Lindsey Luebchow: All Publications, Events and Press

New America Releases "Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools"

Communications — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:33:00 -0400

Washington, DC -- Today the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project releases "Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools: Teacher Equity and the Federal Title I Comparability Requirement," by former New America Foundation policy analyst Lindsey Luebchow. The new issue brief details shortcomings of the current Title I comparability provision and provides recommendations for how to improve it.

Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools

Education Policy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:44:00 -0400

Teachers with the least experience and fewest credentials teach in our poorest schools, putting low-income students at a disadvantage. School finance disparities in teacher spending within school districts are a major cause of this problem. However, school district budgeting techniques mask these intra-district disparities, allowing administrators and policymakers to ignore them.

BCS Teams Flunk Off the Gridiron

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:33:00 -0500

In a few weeks, the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners will face off on college football's biggest stage in the Bowl Championship Series' National Championship game. Unfortunately, many of the college seniors playing in this game will not be walking across the graduation stage next May. Instead, their schools will revel in the short-term glory of gridiron success, while the players will have to face the long-term consequences of joining the workforce without a college degree.

Academic Bowl Championship Series | ESPN/Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Communications — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:57:00 -0500

Lindsey Luebchow of the New America Foundation asks that question here. She concludes that if academics were factored into big-college football, ...

Higher Ed Watch's Academic Bowl Championship Series

Communications — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:42:00 -0500

While the on-field performance of the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators has led the two squads to college football's championship game, both schools are well behind other elite teams when it comes to graduating and retaining their student-athletes, according to rankings released yesterday by the New America Foundation's Higher Ed Watch blog.

Academic March Madness

Ron Tang — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:36:00 -0400

If you've watched any of the televised men's college basketball tournament this year, you've been bombarded by NCAA commercials that declare: "There are 380,000 NCAA student athletes... and just about every one of them will go pro in something other than sports."

It's an uplifting tagline, but there's a catch. In order to "go pro in something other than sports," that athlete needs a college degree. And far too many male athletes in top-tier Division I basketball programs never graduate.

The teams that played in the Sweet 16 this year have some of the worst academic records in the country, particularly the top-seeded teams such as UCLA, where, on average, only 29% of men with basketball scholarships graduate within six years of enrolling. At the University of Memphis, which UCLA plays today in the Final Four, that number is 30%. Very few of those are dropping out to enter the NBA draft.

If Sweet 16 victories were based on the graduation rates tracked by the federal government -- the percentage of scholarship players who enrolled from 1997 to 2000 and graduated within six years -- who would come out on top?

The results are not the Final Four matchups happening in San Antonio. In fact, only one of the top seeds -- the University of North Carolina, with a 60% graduation rate -- would make this academic Final Four.

The University of Kansas and Memphis wouldn't have made it even to the Elite Eight. UCLA would have been knocked out by Xavier University's 67% graduation rate, meaning Ben Howland's Bruins wouldn't be headed to the Final Four for the third straight year. Instead, Xavier or Stanford University would be headed to the championship game, where they would play Davidson College.

Even more disturbing are the graduation rates of African American players at many of these elite basketball schools. At UCLA, for example, the graduation rate for black players is only 20%, in comparison to 100% for white players. These coaches and universities have a responsibility to ensure that all of their athletes are given the tools to graduate.

Amid the spectacle that is March Madness, it's hard to keep this other kind of scoreboard in mind. But we need to applaud those teams that support the development of true student athletes, and rethink our glorification of those that simply use their players for tournament success.

Lindsey Luebchow in Cleveland Plain Dealer | DC Group Ranks NCAA Teams by Players' Graduation Rates

Communications — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:28:00 -0400

Cleveland Plain Dealer | Washington Group Ranks NCAA Teams by Players' Graduation Rates

Forget wins and losses. Disregard the strength of schedule. Pay no attention to margins of victory.

Call it March madness, but what if the teams in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament were ranked by diplomas rather than dunks?

That's a rite the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation celebrates each spring. Earlier this week, the nonprofit public policy institute released its own tournament bracket that has to do more with mastering Joyce than making jump shots.

The foundation, an advocate for greater equity in school funding and college financial aid, uses the big-time tournament to underscore a big-time problem: A majority of players leave college with neither a professional career nor a four-year degree. In all, 55 percent of Division I players do not graduate. About 1 percent of them make it to the NBA.

"Amid the flashy, commercialized spectacle that is March Madness, few think about the players who aren't going to be able to go pro in anything, basketball or otherwise," said policy analyst Lindsey Luebchow, who created the bracket. . .

To view the New America Foundation's Academic Sweet 16 bracket, go to Higher Ed… more

Lindsey Luebchow on WTOP Radio in DC | Top B-Ball Shools Have Poor Grad Rates

Communications — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:11:00 -0400

WTOP Radio in DC | Top B-Ball Shools Have Poor Grad Rates

New America Foundation Education Policy Analyst Lindsey Luebchow discussed the Annual Academic Sweet Sixteen bracket results with WTOP Radio in DC. Also, Luebchow's comments on the NCAA teams' academic ranking appeared on CBS Radio's nationally broadcast morning show (3/27/08). Following these hits, the Los Angeles Times published Luebchow's op-ed "Academic March Madness."

Lindsey Luebchow writes for New America's Ed Money Watch and Higher Ed Watch blogs.

New America Foundation in Chronicle of Higher Education | 'President Bush: A Friend of Higher Education After All?'

Communications — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:00:00 -0500

President Bush: A Friend of Higher Education After All? (The Chronicle of Higher Education, subcription only) ... Mr. Bush has, however, given researchers, and their colleagues throughout higher education, something else of value: money. The president has been "highly successful" in winning increases for higher education from Congress, according to an analysis published last month by the New America Foundation, a Washington-based research and advocacy group that is often critical of the Bush administration. "Congress adopted nearly all of the significant higher-education funding and policy proposals included in the president's budget requests from 2002 through 2008," including increases in Pell Grants and loan-forgiveness programs, the foundation noted. more

The Bush Education Budget Legacy

Education Policy — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:20:00 -0500

Next week, President George W. Bush will submit his eighth and final budget request to the Congress. How has he fared with respect to education budget proposals thus far? Answer: although President Bush made the No Child Left Behind Act, which deals with elementary and secondary education, the hallmark of his education policy, from a federal education budget standpoint, the Bush administration’s most lasting legacy thus far is in higher education. The New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project evaluated all the Bush administration's past budget requests and finds that the Bush administration has had relatively little success in enacting its elementary and secondary education budget proposals, but has seen enacted nearly all of its higher education budget proposals, including a major increase in Pell Grant program funding.

Key Findings:

For higher education policy, President Bush successfully used the budget and appropriations process to advance significant reforms. Congress enacted virtually all of the President’s higher education budget proposals, including recently shifting more than $20 billion in taxpayer subsidies from federal student loan providers to increased student financial aid, particularly in the form of larger Pell Grants.
Funding for key federal elementary and secondary education programs increased significantly during President Bush’s tenure in office. In nominal terms, No Child Left Behind Act Title I grant funding is $5.1 billion higher (59 percent) in 2008 than in 2001. Funding for state special education grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is $4.6 billion (73 percent) higher than in 2001.
However, with the exception of budget proposals directly linked to the No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush’s efforts to drive elementary and secondary education policy changes, such as his school voucher and high school reform proposals, through the budget and appropriations process have been largely unsuccessful. Further, Congress has ignored nearly all of the President’s proposals to eliminate funding for many small, categorical elementary and secondary education programs.

Minority Recruitment: Athletics Success, Admissions Failure

Education Policy — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:14:00 -0500

Diversity and minority recruitment are hot button words in most four year college admissions offices. There are congratulations when enrollment demographics show greater racial diversity, and there is consternation when minority numbers drop.

But are college admissions office recruitment efforts working? Colleges will, in a knee-jerk fashion, say: yes, look at our racial and ethnic percentages! College access for minorities is a reality here! But how much is minority recruitment in admissions offices really contributing to the… more

College Football PR 101: Academic Bonuses

Education Policy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:48:00 -0500

When Louisiana State University coach Les Miles was carried off the field after winning the National Championship game last night, his smile likely reflected more than the pure joy of winning. Miles had already garnered $400,000 in football bonuses for making it to the game. After winning the title, his contract states that his total salary will be adjusted to at least the third-highest salary in all of Division I football— which will boost it by about $1.15… more

When Redshirting Goes Wrong: Boston College Fans Take Note

Education Policy — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:20:00 -0500

The professionalization of college athletics is a thorny issue, one that we addressed in a recent blog post on Boston College’s current football team. We pointed out that many of the elite players on BC’s football team this year, such as star quarterback Matt Ryan, are no longer really students because they have already graduated and are spending minimal time in the classroom. Without the "student" part of student-athlete, we argued, these football players become exclusively money-making and media-attracting devices for their school and skirt… more

A Matter of Degrees

adminn — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:53:00 -0500

As the college football season nears its final showdown between Ohio State and LSU, the media-stoked frenzy over which teams were selected for the Bowl Championship Series has reached a fever pitch.

Penn State is in the Alamo Bowl, with less money and media attention. But if team academic performance were considered by the BCS, Penn State would have fared much better.

Over all, the academic performance of big-time college football is dismal. Only 56 percent of Division I-A football players graduate within six years of enrollment. Many who do receive a diploma are tracked into jock majors or pass through a substandard academic program.

Successful college football programs generate millions for their schools, so does it really matter if a relative handful of athletes leave college without an education?

We at Higher Ed Watch think it does, and that Penn State's team deserves credit for its work in the classroom. We created an "Academic BCS" formula that we hope will persuade some fans to rethink the one-track definition of success as a BCS berth.

Unlike the reams of information available on athletic performance, public data on the academic performance of student-athletes is scarce. There are only two: graduation rates and the NCAA's less-rigorous "academic progress rate" (APR) for each team. Half of each college's score comes from just having players in school. The other half comes from players completing 20 percent of their courses toward a degree each year. No minimum GPA required.

Under our Academic BCS formula, the NCAA's APR gets less weight than graduation rates. We give teams points based on (1) the gap in graduation rates between the football team and school overall, (2) the gap in graduation rates between black and white players in comparison to the school gap and (3) the team's APR in comparison to the median APR for all football teams. Our formula rewards schools that educate players as successfully as they do other students.

When our formula is applied to the teams ranked in the top 25 of the actual BCS poll, the results change dramatically. Boston College, Cincinnati and Connecticut look like champs compared to Ohio State and LSU, which rank at the bottom academically.

If Penn State is added to the mix, the Nittany Lions would rank second after Boston College and be competing for the Academic BCS National Championship.

Some teams from schools that might be expected to be top-ranked given their academic reputations (University of Virginia, for example, and Michigan, which recently dropped from the BCS poll) failed to earn top honors.

That is largely because these schools have significant gaps between the graduation rates of black and white players. Michigan graduated only 46 percent of black players who entered from 1997 to 2000, compared to 91 percent of its white players.

In contrast, Penn State graduated more black than white players during that period (74 percent for black players and 72 for white players), an accomplishment that doesn't attract the attention it deserves given the national disparities in black-white graduation rates overall.

Other teams from schools not generally considered academic powerhouses are doing a relatively good job educating their football players. At the University of Cincinnati, for example, 71 percent of players who entered the school from 1997 to 2000 left with a degree, compared to only 49 percent of all students at the school. Cincinnati's team had only a three-point black-white graduation gap, compared to the school's near 20-point gap.

Unless we adopt a purely mercenary approach to college sports, and perhaps pay players rather than perpetuate the charade of the student-athlete, we should recognize that the future of most college football players depends on getting a degree, not securing an NFL contract.

It's easy to ignore the academic question when cheering on a third-and-goal. But when the Nittany Lions take the field against Texas A&M later this month, take a step back and think about the broader picture. There are measures of success more important than a bowl victory.

A version of this article also appeared in the Dec. 9 edition of the Patriot-News.

Lindsey Luebchow in The Modesto Bee on Academic BCS

Communications — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:55:00 -0500

...Since coming into existence in 1906, the NCAA has struggled with its basic charter -- identifying and maintaining the correct balance between athletics and academics.In recent years, the NCAA has established the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which creates a baseline measurement of retention and graduation rates its member schools must meet or risk the forfeiture of scholarships.One might question the logic of taking away scholarships from underachieving athletic programs, but that's another matter.And obviously, we'll never see a scenario in which an academic test becomes a part of an athletic event -- such as the hypothetical case above -- but at least one Washington think tank would like to see classroom performance have a bearing on which schools are in line to receive multi-million dollar Bowl Championship Series payoffs."In general, athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student population," said Lindsey Luebchow, a policy analyst at the non-profit New America Foundation. "In general, student-athletes are doing a good job, but football and basketball are different stories."Luebchow also is [a contributor] of Higher Ed Watch, a respected blog. Recently, she was asked by ESPN.com to develop a way to… more

WTOP Radio Interviews Lindsey Luebchow on ABCS

Communications — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:45:00 -0500

After New America's Higher Ed Watch.Org and ESPN released the Academic Bowl Championship Series (ABCS), the Education Program’s Lindsey Luebchow was interviewed by WTOP radio. Please check out the attachment for the mp3 recording of the interview.

Evaluating Jock Majors and College Quality

Education Policy — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:37:00 -0500

Yesterday, Higher Ed Watch unveiled its first "Academic Bowl Championship Series" poll, which ranked the current top teams in college football using academic instead of athletic indicators. In developing the Academic BCS poll, we took advantage of all of the data that is publicly available on college athletes’ academic performance: graduation rates and the NCAA’s "Academic Progress Rates."

That’s right, there are only two academic data points available for college athletes… more

ESPN Features Academic Bowl Championship Series, Lindsey Luebchow

Communications — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:31:00 -0500

In a few days, hooded figures manipulating mysterious computer formulas will announce the final BCS standings and the lineup for college football's prestigious bowl games. Records, opponents, conference affiliations, polls and, it always seems, the phases of the moons of Saturn will be taken into account. But what if academics were factored in, too? What if there were an A/BCS -- an Academics-Included Bowl Championship Series?

I put that question to Lindsey Luebchow, a policy analyst of the New America Foundation and a contributor to Higher Ed Watch, one of the country's best blogs. Luebchow relentlessly dissects hypocrisy, double-talk and yammer in higher education, especially the big colleges' relationships to Congress. She is also a sports nut, and annually computes what the men's basketball Sweet 16 would look like based on educational achievement. So I asked her to do the same for the top 25 BCS teams.

Appropriately, Luebchow came up with a ratings procedure that's hard to understand -- just like the real BCS! Her reasoning: "The A/BCS formula starts with the football team's four-class average federal graduation rate, which includes all football players who entered college between 1997 and 2000 and graduated within six years. Football programs then… more

Academic Bowl Championship Series

Education Policy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:01:00 -0500

At the end of every college football season, there’s an uproar about the "Bowl Championship Series" (BCS) formula that decides which teams get to play for the National Championship and in various bowl games. This year is no different—sports commentators are in a tizzy about which teams will get picked by the formula in the final BCS ranking next Sunday. Get ready for the final weeks of moaning and groaning about why certain components… more

At Boston College, Blurring the Student-Athlete-Professional Line

Education Policy — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:08:00 -0500

Last week, we highlighted a couple of big-time college football teams struggling on the field but excelling in the classroom. We suggested it might be difficult, if not impossible, for teams to maintain stellar athletic and academic records given the time constraints and pressures on student-athletes. Are there examples of big-time football schools that are having both athletic and academic success this season?

The most obvious answer is Boston College.… more