Jay Matthews, creator of the Newsweek high school ranking, writes an editorial for the Washington Post on the policies of some high schools that bar the average student from college-level courses and tests. Matthews makes the argument that these courses and tests prepare the average student for the rigor of college with great results but the debate continues.
Archive for July, 2009
Should high schools bar students from AP classes?
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Spending more time with your kids
Monday, July 27th, 2009Daniel Hamermesh of the New York Times shares thoughts on the findings that parents are spending more time with their children than parents did in the 1990’s and makes note of the theory that the increased competition to selective colleges is spurring parents on.
Changes in the financial aid form
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Syndicated columnist Dear Babs writes about changes in the federal financial aid form. FAFSA has announced changes to make the form easier and more accessible, most notably cutting down the size from 30 pages to 10 pages.
Cuts at the University of California
Monday, July 20th, 2009New York Times writer Tamar Lewin reports on the effects of reduced state financing for the University of California. Making up for an $813 million reduction, the University of California will use a combination of furloughs, deferred hiring and cuts in academic programs, cuts that “impinge on the university’s academic offerings.” For instance:
- UC Irvine ”has halted admission to its doctoral program in education, and its Latin American studies program is on hiatus.”
- UC Davis ”Medical Center has eliminated its liver transplant program, and in the division of humanities, arts and cultural studies, 44 courses and sections are expected to be cut.”
- UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Cruz have also announced similar cuts.
Where are the opportunities this summer?
Thursday, July 16th, 2009New York Times writer Alex Williams writes of the difficulties facing college students as they plan their summer. Summer jobs are scarce, unpaid internships are scarce as well as not financially feasible, and parents are not as able to finance the summer trips.