Improving High School Graduation Rates Helps the Economy, Too

by Grant Bradley, Intern Summer 2013

In a twenty-first-century economic landscape dependent upon consumer spending yet still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, people, businesses and the government have been drumming up ways to get the nation back on track. While Congress debates deficit spending, the costs of immigration reform, more taxes and tax cuts, one way to encourage consumer spending and thereby spur the economy is simply to create more consumers. By focusing attention on the plight of slipping high school graduation rates, Americans can not only better the lives of their younger fellow citizens but also create a bigger consumer pool and boost the economy.

A November 2012 study from the Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE), “Inseparable Imperatives: Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy,” holds that increasing the number of high school graduates is key to the economic future of the United States.

Right now, Americans face a very real connection between their level of education and their income potential. At the peak of their careers, those with bachelor’s degrees and beyond earned a median salary of $52,000; high school graduates earned a median salary of $28,000; and high school dropouts earned a median salary of $19,000. This translates to a median hourly wage of $25 for college graduates and beyond, $13 for high school graduates and $9 for high school dropouts.

Income is not the only factor that disadvantages those without a high school diploma. The chances of being employed in the first place are slimmer than those who continue their education—high school dropouts are 1.5 times more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates, and 3 times more likely than college graduates.

If more people graduate high school, the AEE suggests, more people will have bigger paychecks, which they will spend on consumer goods. These purchases, in turn, will contribute to the economy. As the AEE succinctly observes, “any successful economic strategy must eliminate the gaps in education attainment and achievement and enable the fastest-growing populations to reach their full potential as wage earners, consumers, and citizens.”

In the meantime, high school graduation rates and their effect on the American job market are only getting worse. A June 2013 report conducted by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Remedial Education: Federal Education Policy,” points to a unique phenomenon among developed countries: young people entering the US workforce today are, on the whole, less educated than their more senior colleagues and bosses. American Baby Boomers aged 55 to 64 stand out as one of the most academically educated demographics in the world, ranked first in the number of high school graduates and third in the number of college graduates. In contrast, Millennials aged 25 to 34 rank only tenth in the number of high school graduates and thirteenth in the number of college graduates.

If 90 percent of the high school class of 2011 graduated, the AEE study found, the United States would have over 750,000 more graduates—750,000 potential consumers just waiting to score a better job with better pay that would allow them to buy more goods and services. Investing in education, then, means not just a more skilled and educated nation—it means a more vibrant, healthier economy.

Further Reading:

Bob Wise, “Providing All Students With a Quality Education is a Moral—and Economic—Necessity,” The Huffington Post, April 29, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-wise/providing-all-students-wi_b_3147321.html.

Lauren Alix Brown, “Generation Dropout: Millenials Joining the Workforce Are Less Educated Than Retiring Boomers,” The Atlantic, June 18, 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/06/generation-dropout-millennials-joining-the-workforce-are-less-educated-than-retiring-boomers/276974/.

The Fate of Foreign Language

by Hayley Gundlach, Intern Summer 2013

If you have fond memories of your middle or high school foreign language classes, be sure to pass them onto your kids—and quickly—because the number of opportunities for them to gain the same memories through enriching language classes is steadily decreasing.

Traditionally included in most core curricula starting in middle school and continuing through high school, foreign language programs are being reduced and removed across the United States. Chicago’s Central Middle School is the most recent in a long line of cutting sprees. Officials at Central are choosing to drop their Spanish requirement for seventh and eighth graders, and are instead implementing an elective curriculum where students can take home economics, art, technology or other similar classes.

Central Middle School is not the first school to choose courses that favor the trades over foreign languages. The sad truth is, many schools no longer have the time or the resources to teach all of the material they think their students should learn. Budget restraints are causing schools all over the country to engage in fierce debates that often end in the elimination of entire programs. Foreign language programs are all too often victims of the cuts. By cutting foreign languages like Latin, German, French and Spanish, we send the message that foreign languages are no longer an important part of a middle or high school education.

It is, however, quite the contrary. Although the trades taught at schools like Central Middle School are useful, it is more important than ever to be affluent with the study of languages other than our native ones. The construct of our global society forces every country to interact with one another in some capacity. Because foreign language classes focus on culture in addition to language components, students gain important perspectives and appreciation for relevant cultural differences, diminishing xenophobia and other intolerances that hinder such interactions. In a world of international exchange, the ability to learn and utilize a foreign language is truly vital. International companies are growing, and they seek globally competent employees. By cutting off the resources with which our young students can learn languages, we not only run the risk of reducing our kids’ long-term career opportunities, but we also risk cutting off the entire country from the growing global market, which could hurt us all economically, intellectually and culturally.

Further Reading:

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, “Is Learning a Language Other than English Worthwhile? The World Has Changed,” Room for Debate in The Opinion Pages of The New York Times, January 30, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/29/is-learning-a-language-other-than-english-worthwhile/being-monolingual-is-no-longer-an-option.

NGSS Seeks Necessary Science Benchmarks Despite Challenges

by Jessie Miller, Intern Summer 2013

For the first time since 1966, national recommendations for science curricula have been released and, if adopted, will bring widespread changes to science education in the United States. A group of 26 states and various foundations and organizations including the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Carnegie Corporation, and DuPont created the standards known as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The new standards are reminiscent of the math and English language arts Common Core State Standards that Achieve, a nonprofit education group, also helped write.

NGSS deals with a range of topics including climate change and evolution—subjects some educators have deemed controversial—which has drawn criticism from conservative groups, including Citizens for Objective Public Education, Inc. (COPE). However, climate change advocacy groups are pleased that the new standards will introduce the crucial arguments for climate change to students at a young age and increase public awareness. As of now, climate change is only sometimes included while studying environmental science, but this is just one example of how the authors of NGSS hope to tie in key topics to multiple science disciplines.

Regardless of individual topics, NGSS calls for a complete overhaul of the current system and emphasizes a stronger, more hands-on approach to learning, which will hopefully spur a genuine interest in the sciences through applicable real-life experiments. To quote from the NGSS executive summary: “Every NGSS standard has three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas (content), scientific and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts.… The integration of rigorous content and application reflects how science and engineering is practiced in the real world.”

Each individual state must go through its own legal process to adopt the standards, since the national government cannot make the guidelines mandatory for all states; however, a driving force behind NGSS was to create a national benchmark. Many teachers and school boards strongly support the guidelines and are likely to push their states to adopt them over the next few years, though it would not be without challenges. States would need to create entirely new curriculum materials and standardized tests, as well as retrain teachers who are unprepared to teach at such a higher caliber, all while under enormous financial strain.

As of now, the Kansas State Board of Education has approved the standards, mostly because moderate Republicans and Democrats control the vote. On the other hand, Barbara Cargill, Republican chairwoman of Texas’s Board of Education, said the state is unlikely to approve the measure because they recently adopted their own standards. California also maintains a similar view on the situation. Massachusetts, however, is said to have already started the approval process.

New York, which serves as a lead state partner on the NGSS, has also committed to giving serious consideration to approving the standards. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, during an evaluation of the NGSS, urges states “to exercise caution and patience” because states are already tasked with the challenges of the Common Core State Standards, as well as other content-related issues with NGSS.

Regardless of whether states choose to adopt the standards, the release of NGSS highlights a pressing issue the United States faces on an international level—we have fallen far behind other countries in math and science testing scores. While other countries, most notably Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, have seen enormous growth in students’ math and science skills, the United States has not kept up. This issue is of growing concern for the United States in terms of the global economy and remaining on the forefront of scientific and technological innovation. NGSS aims to give American students a greater edge on standardized testing, hopefully resulting in higher test scores and spurring greater interest in continuing science education beyond high school.

Further Reading

Kelsey Sheehy, “Next Generation Science Standards Released,” U.S. News & World Report, April 15, 2013, http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2013/04/15/next-generation-science-standards-released.

Justin Gillis,  “New Guidelines Call for Broad Changes in Science Education,” The New York Times, April 9, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/science/panel-calls-for-broad-changes-in-science-education.html.

Is Social Media Becoming the Online Bookstore for Teens?

by Chelsea Cooper, Intern Summer 2013

Reading books as a teenager can feel more like a chore than leisure, especially when distracted by Facebook and Instagram. However, what happens when you combine social media and reading, then cater it toward young adult (YA) readers? Rachel Fershleiser, a representative from Tumblr, said some sites that successfully combine both are “replicating what your local bookstore used to do.” She observed this at a forum held by the Children’s Book Council (CBC), where they led a discussion entitled Engaging Relationships: How Kids & Teens Discover, Connect With, and Share Their Passions. The sites involved in the discussion were Teenreads, Wattpad, Tumblr, the Reading Teen blog, The Book Report Network, DogoBooks and DogoNews.

The discussion centered on how social media is providing a chance for teens to become avid readers by creating a community for them to express themselves as readers and writers. Sites such as Teenreads, DogoBooks and the Reading Teen blog help give teens the opportunity to share, review and find books they might like. Other sites like DogoNews make current events accessible to teenagers. On the Reading Teen blog, not only can users write books or book reviews for other teenagers; they can also share their thoughts in video blogs and provide the links for these vlogs posted on YouTube.

These sites are creating a separate world for teens to become better readers and join a society with like-minded peers to discuss any book of their choosing. One of the Reading Teen bloggers on the panel at the CBC forum, eighteen-year-old Kit, believes that she can be a literary matchmaker on the blogs and in person. She wants to help her peers find books that interest them and use social media as a tool. She and her social media peers are forming these interactions without high censorship (except in extreme cases) and without the permission of parents or guardians, which may cause a bit of hesitancy. However, despite the lack of high security, the space can be similar to book clubs held at local bookstores.

Instead of driving to the local bookstore or café, teenagers can just look at their phones or computers for the same sharing experience. These sites can be found on the go, making it easier for any reader to access them while en route to either school or work, and even at home. These online resources are also great for teachers to use for school projects. In addition to encouraging the use of these sites for homework, teachers are also promoting these online resources to prompt teens into reading more. Other beneficial methods beyond the world of social media for encouraging reading were suggested at the forum. One such instance was the suggestion that male teen readers take the more feminine-looking covers off of books if the readers were turned off merely by the design and not the content.

Surely any technique or attempt, be it small or large, to encourage reading among people of any age, is beneficial. Now, online outlets that provide a pseudo-book club environment can be added to this list of productive methods. Many of these online resources help students feel united with their peers through literature, demonstrating that social media may be advantageous for the future.

Further Reading

Karen Springen, “Teenage Tweetland: YA Authors and Publishers Reach Out to Young Readers Where They Live: Online and on Their Smartphones,” Publisher’s Weekly, May 11, 2013, http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/57212-teenage-tweetland.html. 

Motivation the Key To Math Success

by Ashley Alongi, Spring 2013 Intern

I was never a fan of math. I can vividly remember one day in kindergarten when I was handed an extra-long sheet of paper with addition and subtraction problems on them, and I felt like my world was going to end right there. But the world didn’t, and throughout the rest of my school life. I managed to do all right in math. Mostly I would stumble around equations, trying to remember which operation came first, until I came up with some sort of answer. I felt like I was stuck at some hurdle that my brain couldn’t get around, that I would never get math. However, recent research suggests that it may not have been my intelligence that kept math and me at a stalemate, but rather my lack of interest.

Researchers in Germany studied 3,500 Bavarian children from fifth to tenth grade and assessed them on IQ and algebraic knowledge. Researchers also gave students short surveys to answer, having them rate from 1 to 5 how much they agreed with statements such as "I invest a lot of effort in math, because I am interested in the subject.” They were also asked if they relied on memorization when doing math problems, or if they connected the problems to their daily life, so the researchers could see how the students’ motivation would correlate with how they learned.

When first tested, students with higher IQs scored best on the math assessment test. But five years later when tested again, the kids who scored in the top 10% in the motivation and learning strategies exam made the biggest improvements, with scores increasing by 13%. However, kids who had high IQs but scored low in motivation showed no change at all.

The study also showed that, unfortunately, telling your child to hit the books unfortunately won’t help. Children whose parents forced them to study showed no significant improvement either. "It is not a good idea to force students to learn mathematics," Kou Murayama, the lead author of the study, says. Instead, Murayama suggests showing kids how math relates to everyday life to keep them interested. Instead of just memorizing times tables, he says, having students understand that two $3.00 candy bars cost $6.00 would keep them more engaged. Showing kids math can be fun will make them want to keep learning their whole life!

Redefining Creativity’s Place in STEM Education

by Hayley Gundlach, Summer 2013 Intern
This year looks to be a benchmark year in education reform. In 2013, not only do the new Common Core State Standards start to become integrated into curricula, but one of the country’s most impactful pieces of educational legislature is up for reauthorization. The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (America COMPETES) was first signed back in 2007 under President Bush and dedicates itself to increasing the number of teachers qualified to teach in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, increasing the number of master’s degrees amongst teachers, and turning the academic focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. When the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act was signed in 2010, a more intense concentration was turned to STEM programs, particularly financially. Now, in 2013, the act is up for a second reauthorization, and people have begun to question such a hard focus in these areas of education.

Campaigns for certain revisions to the upcoming reauthorization suggest a considerable push toward incorporating programs that foster creativity. Having the arts, or programs like them, become a more significant part of an American education—thus transforming STEM education into STEAM education—seems to be the most popular way to bring out the creativity in our nation’s youth. The recent emergence of a new economy seems to demand a more creative worker who best develops in the presence of a creativity-infused education. A generation of workers whose creativity was nurtured rather than ignored, and who were taught how best to apply that ingenuity, better suits our changing economy’s needs. Students who are taught in a creative setting will better reinvent business strategies, negotiate in new ways, and produce new products and marketing techniques that have the potential to transform our business economy.

The question is not, nor will it ever be, which aspect is more important: creativity or STEM? We should not choose one over the other. Instead, the best course of action would be to meld the two together, making a generation of “creative scientists.” The creativity taught in school will in turn foster the innovation that the twenty-first century demands. The two work hand in hand.

Further Reading
John Eger, “The Creativity and Commerce Conundrum,” The Huffington Post, May 13, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-m-eger/the-creativity-and-commer_b_3267408.html.Erik W.
Robelen, “STEAM: Experts Make Case for Adding Arts to STEM,” Education Week, December 1, 2011, http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/12/01/13steam_ep.h31.html.

New Tablet Option for Classroom Learning

by Ashley Alongi, Spring Intern 2013

This March at SXSWedu, an educational conference in Austin, News Corporation’s educational unit unveiled their new tablet specialized to teaching. Spearheaded by former New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein, now CEO of Amplify, the Amplify tablet aims to change the classroom environment into one that students more readily understand. In Klein’s opinion, schools need to embrace technology instead of banning it if they want to move forward: “Kids use media and technology of all kinds but they’re told they have to turn them all off when they get to school,” says Klein.

The Amplify tablet will be preloaded with content and resources aligned to the Common Core State Standards Initiative and pre-programmed with customized software before a student even turns on the device.

Amplify aims to speed up daily classroom tasks and free up more time for active instruction. When each device is brought to class, attendance is automatically counted for the teacher. Alerts can also be programmed into the device to send reminders to students about upcoming tests or projects.

The hope for the tablet is that there will be a more clear view of how the class is fairing with a specific topic. With the push of a button, teachers can send a quick poll to students asking how well they grasp the topic, using emoticons to gauge their feelings. This way everyone’s feeling is noted, even those who are shy or may not feel comfortable admitting out loud that they don’t understand something. Tests and quizzes can also be sent to students through their tablets, with the results instantly tabulated so teachers can see who may need some more help. Teachers can then send individual students more information about topics the student is struggling with.

What makes the Amplify tablet different from other tablets like Apple’s iPad—which has been making a push into the education market—is the control teachers will be able to have over students’ devices. With its classroom management system, teachers will be able to pull focus back to them and off the screen, with options like locking down certain applications, such as the Internet or games, or simply locking the whole device to display the message “Eyes on Teacher.”

Not everyone is on board with the technology push. Some have commented that Klein wants to eliminate teachers, while others believe that the price may be too steep for many schools to afford. The Wi-Fi version of the tablet starts at $299, plus $99 per year for a content and services subscription. A version with access to AT&T's 4G LTE data service is $349, plus a $179 annual subscription fee. When asked about the cost, Amplify offices stated that “a variety of school systems do have the funding via [the Obama administration’s] Race to the Top initiative and in other ways. Large school districts in L.A. and Houston are moving in this direction. There are challenges but this is an investment.”

Another tablet on the market means more possibilities, and those schools that can afford to try devices like Amplify may pave the way for marking out the pros and cons of such technology in the classroom.

Further Reading

“Exploring the World Through Tablets,” published October 30, 2012, http://publishingsolutionsgroup.com/blog/exploring_the_world_through_tablets/

“News Corp.'s Amplify Unit Unveils Education Table,” Publisher’s Weekly, published March 6, 2013, http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/devices/article/56231-news-corp-s-amplify-unit-unveils-education-tablet.html

“News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools,” The New York Times, published March 6, 2013,  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/business/media/news-corp-has-a-tablet-for-schools.html

“News Corp.'s Joel Klein Outlines Plans for Amplify Education Unit,” Publisher’s Weekly, published December 5, 2012, http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/devices/article/55012-news-corp-s-joel-klein-outlines-amplify-education-unit.html

Pricier, Digitized GED Moves Forward and Raises Eyebrows

by Grant Bradley, Summer 2013 Intern
Two years after the American Council on Education (ACE), the parent company of the General Educational Development (GED) tests, teamed up with Pearson PLC to create the GED Testing Service, the ubiquitous high school equivalency exam is undergoing a makeover. In the coming months, test takers will put down their pencils and close their paper booklets in favor of a completely computerized exam, and they will open up their wallets to pay a doubled fee of $120. Because some adult students have no access to computers at home, some say the new computerized test disadvantages the very people it is trying to empower.

Toni Walker, a state representative for Hartford, CT, harbors some reservations about the digital GED. Walker, who also serves as assistant principal of the New Haven Adult and Continuing Education Center, states that less than 20 percent of her students own computers, “so if we don’t show them how to use a computer, they’re never going to be able to pass the GED, because they won’t be able to do it online."

Randy Trask, president of the GED Testing Service, defends the move to digital, saying that computers are an integral part of any job. “Computers are a necessary part of society today. If you’re going to apply at a Walgreens or a Walmart or a Target, you’re going to be filling out an application on a computer,” he said.

The exclusionary effects of a computerized GED, however, might not matter if students cannot afford it. Right now, the average price of the current GED hovers around $60 but varies state by state. State subsidies in Connecticut, for instance, lower the price of the old test to $13. However, other states tack on administrative fees. In states such as Missouri, where fees are added on, the new GED would cost $140.

Walker voiced concerns over the implications the price increase will have on the educational landscape of the next several decades. “It is going to be prohibitive.… People come here with pennies and nickels, bringing us change to pay for their GED,” Walker said. “So it’s going to be a class issue. People who have no money will never be able to actually take the GED."

Trask believes the new price reflects the cost of a much-needed modernization of the GED, and any increase of the financial burden on test takers depends more on individual states than company policy. “Historically, states have chosen to subsidize the GED test; some partially and some in its entirety,” he said. “The state then chooses what to charge test takers for the test. And the state bears—or has historically born—all of the costs associated with the delivery of that test and the scoring."

Many states are not taking these changes lying down, and several publishing companies are trying to pick up the slack. Educational Testing Service (ETS) and McGraw-Hill are developing cheaper, paper-based exams. New York, New Hampshire and Missouri have already decided to ditch the GED and choose one of the new tests. Whether or not these newcomers can supplant the GED from its dominant position in the world of high school equivalency exams remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the luster of the GED’s absolute supremacy of the market is beginning to dim.

Further Reading

Lisa Fleisher, “Revamped GED Faces First Big Challenge: Oldest High-School Equivalency Test Adapts to New Education Standards, With Other For-Profit Firms Quick on Its Heels,” The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864304578316463933715702.html.

Heather Hollingsworth, “States Dropping GED As Test Price Spikes,” The Huffington Post, April 14, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/states-dropping-ged_n_3088855.html.

Diane Orson, “Educators Worry Revamped GED Will Be Too Pricey,” NPR, November 28, 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/11/28/165916695/educators-worry-revamped-ged-will-be-too-pricey.