Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
Almost two decades of research have crystallized strong links between academic under-achievement, Zero Tolerance and similar "pushout" policies, and narrow codes of masculinity.
Learning to enact traditional codes of masculinity is a major rite of passage for nearly every adolescent and teenage boy. Yet this imperative often puts them directly at odds with school disciplinary systems, especially in urban environments
Unfortunately, boys don't display masculinity by sitting quietly in class, being respectful of teachers, obeying adult authority figures, observing all the rules, and turning in homework regularly -- a set of behaviors, which, taken together, are a pretty good prescription for ostracism, bullying or harassment at many middle-schools.
On the contrary, boys learn to impress peers, establish dominance hierarchies, and create social status by exemplifying traditional masculine attributes of strength, toughness, individualism, and aggression. In practice this means being boisterous, taking risks, breaking rules, defying adult authority figures, withstanding punishment silently, and generally disdaining book-learning as weak, feminine, or gay.
Such findings point to two great systems in blind and often disastrous collision: an urban male "gender culture" which demands that adolescent boys master public displays of traditional masculinity, and school systems inclined to view precisely those displays as oppositional and threatening, a cause for constant surveillance and punishment, and markers of eventual failure or probable incarceration.
This paper provides an overview of the current research and findings on the impact of gender codes -- especially masculinty -- and high rates of drop-outs and push-outs among at-risk youth.
August 1970
Geographic Focus:
Education and Literacy;Science;Women
Science, technology, engineering and math: for many students, especially young women, achievement in the "STEM" subjects will be the key to high growth rates, higher paying jobs and career advancement in the knowledge economy.
Yet for years girls have under-performed at these subjects: dropping out early, expressing low interest, opting out of STEM degrees in college and out of STEM careers as college grads. There's even a name for this: the "leaky pipeline."
It's not that girls can't achieve. In fact, girls not only score as well as boys in elementary school, but in societies abroad where math and science achievement is valued equally in both sexes, they continue to do well throughout their educational careers.
Nor is it just the result of patriarchal school systems. Millions have been invested in improving a host of external education variables of this nature that may be holding girls back: hostility in the computer room, lack of female role models, masculine pedagogical models, etc. In some cases, high schools have even refused to let girls drop STEM classes, which has only succeeded in delaying the problem until they matriculate.
What could be causing elementary school girls who excel at math and who love science, to suddenly lose all interest or develop low grades in these subjects in late adolescence and early teens?
One important and under-explored answers is feminine gender norms. As girls age, they internalize gender norms that force them to make a choice between excelling at STEM or being feminine. And STEM loses.
This report documents the existing literature and surveys the problem in depth, including new results of new focus group studies with young women of color.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States
In the coming years, states will need to make the most significant changes to their assessment systems in a decade as they implement the Common Core State Standards, a common framework for what students are expected to know that will replace existing standards in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The Common Core effort has prompted concerns about the cost of implementing the new standards and assessments, but there is little comprehensive up-to-date information on the costs of assessment systems currently in place throughout the country.
This report fills this void by providing the most current, comprehensive evidence on state-level costs of assessment systems, based on new data from state contracts with testing vendors assembled by the Brown Center on Education Policy. These data cover a combined $669 million in annual spending on assessments in 45 states.
The report identifies state collaboration on assessments as a clear strategy for achieving cost savings without compromising test quality. For example, a state with 100,000 students that joins a consortium of states containing one million students is predicted to save 37 percent, or $1.4 million per year; a state of 500,000 students saves an estimated 25 percent, or $3.9 million, by joining the same consortium.
Collaborating to form assessment consortia is the strategy being pursued by nearly all of the states that have adopted the Common Core standards. But it is not yet clear how these common assessments will be sustained after federal funding for their development ends in 2014, months before the tests are fully implemented. The report identifies a lack of transparency in assessment pricing as a barrier to states making informed decisions regarding their testing systems, and recommends that consortia of states use their market power to encourage test-makers to divulge more details about their pricing models.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States
Michigan school districts and charter schools are struggling to support teachers in building their skills, a report by the nonprofit Education Trust-Midwest found. "Good for Teachers, Good for Students" examines 28 local teacher evaluation models across Michigan and urges the state to make a new educator evaluation system a priority.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Michigan
Education and Literacy;Employment and Labor
In an effort to gain a better understanding of the community college presidency, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has periodically conducted surveys asking CEOs a range of questions about their tenure, demographic characteristics, and compensation and benefits. The results of three prior surveys were published as AACC research briefs (Larson, 2007; Shults, 2001). Results of research specific to the CEO contract were published by Community College Press (Wallin, 2007). Although the 2012 CEO compensation survey explores similar topics and draws on previous research for comparison, its focus is on compensation.
Highlights of the 2012 survey results include:
Community college CEOs typically receive a variety of allowances in addition to cash compensation. Most respondents (70%) indicated such allowances included college-provided housing, a housing allowance or both; 66% received a college-provided car, a car allowance or both; 58% received an allowance for professional club dues.
Retirement plans were also common, with most (73%) receiving a defined contribution plan such as a 403(b) or 401(k).
Women's median base salaries surpassed those of men slightly, although men earned more in total cash compensation. (Women comprise 28% of all community college CEOs.)
Black and Hispanic CEOs earned more on average, than white CEOs. The median total cash compensation was $210,000 for Black CEOs, $207,553 for Hispanic CEOs, and $176,300 for white CEOs. (Study authors say further analysis indicates that Black and Hispanic CEOs were more likely to work at larger institutions and in urban areas, where salaries tend to be higher.)
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States
Children and Youth;Education and Literacy
This report assesses Illinois' academic performance from early childhood through postsecondary, providing a snapshot of how Illinois compares to other states and nations as we collectively work to provide all students a world-class education. The analysis is divided into three parts.
The first section examines how Illinois public schools serve 2 million students by spotlighting performance on key academic milestones such as 4th-grade reading, 8th-grade math, college readiness in core subjects and postsecondary graduation.
The second section examines the interlocking set of reforms that state education leaders, legislators and advocates have crafted to lay the foundation for future academic growth since the State We're In: 2010. The report also illustrates how the various initiatives fit together to lay a strong academic foundation for Illinois going forward.
The third section contains 55 data measures that examine Illinois' standing in early education, K-12 and postsecondary readiness and success.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Illinois
As schools move towards a 21st century model of preparing students for college and a career, it is becoming unnecessary to maintain a system based on time spent in the classroom, according to the report's authors. Rather, learning happens at different times in a variety of settings, and progress should be demonstrated by mastery of content, not merely grade promotion. In the proficiency-based systems examined in "Making Mastery Work", students advance at their own pace as part of a cycle of continuous learning and achievement. This mix of freedom and responsibility is positively impacting both the teaching and the learning at the ten schools studied by Nora Priest, Antonia Rudenstine and Ephraim Weisstein, the report's authors.
Issues examined through the collected experiences of the participating schools include: the creation of a transparent mastery and assessment system, time flexibility, curriculum and instruction, leadership for competency education development, and the role of data and information technology in a competency-based education model.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (New England)
As schools move towards a 21st century model of preparing students for college and a career, it is becoming unnecessary to maintain a system based on time spent in the classroom, according to the report's authors. Rather, learning happens at different times in a variety of settings, and progress should be demonstrated by mastery of content, not merely grade promotion. In the proficiency-based systems examined in "Making Mastery Work", students advance at their own pace as part of a cycle of continuous learning and achievement. This mix of freedom and responsibility is positively impacting both the teaching and the learning at the ten schools studied by Nora Priest, Antonia Rudenstine and Ephraim Weisstein, the report's authors.
Issues examined through the collected experiences of the participating schools include: the creation of a transparent mastery and assessment system, time flexibility, curriculum and instruction, leadership for competency education development, and the role of data and information technology in a competency-based education model.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (New England)
