A relatively new reform movement known as PreK-3 is aiming to help children sustain educational gains made in pre-kindergarten as they enter their elementary school years, Sarah Garland writes at The Hechinger Report. Although the movement is only about 5 years old, it is rooted in research going back to the 60s showing that while […]
Michael Regan
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Northeastern states leading economic recovery
The New England and Mideast regions are leading the nation in growth in their gross domestic products, according to new statistics by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. The 2010 GDP region-wide grew by 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent respectively, compared with 2.6 percent nationally. The growth was not uniform, however. In New England fort […]
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Report: Impact of global warming on agriculture has been understated
Scientists are beginning to believe that earlier projections of the effect of global warming on the world’s food supply have understated the impact of climate change on agriculture, Justin Gillis reports in The New York Times. For many years, scientists predicted that the effects of climate change on agriculture would be manageable–perhaps even beneficial, as […]
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Is college worth it? In part, that’s up to students
As college graduates facing barren job markets, many are wondering if getting a degree was worth the time and effort, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa write in the Los Angeles Times. And in fact, many come away with “only limited improvement in the skills necessary to be successful in today’s knowledge-based economy.” Arum and Roksa, […]
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Greenhouse gas debates continue in state houses
Gov. Chris Christie’s announcement last week that New Jersey would leave the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was a major setback for the nation’s only operating cap-and-trade system, Josh Goodman writes at Stateline.org, but it’s only one development in the ongoing debate whether and how states should fight global warming. Though Christie’s decision pleased conservatives, his […]
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Is testing the answer to education system’s shortcomings?
As the academic standing of American students among their international peers has declined, one reaction has been to expand testing to the point where many students take state and federal exams at every grade level. But many countries whose education systems consistently outperform the United States’ test far less frequently, Stephen Sawchuk reports at Education […]
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Government to release Pentagon Papers–40 years late
Remember the Pentagon Papers? First published in 1971 after being leaked by anti-war activist Daniel Ellsberg, the once top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam have been the subject of innumerable news articles, several books and are even available online. And next month, the documents will be officially released by the U.S. government. The fact […]
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Public employees everywhere facing changes in health benefits
It’s not just Connecticut: Public employees across the country are facing changes in their health benefits as strapped states and municipalities try to balance their budgets, Melissa Maynard reports at Stateline.org. The changes range from small scale–Oregon workers will not longer be covered for wart and bunion removal–to more significant changes such as Connecticut’s proposed […]
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Can Head Start be run for a profit?
Since its creation in the mid-1960s, the federal Head Start program has traditionally relied on non-profit operators to run the early childhood program for low-income children. Now, Sarah Garland says at The Hechinger Report, a for-profit firm has entered the field and is expanding rapidly. New York-based Acelero opened its first Head Start center in […]
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Gallup: Majority of Americans support gay marriage
For the first time since it began asking the question, Gallup says a majority of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law. The outcome of the poll–with 53 percent favoring recognition of gay marriage and 45 percent opposed–is a reversal of polling just a year ago. When Gallup first asked a similar question […]
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Political anger closes minds
Anger is a great political motivator, Lee Drutman says at Miller-McCune, but it has its downsides, not least of which is that it makes people impervious to other points of view. Researchers who study politics and emotion say two major factors lead people to become angry over adverse circumstances, rather than fearful or anxious. One, […]
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Study: America must address income inequality to meet college education goal
The nation won’t met President Barack Obama’s goal of having the world’s highest proportion of college graduates unless more low-income and working class students earn bachelor’s degrees, a new story says. The study, summarized in the Chronicle of Higher Education, says Obama’s goal would be achieved if all Americans earned college degrees at the same […]
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Assessing the value of a college degree
What’s a college education worth? Two new studies take a look at that question, and come up with somewhat different answers. One study, based on surveys done by the Pew Research Center this spring, concludes that a “typical” college graduate will earn $650,000 more than a “typical” high school graduate between the ages of 25 […]
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Study: Most metro residents have access to mass transit, but systems don’t link to jobs
Almost 70 percent of people living in the country’ 100 largest metropolitan areas have access to public transportation, and residents of lower-income areas have better access than their more affluent neighbors, according to a new study by the Bookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. But the study also found that only 30 percent of jobs can […]
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A day in the life of a Chinese student
When bemoaning the United States’ comparatively low scores on international assessments, some are quick to point to one factor that sets Chinese students apart from their American peers: the length of the school day, Sarah Butrymowicz says at The Hechinger Report. How long? Eight hours a day for most students, plus up to four hours […]