in the news

A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR YOUNG TEXANS: College Readiness Standards Under Review by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

"The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board announced that the public comment period for the Draft Texas College Readiness Standards will end on Monday, December 10. The draft standards are a direct response to the sobering fact that more than 50 percent of Texas high school graduates are not academically prepared to succeed in entry-level college work." November 30, 2007

Researchers Study Select High Schools to Identify Key Attributes of College Readiness

"High schools are paying greater attention to the challenge of preparing an ever-increasing proportion of students for postsecondary education. To help high schools achieve this goal, EPIC will conduct a national project designed to identify the factors present in high schools that do an outstanding job of preparing students for success in college and will develop a tool to help other high schools incorporate these strategies into their own programs." October 17, 2007

Program aims to help ease transition to college work

The Post and Courier

by Diane Knich "On the academic ride from high school to college, the track doesn't quite line up, causing some students to derail in their early college years, state educators say. Clint Mullins, a program manager at the state's Commission on Higher Education, said professors who teach freshmen often complain that many of their students just aren't prepared for college-level work. But the majority of high school teachers say they're doing all they can to prepare students for college. A new statewide project is looking for ways to give students "a seamless transition" from high school to higher education, Mullins said. "We'll be looking at the disconnect between the two systems." March 18, 2008

Certifying AP Courses

District Administration

by Alan Dessoff "About 100,000 teachers of Advanced Placement courses, most of them in U.S. high schools, have an extra assignment on their desks this spring. But it's for them, not their students. If they want their courses designated as "AP" in the 2007-2008 academic year, so they can be identified that way on student transcripts, they must comply with a new audit the College Board is conducting to reinforce the program's quality and credibility." April 2007

$1.2 billion more for education sought

The Seattle Times

by Nick Perry "The state would increase education spending by $1.2 billion over the next two years under a budget plan state legislators unveiled Monday. The plan, released by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, represents the first time lawmakers have weighed in on the education budget this session and is expected to act as a blueprint for final budget negotiations. The state Senate is expected to release its version next month." February 27, 2007

Report: State's schools need more cash; Funding for 2004-05 said to be $3.45 billion less than adequate

The Olympian

by Jennifer Byrd of the Associated Press "The Washington Legislature is grossly under supporting public schools, an independent report commissioned by the Washington Education Association has found. The report, conducted by David Conley at the Eugene, Ore.-based Educational Policy Improvement Center, shows that spending in the 2004-05 school year fell $3.45 billion - or $3,613 per student - short of adequately paying for education for the state's approximately 1 million public school students." February 23, 2007

Study: Raise school outlays $3.5 billion

The Seattle Times

by Linda Shaw "Public-school spending in Washington state needs to increase by 45 percent to $11.2 billion a year, according to the latest attempt to estimate how much schools need for students to reach state and federal learning goals. The new study, conducted by the nonprofit Educational Policy Improvement Center, concludes that local, state and federal spending on education should rise by $3.5 billion, almost twice the state's projected surplus over the next two years. The authors of the study, which was paid for by the Washington Education Association (WEA), say they don't expect education funding to go up that much overnight." February 23, 2007

PHYS 122 recognized as a best practices course

by Clemson University "The Center for Educational Policy Research (CEPR) has conducted a national study of physics courses to aid in the redesign of College Board Advanced Placement courses. Of the 139 courses reviewed, Amy Pope's 122 course was designated as a best practices course overall and was given further review which resulted in certain elements being designated as 'exemplary.'" Fall/Winter 2006/2007

Pomona College Courses Receive National Recognition

by Cynthia Peters "Three Pomona College courses have been recognized for their excellence in a national study conducted by the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) on behalf of the College Board. The College Board will use these courses to inform the redesign of Advanced Placement courses, ultimately affecting AP courses across the nation." October 13, 2006

ETIC Awards $729,383 in Grants toward Pre-Engineering Education Program

by the Oregon University System "The Oregon University System announced today that the Engineering & Technology Industry Council (ETIC) has awarded $729,383 in grants toward efforts to improve the pipeline of highly skilled engineering and technology students in K-12 and postsecondary education. The grants will fund twelve programs sponsored by Oregon public colleges, school districts, and educational organizations, to expand the state’s ability to prepare students for success in engineering and technology careers." May 9, 2006

NSF: Redesign science curriculum; Agency calls for latest advancements, more inquiry to be included in instruction

eSchool News

by Laura Ascione "Improving Advanced Placement (AP) science classes and redesigning high school science curriculum to incorporate the latest developments in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and other fields were the focal points of a panel discussion hosted by the College Board and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C., last week." May 8, 2006

Advanced Placement: A detour for college fast track?

USA Today

by Mary Beth Marklein "Admissions officials at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, like those at most colleges nationwide, like to see Advanced Placement courses on high school transcripts. And like many colleges, they typically exempt students who have passed AP exams from taking certain introductory courses." March 20, 2006

The Two Faces of AP

New York Times

by Tamar Lewin "Every summer, there is a fabulous moment at the Greensboro, North Carolina, "Cool to Be Smart" celebration, for students who have passed five or more Advanced Placement exams - the moment when one of them selects a lucky key and wins a new car and balloons cascade from the ceiling." January 8, 2006

College Board Plans To Change AP Courses

by the Associated Press "The College Board, which administers Advanced Placement courses and the SAT, is quietly mapping out changes to some of its flagship programs amid concerns that they cover too much content and don't allow for in-depth study." May 25, 2005

High School shouldn't end in slump

Oregonian

by Bill Graves "The senior year should be the most academically demanding for college-bound high school students rather than a time to kick back and coast, says a University of Oregon education professor who's getting national attention for his research on college success." May 2, 2005

UO program gives nation's high schools standards for success

Register-Guard

by Greg Bolt "Governors of the 13 states that last weekend assigned themselves the task of making sure all high school graduates have college-level skills may find that the University of Oregon already has done most of its homework." March 4, 2005

Govs pledge ambitious high school reforms

Stateline.org

by Kavan Peterson "After painting an alarming portrait of America's failing public high schools, governors at a national education summit pledged Sunday to form a coalition of at least 13 states to aggressively raise the academic bar in their secondary schools and better prepare students for college and the workforce." Februaury 27, 2005

School report nails mediocrity

Oregon Live

by Betsey Hammond "Mediocre performance by white and middle-class students -- not the achievement gap that leaves minority and poor students behind -- characterizes the results of Oregon public schools when judged against a national backdrop, according to a report released today by an independent fact-finding group." September 22, 2004

College-prep expectations don't mesh with realities

Seattle Times

by Cara Solomon "Leah Belisle just assumed she was prepared. She had, after all, graduated second in her class." December 8, 2003

Bellevue schools chief calls on experts to assess reforms

Seattle Times

by Cara Solomon "Mike Riley could stop right now. Three of his high schools just made Newsweek magazine's list of the top 20 in America. Riley himself was featured in the cover story this week. As superintendent of Bellevue schools, he has spent the past several years working toward this: About 70 percent of last year's seniors graduated with at least one Advanced Placement course on their transcript." May 28, 2003

Creating Standards for Success

Mizzou News

by Jeff Neu "As graduating high school seniors prepare to make a smooth transition to college, many are in for a rude academic awakening. Scores of incoming freshman, even the best, brightest and most diligent ones who easily meet admissions requirements, will struggle in entry-level courses. In reality, admission requirements only hint at what is expected once students are enrolled in college classes. The University of Missouri-Columbia and the Association of American Universities (AAU) are working to solve this problem through a new project entitled Standards for Success." May 1, 2003

Report Seeks to Align State Standards for High Schools and Colleges

Chronicle of Higher Education

by Will Potter "A group of research universities and the Pew Charitable Trusts spent three years assessing what college freshmen need to know to succeed academically. Last week, they sent the results of their study to every high school in the country, to better align the curriculums of high schools and colleges." April 2, 2003

Universities Push to Influence State Tests for High School Students

Chronicle of Higher Education

by Sara Hebel "As states increasingly develop exit tests and other assessments of high-school achievement, a group representing 14 prominent research universities is seeking a voice in the discussions to ensure that students' preparation for college isn't lost in the process." February 9, 2001