Education Trust News

Settling for Less

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Protect Students; Regulate For-Profit Colleges

Recent media reports and Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee have spotlighted problems at for-profit colleges.

Last week Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) introduced the Education for All Act, which would bar the U.S. Department of Education from enacting regulations on “gainful employment.” Yet such new rules would help protect students from deceptive recruiting and grandiose promises of future income by for-profits.

Joyce Foundation Releases Parent Guidebook on Teacher Quality

On Monday, The Joyce Foundation released a first-of-its-kind guidebook that demonstrates to parents the need to improve how we recruit, support, evaluate, and reward teachers. The short, easy-to-read guidebook tells the story of two teachers -- one who gets the right support to help her kids succeed and the other who tries hard but doesn't get the help she needs. The guidebook is available in English and Spanish.

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College Diplomas Count, Equity Lags, and Institutions Can Boost Completion

Mortarboards matter more than ever, but your chances of wearing one still differ substantially by race, ethnicity, and family income. That message from a new study by the College Board carries urgency for equity advocates: Despite the mounting price tag of a college education recently detailed by the Delta Cost Project, college degrees offer a host of benefits for individuals. And when more people have degrees, the nation gains.

How exactly does college pay off? The College Board study finds that the median earnings for a person with a bachelor’s degree are $55,700, $21,900 more than the median earnings of a high school graduate. Not to mention that college grads are more likely to volunteer in their communities and prepare their children for school.

Yet major gaps in college-enrollment—and completion—linger between demographic groups in America. The black-white gap in enrollment, which hovered between 8 and 10 percentage points between 1998 and 2004, had climbed to 14 percentage points by 2008, reports the College Board.

Data on Teachers: Lessons From Health Care

I've gotta say it: When looking through value-added data on teachers in the past -- especially when noting vast differences between teachers in the same school -- I've often wondered (idly, I thought) what would happen if these data were ever made public.

Still, when the Los Angeles Times actually did that recently, I was one of many educators around the country caught by surprise and without a clear point of view.

Philanthropedia Recognizes Ed Trust's Impact on Closing the Achievement Gap

A panel of 103 education experts ranked The Education Trust as one of the most influential organizations in the field. Charitable giving resource Philanthropedia enlisted a wide-ranging community of academics, foundation professionals, researchers, and nonprofit senior staff in an effort to guide donors to the most effective organizations in education. Other equity-minded groups that made the list include Achieve and The New Teacher Project.

Support The Education Trust in its mission to close the achievement gap for low-income and minority students. Donate today.

EQUITY EXPRESS FAST FACT: Keep Dreams Alive for All

The surest route to the middle class requires education beyond high school, yet we continue to neglect the potential of undocumented students to strengthen both our nation's economy and its civic life. This, however, may change.

The DREAM Act would enable tens of thousands of undocumented young people--who have lived and attended school in this country for at least five years--not only to pursue a college education, but also to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces. These new pathways to prosperity will provide them with the kinds of post-secondary opportunities they need, removing the barriers they now face in contributing to America's national security and our collective well being.

Webinar to Spotlight School Turnaround

Take one public school with rock-bottom performance. Add a committed principal, teacher teams, and a rich curriculum—and watch learning take flight.  This sums up the trajectory of of George Hall Elementary in Mobile, Ala. Under the helm of Principal Agnes “Terri” Tomlinson, Hall has climbed from among the state’s worst schools in 2004 to one of its top performers today.

Learn more at a free Webinar, “Making Sure All Students Learn: How One School Built Strong Teacher Teams and Watched Achievement Skyrocket” from 3 to 4 p.m. on September 23.