Improving Higher Education Performance

The National Collaborative for Higher Education Policy, formed to help states improve higher education performance, has released a report offering guidance to states interested in gaining broad agreement around a new agenda for higher education. The work of the National Collaborative suggests that states can develop statewide public agendas that clearly identify the responsibilities of higher education to meet the educational needs of state residents. State leaders can forge agreement on priorities, uncover and remove policy barriers, identify statewide needs for new or modified policies, and design and implement action strategies based on findings. But in the end, success depends on sustained political and educational leadership.

Economic Benefits of College

Postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people. A 2006 supplement to Education Pays 2004: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, released by the College Board, documents the monetary and non-monetary benefits of higher education, and provides international comparisons for college participation and success. In an age of widespread concern about the rising cost of college, this update provides a needed reminder of the earnings premium associated with higher education and the ways in which an educated population strengthens society.

NEA's Estimates and Rankings

The National Education Association (NEA) has released its annual combined Rankings & Estimates report. Rankings 2005 provides facts and figures useful in determining how states differ from one another—or from national averages—on statistics including numbers of operating districts, per-student spending, teacher salaries, and other revenue and expenditure data. Estimates 2006 provides projections of public school enrollment, employment and compensation of personnel, and finances, as reported by individual state departments of education. NEA Research offers this report to its state and local affiliates as well as to researchers, policymakers, and the public as a tool to examine public education programs and services.

Tough Choices or Tough Times

A National Center on Education and the Economy report, Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, contends that not only are our international counterparts getting more education, but they are getting a better education as well. The report proposes a restructuring of educational priorities that will have a major impact on all levels of education, from preschool to college and beyond. This report’s recommendations to help American’s compete in the global economy include recruiting from the top third of the high school graduates going on to college for the next generation of school teachers; developing standards, assessments and curriculum that reflect today’s needs and tomorrow’s requirements; providing high-quality, universal early childhood education; and, creating regional economic development authorities to develop goals and strategies for their region and ensure that the region’s education and training institutions are developing the skills and knowledge necessary for a worker to be successful in that labor market.

How Peer Relationships Affect College Enrollment

A study highlighted in the November 2006 issue of ResearchBrief examines how the peers of poor, urban, minority students influence student decisions to enroll in postsecondary programs including college, and how that influence differs from a sample of all high school graduates. It found that high school graduates are significantly more likely to go on to postsecondary education and college if their peers support them and have similar plans for higher education. These effects are particularly strong for black and Hispanic youth with a low socioeconomic status. As highlighted by the author, this research establishes a correlation between peer influence and postsecondary engagement. However, the research cannot establish a causal relationship. Rather than peers pushing individuals to attend college, it could be that individuals interested in postsecondary education seek out peers with similar values.

What Science Teaching Looks Like: An International Perspective

The latest Educational Leadership examines the report, Teaching Science in Five Countries: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. This study examined teaching practices in the United States and in four countries that outperformed the United States in science achievement on the 1999 TIMSS assessment. A random sample of science lessons in each of the five countries was selected to be videotaped during one school year in order to capture a range of science content and paint a picture of typical science teaching practices within each country. Although many teaching strategies were common to all five countries, the study revealed two major differences between the United States and the other countries. First, each of the higher-achieving countries had its own distinct core pattern of science teaching. Second, all of the higher-achieving countries had strategies for engaging students with core science ideas—that is, their science lessons focused on content.