News Headline

House Curbs College Costs

OurFuture.org Staff — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:01:26 -0500

The House approved legislation aimed at curtailing rising college costs and limiting student debt. The bill requires the Department of Education to create a Web site where students and their families can compare the costs of different schools. Colleges will be grouped according to how expensive they are and how quickly their costs have increased.

Poll: Schools Not Preparing Kids

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:25:46 -0400

Half of Americans say U.S. schools are doing only a fair to poor job preparing kids for college and the work force. Even more feel that way about the skills kids need to survive as adults, according to a recent Associated Press poll. The views of the general population echo concerns from business and college leaders, who say they have to spend a lot of time and money on remedial education for people who completed high school but don't have the skills to succeed at work or in higher education. Education ranks behind the economy and gas prices as a top issue for Americans, the survey said. However, nearly all those polled said the quality of a country''s education system has a big impact on a country's overall economic prosperity.

Food Prices Hit School Lunches

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:01:51 -0400

The cost of staples that make up the backbone of school meal programs has soared in the past year, far outstripping federal subsidies. While inflation has driven up the price of milk by 12 percent, cheese by 15 percent and bread by 17 percent, the National School Lunch Program has increased what it pays local school districts to feed 30.1 million schoolchildren by only 3 percent. And pricier ingredients aren't the only culprit. Even at $8.2 billion a year, the federal subsidy hasn't kept up with rising food costs, with rising labor costs, and fuel costs.

No Child Left Behind Doomed?

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:10:44 -0400

There was always something slightly insane about No Child Left Behind, the ambitious education law often described as the Bush administration's signature domestic achievement. Educators cited its unattainable goals for schools and unrealistic expectations of students. Add the fact that much of the promised funding failed to materialize and many early critics insisted that No Child Left Behind was nothing more than a cynical plan to destroy American faith in public education and open the way to vouchers and school choice. Now a former official in Bush's Education department is giving at least some support to that notion.

Student Loans to Bypass 2-Year Colleges

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:02:52 -0400

Some of the nation's biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation's top universities. The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student loan business persist, some of the nation's neediest students will be hurt the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years.

Government Enters Student Lending

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:23:57 -0400

The Department of Education is preparing to exercise broad new powers in the coming weeks that could fundamentally recast how millions of students pay for college. This initiative could transform the federal government from a guarantor of student loans into the dominant provider, replacing the outside lenders to whom students and their families have long turned. Though the Education Department is aiming to dramatically expand its role as a direct lender to fill the void created by an exodus of private-sector lenders, due primarily to the credit crisis.

More Schools Failing

OurFuture.org Staff — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:28:15 -0400

The federal No Child Left Behind law says that by the 2013-14 school year all students must pass state tests in these subjects. According to a recent study, about half of the states have steady annual goals for increasing the percentage of students passing, or working at their proper grade level. But the other half set the bar very low early on, and starting about now expect big annual achievement gains. It's unlikely those states can make the kind of gains expected.

Failing Grade for Reading Program

OurFuture.org Staff — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:58:36 -0400

Students enrolled in a $6 billion federal reading program that is at the heart of the No Child Left Behind law are not reading any better than those who don't participate, according to a U.S. government report. The study released by the Department of Education's research arm found that students in schools that use Reading First, which provides grants to improve elementary school reading, scored about the same on comprehension tests as their peers who attended schools that did not receive program money.

Education Act Reformed

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:54:28 -0400

Unable to push education fixes through Congress, the Bush administration is taking its own pen to the No Child Left Behind law. The Education Department plans to make a host of changes to the education law through regulations. Among the biggest changes is a requirement that by the 2012-13 school year, all states must calculate their high school graduation rates in a uniform way.

1 Million Drop Out Annually

OurFuture.org Staff — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:13:12 -0400

A recent study found urban schools in metropolitan areas surrounding 35 of the nation’s largest cities have lower graduation rates than schools in nearby suburban communities. Approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year–about 7,000 every school day, or one every 26 seconds. Nearly half of all Black and Native American students are expected not to graduate with their classes, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will.