Wednesday, January 26, 2011

School Libraries and literacy report

In order to support the UK's School Library Commission's evidence base, this paper explores what young people actually think about school libraries.
Christina Clark (2010) Linking School Libraries and Literacy : Young people's reading habits and attitudes to their school library, and an exploration of the relationship between school library use and school attainment. National Literacy Trust http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/5760/Linking_school_libraries_and_literacy_2010.pdf

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

NAEP Science report

Gender, Ethnic Gaps Revealed in Science Assessment
The results are in for the latest National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in science, and those results are grim, especially at the 12th grade, where 40 percent of students failed to attain even a "basic" level of proficiency. The test also revealed an enormous gap between the lowest- and highest-performing ethnic groups, as well as smaller but still significant gaps in achievement between males and females.
National Assessment of Education Progress. 2010). Nation's report card: Science 2009. Washington, DC: US Dept. of Education.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011451

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Ebook report

This new study examines trends and developments in the eBooks and eReaders market in the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany, and discusses major challenges and key questions for the publishing industry worldwide. It also identifies market opportunities and developments for eBooks and eReaders, and makes recommendations for publishers, traditional retailers, online retailers, and intermediaries.
PriceWaterhouse. (2011). Turning the page; the future of ebooks.
http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/entertainment-media/publications/future-of-ebooks.jhtml

Library perception report

“OCLC’s newest membership report, Perceptions of Libraries, 2010, a sequel to the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, will be available soon. The new report provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online habits, preferences, and perceptions. Particular attention was paid to how the current economic downturn has affected the information-seeking behaviors and how those changes are reflected in the use and perception of libraries."
OCLC. (2011). Perceptions of Libraries, 2010.
http://www.oclc.org (available end of January)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Math reports

While a recent report asserts that U.S. students are far behind students in most other developed countries in mathematics achievement, a review of the study released today finds that it makes deceptive comparisons and exaggerates small differences, rendering the study useless in helping educators improve U.S. students’ math performance.

The Harvard study compared the percentages of U.S. students in the 50 states and 10 urban districts who performed at an advanced level in mathematics on the 2005 NAEP with estimated percentages of students in other countries who would have reached that same level had they taken the NAEP 2005 mathematics assessment. The report indicates that most of those countries had far greater percentages of high achievers than the United States did.

Find Jeremy Kilpatrick’s review on the NEPC website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-us-math

Find U.S. Math Performance in Global Perspective by Eric A. Hanushek, Paul E. Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann on the web at:
http://educationnext.org/teaching-math-to-the-talented/ (abridged)
http://tinyurl.com/2czgu4p (unabridged)

Quality Counts report

2011 Quality Counts Grades the States, Analyzes Challenges Ahead
Education Week's 15th annual Quality Counts report takes a close look at the economic landscape facing U.S. education and the challenges ahead for school systems. It also analyzes states' student achievement, education policy and finance, and other indicators of education quality.
Education Week. (2010). Quality Counts 2011.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2011/01/13/index.html?Intc=EW-QC11-EWH