education

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Tennessee Overwhelmingly Passes Free College Bill

Bill Haslam to sign proposal offering free 2-year schooling

(Newser) - Soon, every high school graduate in Tennessee will be able to afford at least some further education. The state's House overwhelmingly passed the "Tennessee Promise" bill Tuesday night; it offers graduates a two-and-a-half-year free ride to any qualifying associate's degree or technical certificate program, the Tennessean reports....

New SAT Ditches 'Obscure' Words

College Board releases sample questions, more info

(Newser) - The new SAT , coming in 2016, will be more geared toward real-world applications—which means, among other things, that it's bidding adieu to "obscure" vocabulary words. Taking their place: "high-utility" words. The College Board today released 211 pages of info designed to give students "everything [they...

It's Time to Expand College Programs in Prison

Degrees will make ex-cons less likely to end up back in jail, says Bill Keller

(Newser) - Andrew Cuomo got flak when he announced plans to fund college classes for inmates in 10 of New York's prisons, and ended up backing off the idea. But he was right, writes Bill Keller in the New York Times . After all, "what is prison for?" Yes, one of...

If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them
If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them
OPINION
Mar 25, 2014 11:56 AM CDT

If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them

It's a distracting sideshow from education system's bigger problems: 'Time' columnist

(Newser) - It's the kind of story that seems like it should get people riled up: Among the private schools getting $1 billion in taxpayer money in tuition vouchers are religious schools that teach creationism in place of actual science, according to Politico . But at Time , Nick Gillespie isn't feeling...

Black Kids More Likely to Get Suspended ... in Preschool

Racial disparities start very young, new Department of Education report reveals

(Newser) - Black kids are suspended much more often than white kids—and by kids, we mean kids. Almost half of all children suspended from preschool more than once are black, according to a new Department of Education study, even though black students make up just 18% of preschoolers overall. Until now,...

Don&#39;t Revise the SAT, Just Kill It
Don't Revise the SAT,
Just Kill It
OPINION
Mar 6, 2014 12:18 PM CST

Don't Revise the SAT, Just Kill It

It's time to do away with with a one-test-fits-all approach, say critics

(Newser) - The College Board is winning plenty of praise for its upcoming changes to the SAT , with the editors at Bloomberg , for example, happy that the reforms might put a dent in the test-prep industry. When well-to-do parents shell out for that extra help, it "warps educational priorities and helps...

No Mandatory Essay: SAT Overhauling Test

Top score returns to 1,600 in 2 years

(Newser) - Big changes are coming for the SAT in two years, reports the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal . Some of the major ones announced by the College Board:
  • Essay optional: The mandatory essay introduced in 2005 will be eliminated. Among other things, critics say students couldn't knock out anything
...

Think Math Is Boring? Blame Our 1K-Year-Old Curriculum

Mathematician Edward Frenkel thinks there is a better way

(Newser) - "Our current math curriculum is more than 1,000 years old," declares mathematician Edward Frenkel in the Los Angeles Times , and it's time to change things up so that kids stop asking, "Why study math?" Yes, we still need to teach those centuries-old equations, but it'...

Women &#39;Marrying Down&#39; in Record Numbers
Women 'Marrying Down'
in Record Numbers
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 16, 2014 7:00 PM CST

Women 'Marrying Down' in Record Numbers

At least in terms of education, says Pew survey

(Newser) - A new survey by the Pew Research Center points out a milestone of sorts: For the first time, the percentage of women marrying a man with a lesser education is greater than the percentage of men marrying a woman with a lesser education. It's close, 21% vs. 20%, but...

Only 3 Camden Teens Got 'College Ready' SAT Scores

New superintendent gives sobering assessment of listening tour

(Newser) - Just how bad are things in Camden's schools? So bad that only three students there managed a "college ready" SAT score in 2013, new superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard revealed yesterday. He called the number a "kick-in-the-stomach moment." It was one of a number of sobering assessments Rouhanifard...

Texas Relaunches Evolution Debate

Pearson biology textbook under fire

(Newser) - The long-simmering battle over teaching evolution in Texas has boiled over again. At issue this time are proposed textbooks that could be used statewide starting next school year. With midnight looming last night, some state education board members singled out a biology textbook by Pearson Education, one of America's...

Arne Duncan Sorry for 'White Suburban Moms' Remark

Education secretary sparks online debate over standardized testing

(Newser) - Education Secretary Arne Duncan—who upset a few people with his "white suburban moms" remark on Friday—fully back-peddled today and apologized for his "clumsy" phrasing, CNN reports. To recap, Duncan said he was fascinated by opposition to his plan for standardized testing because his opponents included "...

Michelle Obama's New Agenda: College Access

First lady shifts attention from kids' bellies to teens' minds

(Newser) - Sorry, potentially obese children of America, Michelle Obama has a new hobby. The first lady is taking up the cause of higher education access, particularly for low-income students, the New York Times observes, an effort that could come with a greater role in shaping policy. Today, she'll speak at...

There Is No Such Thing as a 'Math Person'

It's all about hard work, say Miles Kimball and Noah Smith

(Newser) - Think you simply weren't born a "math person"? Think again, say economics professor Miles Kimball and assistant finance professor Noah Smith. "The truth is, you probably are a math person," they write at Quartz , "and by thinking otherwise, you are possibly hamstringing your own...

Kids, Hack Your School iPads
 Kids, Hack Your School iPads 
OPINION
Oct 18, 2013 12:47 PM CDT

Kids, Hack Your School iPads

We should want students to master tech, Katherine Mangu-Ward argues

(Newser) - Last year, some previously technologically illiterate Ethiopian children taught themselves to hack tablet computers provided by the One Laptop Per Child program. So it shouldn't have been surprising when, more recently, tech-savvy LA high school kids swiftly circumvented the controls on their school-issued iPads—controls that had prevented them...

We Created— and Deserve —the Idiots in Washington

If our government is awful, it's because we're not so bright ourselves: LZ Granderson

(Newser) - It's easy enough to complain about Washington gridlock, but "every country has the government it deserves," said philosopher Joseph de Maistre. We're the ones who put the politicians in power, but when you look at the recent results of an international skills survey , it would seem...

Think You're 'Bad at Math'? You're Just Being Lazy

Americans fall back on that tired phrase, instead of working harder: Allison Schraeger

(Newser) - Americans have a lousy mindset when it comes to math education, writes economist Allison Schraeger in Quartz . When a student starts doing poorly, we too often shrug it off, say some people just aren't cut out for math, and allow the kid to focus on something else. But you...

Taliban: We're Still After Malala

Teen education advocate invited to Buckingham Palace

(Newser) - It's been a year since Malala Yousufzai was shot by Pakistani Taliban —and new threats aren't stopping the 16-year-old in her fight for girls' education. Traveling to her native Swat Valley, the BBC offers a new window into Malala's background and life story. The region launched...

Teach for America Fails Teachers
 Teach for America 
 Fails Teachers 
OPINION
Sep 23, 2013 11:44 AM CDT

Teach for America Fails Teachers

Olivia Blanchard explains why she quit after one year

(Newser) - Like all Teach for America teachers, Olivia Blanchard made a two-year commitment to the program—but she quit after just one, and in the Atlantic she explains why. TFA's five-week training program simply can't compare to the years of training and student teaching non-TFA teachers go through—and...

New High School Grad: Mark Wahlberg, 42

Took him almost a year, but he got his diploma

(Newser) - At 42, Mark Wahlberg is a new high school graduate, the actor revealed yesterday. He originally dropped out in the ninth grade, Wahlberg writes in the Huffington Post . "My circumstances were not unlike millions of other teens today, who live in tough working class neighborhoods surrounded by drugs, violence,...

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