
While an average debt number that high is unnerving, it turns out that median debt, as Andrew Rotherham has pointed out, is much lower at $12,800. So what to make of the difference between the average and the median debt loads?
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![]() Recently the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) released its annual report on student debt touting a headline-grabbing average debt of $29,400. It’s a stark data point that affirms what many who have been on college campuses in recent years have been talking about: college is really expensive and only getting more so. Unfortunately that data point is misleading. While an average debt number that high is unnerving, it turns out that median debt, as Andrew Rotherham has pointed out, is much lower at $12,800. So what to make of the difference between the average and the median debt loads?
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![]() If you’re a teacher, think about the last time you handed a test back to a student. If you’re not, think about the last time you were handed a test back from a teacher. Imagine a failing grade, maybe a 55 percent, a grade that most teachers at most schools in this country would still label an “F.” If it’s you getting that test back, what are you likely to do? I remember the routine. Step one is to flip the paper over quickly before your classmates notice. If that doesn’t work the next-best strategy is pretending you don’t care. But the last thing most kids do with that “failing” test is review it line by line, looking for patterns where they went wrong and thinking about how they can improve and build on the 55 percent of the questions they got right. It’s more likely to end up in the trash bin. After the release of the Nation’s Report Card showed low proficiency levels among blacks and Hispanics, particularly in states with the lowest household income, it's easy for education analysts to attribute daunting achievement gaps to poverty levels. But more attention should be paid to the lack of quality early learning as an even larger — and more detrimental — factor in student achievement: New research shows that children who attend high-quality early learning programs gain about one year of additional learning over children who don’t.
![]() Russ Whitehurst has a frustrating new post on the second evaluation of Tennessee’s voluntary pre-K program. The new analysis by the Peabody Research Institute expands on the previous report, which found statistically significant academic gains among pre-K students, and notes that those gains are no longer significant by the end of kindergarten and first grade. Additionally, the researchers failed to find significant differences between pre-K attendees and their peers on a range of non-cognitive measures, with the exception of retention rates (in which students who attended pre-K performed better) and special education (in which students who attended pre-K were more likely to receive a special education placement). Whitehurst finds these results “devastating for advocates of the expansion of state pre-k programs,” noting, “The whole justification for investing in pre-k is that it provides long-term benefits, so these follow-up data are critically important.” |
aboutYEP-DC is a nonpartisan group of education professionals who work in research, policy, and practice – and even outside of education. The views expressed here are only those of the attributed author, not YEP-DC. This blog aims to provide a forum for our group’s varied opinions. It also serves as an opportunity for many more professionals in DC and beyond to participate in the ongoing education conversation. We hope you chime in, but we ask that you do so in a considerate, respectful manner. We reserve the right to modify or delete any content or comments. For any more information or for an opportunity to blog, contact us via one of the methods below. BloggersMONICA GRAY is co-founder & president of DreamWakers, an edtech nonprofit. She writes on education innovation and poverty. Archives
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