Education

The War Over the War (cont.)

Ron Tang — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:05:00 -0400

There's the war in Iraq and then there is the war over the war in Iraq. The first is about gaining ground against the sectarian militias and terrorists who plague that country. The second is about storytelling.

Advocates of staying and fighting in Iraq are at a distinct disadvantage in the second war. The burden of the Iraq fighting falls on such a small number of military families that it is easy to portray the troops in the field as victims. This has proved an effective strategy for Virginia's junior senator, Jim Webb, a staunch opponent of the surge. Once seen… more

Child Well-Being Index in Washington Post | For Children, a Better Beginning

Communications — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:32:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Washington Post | For Children, a Better Beginning

In a wide-ranging look at how children have fared in their first decade of life, a study to be released today offers a promising picture of American childhood: Sixth-graders feel safer at school.* Reading and math scores are up for 9-year-olds. More preschoolers are vaccinated. Fewer are poisoned by lead.

The analysis, which created a composite index of more than 25 key national indicators, reports an almost 10 percent boost in children's well-being from 1994 to 2006. This overall improvement comes in spite of two significant negative trends: increased rates of childhood obesity and low-birth-weight babies.

"There are some really encouraging signs of progress," said Ruby Takanishi, president of the nonprofit Foundation for Child Development, which funded the research. "I think it's important as a country . . . to see that there are things that parents can do, that government can do, that institutions can do, to make measurable differences for children." . . .

*The New America Foundation Workforce and Family Program convened an event for the release of the study by FCD. More information is linked here.

Michael Dannenberg in APM's Marketplace | Student Loans Are Getting Whacked

Communications — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:50:00 -0400

New America in the News:

APM's Marketplace | Student Loans Are Getting Whacked

Bank of America and a unit of Citigroup have joined a growing list of lenders cutting back on student loan programs. At the same time, the House passed an emergency bill that would enable lenders to have more cash to keep making loans. John Dimsdale reports.

TESS VIGELAND: OK, here's another side-effect of the credit crunch: Student loans are getting whacked. Today Bank of America and a unit of Citigroup joined a growing list of lenders cutting back on student loan programs. Also today the House passed an emergency bill to give the Education Department more authority to buy up student loans. That way, presumably, lenders would have more cash to keep making them. John Dimsdale reports from Washington.

JOHN DIMSDALE: Today the Bank of America joined the dozens of lenders who've recently withdrawn from the federally-guaranteed student loan business. Yesterday, the nation's largest student lender, Sallie Mae, announced a $133 million loss in the first quarter of this year. That compares to more than $100 million in profits last year. But the editor of HigherEdWatch.Org, Michael Dannenberg, isn't worried yet.

MICHAEL DANNENBERG (Director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation): There are a couple thousand student loan providers -- federal student loan providers. There are two fail-safe systems in place. There's definitely a crisis for some individual lenders, but that's different from actual students. Theoretically, something very bad could happen down the road, but we're not there yet. . .

How Much Does the Federal Government Spend To Promote Economic Mobility, And For Whom?

Fiscal Policy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0400

In an economically mobile market economy, individuals and families are able to raise their private incomes, wealth, and ability (sometimes referred to as human capital) over time and across generations. In the United States, many associate economic mobility with the pursuit of the American Dream. Education, work experience, and saving enhance the opportunity for upward economic mobility. To this end, many federal spending and tax expenditure or tax subsidy programs aim to enhance economic mobility. But exactly how much does the federal government encourage economic mobility? What form does this encouragement take? And who benefits from these efforts?

To begin answering these… more

Steve Burd in U.S. News | Look Twice at Loan Advice

Communications — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:13:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Look Twice at Loan Advice (U.S. News & World Report)

. . . Stephen Burd, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, says many colleges are affordable without the help of private loans at all. Plus, Burd adds, federal loans also are due only after graduation, and the subsidized ones don't accrue interest while students are still in school, as most private loans do—a fact not mentioned in the ads. . .

Arnold vs. Arnold

Ron Tang — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:00:00 -0400

Education cuts and reform campaigns can be the drinking and driving of California politics. Each carries certain risks when pursued separately. Combined, they can be deadly.

This is a truth that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has found hard to accept. Three years ago, just as he launched his breakneck drive to win voter approval of budget and political reforms, he decided to withhold part of a mandated increase in education funding from his 2005-06 budget proposal. The delay in Proposition 98 funding soon consumed the public attention that Schwarzenegger wanted directed toward his reform proposals. His favorability rating dropped more than 20… more

Steve Burd in CQ Weekly | "In Student Loan Market, A Direct Approach"

Communications — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:51:00 -0400

New America in the News:

In Student Loan Market, A Direct Approach (CQ Weekly)

. . . But private lenders who need help face a dilemma. "Lenders are sort of putting themselves in this weird spot, where on the one hand they're raising huge alarms on the viability of their program, and on the other hand are trying to make sure they don't scare schools into the direct loan program," said Steven Burd, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. more

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… more

Taming the Tuition Beast

Ron Tang — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:47:00 -0400

It's not news that the cost of a college degree has risen significantly over the last couple of decades.

Since 1990, tuition and fees have risen by nearly 225 percent at four-year public colleges and by 154 percent at private four-year colleges. The real story is that tuition growth rates often fluctuate wildly from year to year -- which makes it hard for families to plan ahead and budget enough to cover the costs.

Last year, students at Villanova faced an unexpected tuition and fee increase that was double the previous year's.

Students entering Penn State in 2002 had no way of knowing… more

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

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

New America in the News:

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 Watch.Org.