Common Core Data for Elementary/Secondary Schools, 2007-08

This First Look presents national and state level data on student enrollment by grade and by race/ethnicity within grade, the numbers of teachers and other education staff, and several student/staff ratios for the 2007-08 school year.

University presses move to Open Access model in tough budget times

As you may or may not know, UNLV Libraries is now sponsoring an Open Access publishing platform for scholarly journals. This article from Inside Higher Ed briefly describes the University of Utah becoming the most recent university press--University of Michigan Press led the way--to embrace Open Access for book publication. Excerpts from the article:
"the press will survive -- in part by embracing a new model of organization (becoming part of the university library) and a new business model (embracing open access, in which most publications would be available online and free). While both of those changes are significant, key aspects of the press's identity and mission will not change. It will continue to be a peer-reviewed scholarly publisher, and plans to continue its highly regarded work in fields such as composition studies, folklore, poetry, environmental studies, and the history and culture of the West....But the more significant philosophical shift is to open access, with digital publication as the norm...the press will survive and that in digital format its books will have "the same rigorous scholarly peer review" as print books."

How to fix international higher education comparisons

We all sort of knew this--every country counts things differently in terms of reporting on their higher ed students. The study's author, however, not only points out the flaws but suggests ways to address them. The article describing the report was in today's Inside Higher Ed. Access to the report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, “The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting International Data on Higher Education Straight,” is here.

Replacing APA 6th Ed, first printing

This was sent out by APA's customer service to a colleague on Oct. 30...
"In order to receive a replacement manual you must return your current copy of the 6th edition to APA no later than December 15, 2009. We would like to make this transaction as cost neutral to you as possible, so efforts are being made to provide you with pre-paid postage you can use to return the book to us. We expect this process will be available the first week in November. If you are interested in a replacement copy please contact the APA Service Center at your convenience for further information. Service Center staff can be
reached at: 800 374-2721 from 8:30 AM- 6:30 PM (EST) M - F. Email
correspondence can be directed to order@apa.org.

College teaching shifts to more "student-centered" approaches

See the comparative data from 2005-2008 for the Higher Education Research Institute study in this chart excerpted by the Chronicle. Also, for a laugh, read the comments :-)

The challenges faced by veterans returning to college

Great article from the Chronicle on the types of challenges faced by former soldiers coming to college. Includes a picture of students at UNLV!

NCES study finds states lowered proficiency levels

To read the full report, visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2010456.asp

Additional resources for understanding state proficiency standards, including profiles of proficiency standards for each state, frequently asked questions, and copies of past reports, are available at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/statemapping.asp

Some excerpts from an article in today's Education Week~

"With 2014 approaching as the deadline by which states must get their all their students up to “proficient” levels on state tests, the U.S. Department of Education’s top statistics agency released data today suggesting that some states may have lowered student-proficiency standards on such tests in recent years.

For the 47-state study, researchers for the National Center for Education Statistics used student test scores to figure out where the proficiency levels on various state tests would lie on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Their results suggest that between 2005 and 2007, various states made their standards less rigorous in one or more grade levels or subjects in at least 26 instances. In 12 instances, particular states appeared to make their standards more stringent in one or more grade levels or subjects.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, adopted nearly eight years ago, states are required to show that all students have attained proficient levels of performance in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year, and most states are far from reaching that goal.

“I think as 2014 looms, ... clearly what a lot of states are doing is changing the bar so that a lot more students will become proficient,” said Mark S. Schneider, who served as the NCES commissioner from 2005 to November 2008....

But the study uses a methodology that is controversial among some testing experts. They caution that the standardized exams that states use and the more rigorous NAEP—the congressionally mandated program known as “the nation’s report card”—are too different to put on the same scale....

The results, nonetheless, are expected to figure in growing efforts to develop common academic standards for what K-12 students should know and be able to do. So far, 48 states are taking part in a push to craft such standards, while federal education officials are at the same time making plans to award $350 million in grants to help states plan common assessments.