US education news
From The New York Times
Cramming for Degrees in Hybrids
As automakers increase their efforts to design vehicles that are more fuel-efficient, college engineering programs are likewise adapting their curriculums, preparing students to build vehicles increasingly powered by batteries.
Some Schools to Close for 2 Days and Reopen for Last Day of Class
Unused snow days will give many students days off at the end of the school year, but they will have to return midweek for the originally scheduled last day of class.
Educational Testing Service Cites ‘Lapses’ in Invalidating SAT
An auditor reportedly found several serious violations with the administration of an SAT exam at a Brooklyn school, where the scores of 199 students were invalidated this week.
World Briefing | The Americas: Quebec Government Passes Law to Restrain Protests
Quebec’s government passed an emergency law Friday restricting demonstrations and shutting some universities, seeking to end three months of protests against tuition increases.
The Texas Tribune: Reform-Minded Chairman at Center of Controversy
Since Gene Powell was elected chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents last year, the board has become ground zero for a clash between competing visions for higher education.
Special Report: Education: GMAT Adds New Thinking Cap
When business school applicants take the GMAT exam, they will face an additional section that is meant to test a student's critical thinking and to help prevent cheating.
Special Report: Education: A Way Up for Women in Business
The physical and mental challenge of climbing Africa's highest peak was used to encourage female business students to work together.
Special Report: Education: Designing Business Education for a Custom Fit
More business schools are going into business themselves by designing -- and profiting from -- customized training programs for big corporate clients.
SpaceX Is Set to Send Its Rocket to the Space Station
A private company’s test flight will carry 15 student experiments onboard, including one involving winemaking.
Up to 15 Percent of Students Chronically Skip School, Johns Hopkins Finds
A study by researchers at John Hopkins University found that as many as 15 percent of students miss at least one school day in 10, and have gone undetected because of the way attendance is measured.
New Fight on a Speaker at a Catholic University
Georgetown University, a Jesuit institution, is being rebuked by local bishops after inviting Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary and a supporter of abortion rights, to speak at commencement.
Scores of SAT Taken at Packer Collegiate Institute Are Invalidated
Administrators, students and parents at Packer Collegiate Institute said they were punished over a technicality.
M.I.T. Chooses Its Provost for President
L. Rafael Reif will lead the institute beginning in July, replacing Susan Hockfield.
99 Percent of N.Y. School Budgets Meeting Tax Cap Pass
School officials said the high passage rate reflected tight budgets and staff cuts as most districts fought to stay under the new limit.
In Quebec, University Strike at Crucial Stage
A tuition dispute has paralyzed many of Quebec’s French-speaking universities and colleges, and sometimes erupted into violence on Montreal’s streets.
David Coleman to Lead College Board
David Coleman, an architect of the common core curriculum standards, will take over the education organization in October.
Degrees of Debt: Colleges Begin to Confront Higher Costs and Students’ Debt
With the balance of student debt topping $1 trillion, college presidents are recognizing that they must handle the costs of education through methods other than tuition increases.
On Education: Strict but Trusted, Sister Dolores Is Irreplaceable at Fontbonne
Sister Dolores Crepeau watches over Fontbonne Hall Academy and its students with exacting standards.
Degrees of Debt: Student Loans Weighing Down a Generation With Heavy Debt
Nearly everyone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is borrowing money, and as prices soar, a college degree often comes with an unprecedented financial burden.
A System Divided: At Explore Charter School, a Portrait of Segregated Education
A charter school in Brooklyn is indicative of a larger problem in New York City’s public school system, one of the most segregated in the nation.
Bloomberg’s Charter School Battle Detailed in E-Mails
The city released hundreds of e-mail messages Friday, providing a look at one of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s major battles, the 2010 campaign to expand charter schools.
8th Grade Students Make Gains in Testing on Science
Eighth graders made modest gains in national science testing, with Hispanics and blacks narrowing the gap between their white and Asian peers, the government reported Thursday.
Learning a New Language on Location
A number of language immersion programs are offered in places like the Tuscan hills and Costa Rica, in classes specifically for older people or for a mix of age groups.
Senate Republicans Block Bill to Avert Rise in Student Loan Rate
Republicans oppose the Democrats’ approach to paying for the program, which reduces some student loan interest rates.
Law School Plans to Offer Web Courses for Master’s
The Washington University School of Law will offer a master’s degree in United States law in partnership with 2tor, an education technology company.
Queens Students Get Water Lessons by Designing Playground
A nonprofit group is shepherding five eco-playgrounds into schools in Queens and Brooklyn to teach children about water and urban infrastructure.
Scandal Distracts Klein From His Education Goals at News Corp.
Six months after joining News Corporation to lead a push into the education market, Joel I. Klein became Rupert Murdoch’s legal compass in the phone-hacking scandal.
Retired Military Officers Teaching at Ivy League Schools
Campuses that once turned a cold shoulder to the military are now inviting former top officers, like Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, to come and teach.
On Education: New Procedure for Teaching License Draws Protest
Student teachers at the University of Massachusetts are protesting a new national licensure procedure being developed by the education company Pearson and Stanford University.
The Lady Jaguars: The Season Ends, and the Scoreboard Doesn’t Tell the Story
Tonya Lutz, a high school basketball champion, faces an uphill battle as the Carroll Academy girls coach, but players see her as a stable, trustworthy role model, unlike anyone they know.
The Lady Jaguars: When Children Are Caught in the Cycle, Not All Can Be Saved
Patrick Steele, the security director at Carroll Academy, is the judge and jury that doles out discipline, but most students do not know how much he has in common with them.
The Lady Jaguars: For Carroll Academy’s Players, Home is Not Always a Haven
For a 17-year-old senior now at Carroll Academy, a school for troubled teenagers in Huntingdon, Tenn., dreams of college gave way to fights, drug use and pregnancy.
The Lady Jaguars: Court-Ordered Basketball, and No Fans
The nine players on the girls basketball team at Carroll Academy, a school for troubled teenagers in Huntingdon, Tenn., often outnumber their fans at games.
The Lady Jaguars: At a School in Tennessee, a Basketball Team of Survivors
At Carroll Academy, a school for troubled teenagers in Huntingdon, Tenn., basketball is a means to provide the players supervision and structure and to teach them about teamwork and trust.
Jobs Few, College Graduates Flock to Unpaid Internships
In a weak job market, many college graduates are taking unpaid internships that fail to deliver on their promises of experience by offering little more than menial work.
California State Students Plan to Fast in Protest Over Cuts
The fasting protest was the latest display of anger at the 23 California State University campuses, where the system has lost roughly $970 million in state financing since 2008.
Career Couch: Volunteering Offers a Way to Explore Career Fields
Public service work can be a gateway to careers and gives new graduates time to consider options and learn about themselves.
Sports Briefing | Pro Basketball: Shaquille O’Neal Earns His Doctorate in Education
The former N.B.A. star Shaquille O’Neal received his doctoral degree in education from Barry University during commencement ceremonies in Miami Shores, Fla.
Shortcuts: Career or Deep Learning? Pondering the Purpose of College
In the early 1980s, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in just about any subject “opened up lots of jobs,” experts say. Oh, how times have changed.
U.S. to Revise Foreign Student Job Program
The government will now prohibit the students from doing most warehouse, construction, manufacturing and food-processing work.
Bloomberg Restores 2,500 Teaching Jobs in Latest Budget Proposal
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Thursday that 2,500 teaching jobs would be restored, while avoiding tax increases, but he could still cut funding for child care and after-school programs.
Harvard and M.I.T. Offer Free Online Courses
The universities announced a new nonprofit partnership, known as edX, that will offer vast new learning opportunities for students around the world.
Criminal Charges for 13 in Florida A&M Hazing Death
A band member, Robert Champion, died after being beaten and suffocated by fellow students during a hazing ritual in November.
Hamtramck High Holds All-Girl Prom
A dream to take part in an American rite of passage came true for girls whose faith forbids them to date or dance with boys.
Princeton Review Accused of Fraud in Tutoring Program
The company is accused of fraudulently claiming millions of dollars in reimbursement for tutoring services that the government said it never delivered to underprivileged students.
Social Media Rules Limit Student-Teacher Contact
The guidelines reflect concerns about the misuse of sites like Facebook and Twitter and represent the latest official response to allegations of teachers behaving inappropriately with students.
N.Y./REGION: The Lessons of Sister Dolores
Sister Dolores F. Crepeau, the principal at Fontbonne Hall Academy in Bay Ridge, inspects seniors’ white graduation dresses, a long tradition at the school.
About New York: A Queens College Student Goes From Boilers to Dartmouth Medical School
Chris Navas, a high-school dropout who loves the gym, earned a scholarship to medical school at Dartmouth.
Pre-Med’s New Priorities: Heart and Soul and Social Science
Can the MCAT identify that ethereal mix of scientist, humanist and spiritualist that makes a good doctor?
Opinion: Reunion, and Returning as Your Real Self
I wanted to find the frightened, closeted adolescent who tried to hide behind a scruffy beard and a haze of cigarette smoke.
Room for Debate: Easing the Pain of Student Loans
What can be done to control the level of college debt in the U.S. and protect young people from taking on an onerous financial burden?
Op-Ed Contributors: Much Ado About Students Loans
The student loan interest rate fight is a distraction from the crisis of college affordability.
Room for Debate: Got a Computer? Get a Degree.
Harvard and M.I.T. are going to offer free courses online, but not for credit. Why not?
SchoolBook: City, Unions Agree that Hiring Can Begin for 24 Schools
The city can start hiring new teachers and administrators to fill positions at 24 schools that will be closed and reopened by September, under a deal reached with the teachers' and principals' unions and announced late Friday. An arbitrator, meanwhile, will work quickly to decide whether the city's shuffling of staff violates the unions' contract. If the city loses the arbitration, its new hiring can be reversed.
SchoolBook: New Pro-Union Group Jumps Into Mayoral Race
While they are duking it out with the city at the policy level, the public school unions are also hoping to kick it up on the political front, as part of a new coalition, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, that plans to weigh in on the 2013 mayoral race. The group was formed to counter StudentsFirstNY, which has said it will inject $10 million a year, raised from hedge fund managers and venture capitalists, into the race to press for more policies like those adopted under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
SchoolBook: Chancellor Proposes Plan to Remove Unassigned and Unsatisfactory Teachers
Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott proposed on Thursday to offer buyouts to teachers in the "absent teacher reserve pool'' and to get rid of those teachers who receive unsatisfactory ratings two years in a row.
The Choice Blog: Early Word on 2012 College Admission Yields and Wait-List Offers
In our preliminary look at admissions yields and wait-list offers, it seems as though Ivy League schools have much higher yields than others.
The Choice Blog: SAT Scores Are Invalidated at Brooklyn Private School
An audit found that some of the nearly 200 students taking the SAT at a Brooklyn private school were seated less than four feet apart, which goes against testing service rules.
The Choice Blog: M.I.T. Chooses Its Provost for President
Rafael Reif has served as the institute's provost for seven years, our colleague Tamar Lewin writes. He will step in as president on July 2, succeeding Susan Hockfield.
The Choice Blog: David Coleman, Backer of Common Core Curriculum, to Lead College Board
David Coleman, an architect of the common core curriculum standards, will begin his new role as the president of the College Board in October, our colleague Tamar Lewin reports.
What Did You Spend on Public School This Year?
Supplies, trips, fundraisers and activity costs add up. Help us figure out how much public school parents are spending by completing our online form.
Hands-On Medical Education in Rwanda
The success of Rwanda in providing health care to its poor has drawn the attention of the international community and has inspired a new program at Harvard University.
The Learning Network Blog: Guest Post | Teenager Writes About 'Crushing Weight of College Debt'
George Edwards, 17, a high school senior, writes about how the prospect of crushing student debt is affecting his future plans.
The Learning Network Blog: Found Poem Favorite | 'Free Flight Into the Wordless'
The fifth of our 11 winners in this year's Found Poem Contest was created using Walt Whitman's 1892 obituary. Check back daily through May 25.
The Learning Network Blog: Fill-In | Robotic Arms, Moved With the Mind
Fill in the blanks of the first several paragraphs of the Science article, "Paralyzed, Moving a Robot With Their Minds."
The Learning Network Blog: How Often Do You Interact With People of Another Race or Ethnicity?
How integrated is your school? Your community? Your social and family life? How important do you think it is to interact with people of different backgrounds?