385. College Access and Success News

Here are links to recent news on college access and success.
by
Joe Rottenborn

Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

1. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily ▸ today's top stories on college access and success via @rottenbornj ▸ http://paper.li/rottenbornj

2. Shooting at Va. Tech reopens wounds from 2007, by Greg Toppo – http://usat.ly/vPct47 via USATODAY - "Tragedy has again struck Virginia Tech," school President Charles Steger said. "Our hearts are broken again."

3. Field Notes From This Year's Application Season, by Rebecca R. Ruiz: http://nyti.ms/rDfRTX - "While our survey was unscientific, it brought into focus some themes, including increased applicant interest in public colleges – both in and out of state – and an apparent rise in the number of students who have been filing applications early this year, sometimes at the prodding of the colleges themselves."

4. Essay calls for sustained effort by colleges to focus on economic inequality, by Gloria Nemerowicz Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/sCDUIe - "Copious data, like Mortenson’s cited above, indicate that a caste-like education system exists in America. The economic group you are born into is the best predictor of your access to and completion of a college degree. This should be unacceptable to a democracy. It should be unacceptable to higher education. How can we feel good about being part of an enterprise in human development that solidly succeeds only with wealthy people?"

5. Left Behind: Unequal Opportunity in Higher Education, by Richard D. Kahlenberg - http://tcf.org/media-center/pdfs/pr19/leftbehindrc.pdf - "Low-income students are ill served in America’s higher education system in almost every respect: general enrollment rates, general graduation rates, and enrollment and graduation from elite colleges."

6. High School Test Terrain Shifting From Exit Exams to College-Readiness, by Catherine Gewertz - http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/12/high_school_testing_increasing.html via @educationweek - "Fewer students are being required to pass exit exams to graduate from high school, but high school testing is increasing because more states are requiring college- and career-readiness tests, according to a study released today."

7. National Student Clearinghouse Persistence Measures Include Transfers, by Beckie Supiano -http://chronicle.com/article/National-Student-Clearinghouse/130046/ - "Persistence varies by sector, the report says. Private, nonprofit four-year colleges had the highest rate, 91.4 percent, while public two-year colleges had the lowest rate, 74.9 percent."

8. Ravitch: ‘Miracle schools’ not so miraculous after all - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-miracle-schools-not-so-miraculous-after-all/2011/12/07/gIQAP565fO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "I have said it before, and I'll say it again: There are no silver bullets in education. There are no magic feathers that enable elephants like Dumbo to fly. It's hard work to improve schools. It takes dedication, resources, and time. And the work is never done, the magic number of 100 percent is always out of reach."