April 17: Education News We're Reading This Week

extra

April 17, 2015Here are the best articles from education news this week.

The Boston Globe published a great piece on the struggles of low-income students at Ivy League institutions. Financial and social pressures can be overwhelming to these bright students who are dumped into a brand new environment.

A new study from the Pew Research Center outlines the internet habits of teens broken down by race, gender and income. NPR writes that many students are even completing assignments on smart phones as opposed to computers at home, a fact many would like to change.

Dan Greenstein and Jamie Merisotis have issued a clear and firm stance in The Wall Street Journal: “Education remains the chief American institution that promotes economic and social mobility for poor and disadvantaged citizens.”

While admitting there is an immediate benefit for recipients of Stanford University’s generous tuition waiver, The Atlantic argues that this alone “cannot level an educational playing field so heavily pitched to the advantage of the wealthy.”

Stress at home can often lead to a student’s academic failure, writes The Hechinger Report. But a new disciplinary technique used in one New York school both eliminates the need for suspension and increases the likelihood of that student attending college.

NPR reports that the popularity of MOOCs has not grown as was once expected. But could these free online courses still one day overhaul traditional college education?

Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy co-authored a new piece in The Richmond Times-Dispatch, which outlines why helping the country’s bright, low-income students is a win-win.

The Baltimore Sun cited the Cooke Foundation’s new state report card on the excellence gap as evidence to support an Advanced Placement summer school in the city.

Michelle Lerner at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute gave her two cents on the Cooke Foundation’s report, noting that on average, states only implement three of the nine desirable policies which aid high-achieving, low-income students.