Press Releases 2010

Reports Reveal Colleges with the Biggest, Smallest Gaps in Minority Graduation Rates in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (August 9, 2010) – Two reports released today by The Education Trust—“Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating African-American Students” and “Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating Hispanic Students”—dig beneath national college-graduation averages and examine disaggregated six-year graduation rates at hundreds of the nation’s public and private institutions.

Even though 57 percent of all students who enroll earn diplomas within six years, the graduation rates for different groups of students are vastly different. Nationally, 60 percent of whites but only 49 percent of Latinos and 40 percent of African Americans who start college hold bachelor’s degrees six years later.

Statement on President Obama's Speech at the National Urban League Centennial Conference


WASHINGTON (July 29, 2010) – President Obama captured the essence of what’s at stake for our country when he said earlier today, during a speech at the National Urban League’s annual convention, “If we want success for our country, we can't accept failure in our schools.”

As a nation, we can no longer accept schools in impoverished communities that fail their students year after year, when we know that no middle-class neighborhood would ever tolerate it.

We can no longer accept evaluation systems that deem virtually every teacher in a school to be excellent, while half of our black and Hispanic fourth graders possess reading skills that are below basic.

And we can no longer accept tired, old excuses about why we can’t make things better and expect more from our schools.

Ed Groups to Congress: "Don't Derail Education Reform"

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2010) – Over the past year, the Obama Administration’s groundbreaking education-reform initiatives have reinvigorated and refocused school-improvement efforts across America. Long before a single dollar was awarded, state after state rose to the challenge and made critical and sometimes long-overdue policy changes, just to qualify for new and substantial federal education investments.

The $23 Billion "Keep Our Educators Working Act" Is No Edujobs Bill

WASHINGTON (April 28, 2010) – A recent survey by the American Association of School Administrators  finds school leaders across the country bracing for cuts in the upcoming school year that are likely far deeper than those made during the past two.

Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in America’s Public Schools

WASHINGTON (April 1, 2010)—A new report from The Education Trust documents how budgeting practices in school districts across the country are shortchanging low-income students and undermining the power of federal investments in high-poverty schools.

Ed Trust Statement on the 2009 NAEP Reading Results

WASHINGTON (March 24, 2010) – Since 2007, all student groups and the nation as a whole made modest gains in reading at the eighth-grade level on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Some other results are troubling, however:

Statement from The Education Trust on the Upcoming Announcement of the Finalists for "Race to the Top" Grants

WASHINGTON (March 4, 2010) -  “Race to the Top” grants have the potential to elevate ambitious reforms that place the needs of children—especially our most vulnerable—ahead of accommodations for adults. But for reforms to succeed, rigorous evaluation of the competitive grant finalists that will be announced later today is absolutely critical.

Analysis Shows Varying Rates of Improvement in Low-Performing Schools

WASHINGTON (March 1, 2010) – A report released today by The Education Trust shows that schools often lumped together as “low performing” are not all alike.

Some Public Colleges and Universities Are Making Gains, Closing Gaps in Graduation Rates for Minority Students

WASHINGTON (January 28, 2010) – When choosing a college, many young people often make their decision based on popularity and prestige. What they may not consider is the school’s track record in actually graduating students.

     For students of color, this issue is particularly important: Nationally, only about 40 percent of underrepresented minority, or URM, students (African American, Latino, and Native American) earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. The figure for nonminority students is more than 60 percent.

America’s Most Prestigious Public Universities Are Decreasing Representation of Low-Income Students and Spending More Institutional Aid on Students From Wealthier Families

WASHINGTON (January 13, 2010) – Right now, Congress is working to pass legislation that would increase the amount of federal financial aid awarded to low-income students to help them attend college. But efforts on Capitol Hill to make college more affordable are being undermined by a very different set of priorities at some of our nation’s most prestigious public universities.