2008.