Study Finds Cheaters Overestimate Academic Abilities

In four experiments detailed in the March Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that cheaters pay for the short-term benefits of higher scores with inflated expectations. Researchers found that a majority of students cheat at some point during high school, and the likelihood of cheating increases, even though most students consider it wrong. Fifty-nine percent of public and private high school students admitted to having cheated on a test, including 55 percent of honors students, the study found. Researchers suggest that students who cheat often deceive themselves into thinking they can perform well in the future without cheating. Researchers said thinking is used to justify or distance students from the act of cheating, but will often cause long-term damage to their professional and academic habits.

Harvard Business School and Duke University, 2011, http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/03/02/1010658108.full.pdf+html

Study Reveals Fewer Dropout Rates in Schools

The number of U.S. schools with such poor graduation rates fell by 6.4 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a report. In 2008, the nation had 1,746 schools with graduation rates no higher than 60 percent. That number fell by 112, to 1,634, the following year. From 2008 to 2009, there were 183,701 fewer students attending these low-performing schools, an 8 percent drop. These numbers are presented in an update to the November 2010 report, "Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic."

Johns Hopkins University Everyone Graduates Center, America's Promise Alliance, and Civic Enterprises, 2010-2011 Update, PDF link here

National Survey of College Preparedness

A majority of teachers in the U.S. believe that schools are not doing enough to prepare students with diverse learning needs for success after high school, according to a nationwide survey. Ninety-one percent of the public school teachers interviewed for annual survey said that strengthening programs and resources to help “diverse learners” (students with low-income status, limited fluency in English, or learning disabilities) become college- and career-ready should be a priority in education. More than half of the teachers (59 percent) indicated it should be one of schools’ highest priorities. None of the other education reform strategies presented in the survey received as great a consensus.

The findings are being released in two reports:

• Part 1: Clearing the Path examines the importance of being college- and career-ready, what this level of preparation includes, and what it may take to get there.

• Part 2: Teaching Diverse Learners looks at differences in student needs, how teachers address them and how well students feel their needs are being met.

MetLife, 2011, http://www.metlife.com/about/corporate-profile/citizenship/metlife-foundation/metlife-survey-of-the-american-teacher.html?WT.mc_id=vu1101

KIPP Charter Schools Receive More Tax Dollars

A new nationwide study researchers found that the KIPP network, one of the fastest-growing and most academically successful charter groups, has received more taxpayer dollars per student than regular public schools. By analyzing Department of Education databases for the 2007-8 school year, researchers determined that the KIPP network received $12,731 in taxpayer money per student, compared with $11,960 at the average traditional public school and $9,579, on average, at charter schools nationwide. The study said that KIPP also generated $5,760 per student from private donors, based on a review of KIPP’s nonprofit filings with the Internal Revenue Service. KIPP officials dispute the report, saying it significantly overstates the amount per student that the network receives from both public and private sources.

Western Michigan University, March 2011, PDF link here

Library Use of eBooks, 2011 Edition

The report presents 145 pages of data and commentary on a broad range of eBook issues, including: spending on eBooks in 2010 and anticipated spending for 2011; use levels of various kinds of eBooks; market penetration by various specific eBook publishers; extent of use of aggregators vs offering by specific publishers; purchasing of individual titles; use of various channels of distribution such as traditional book jobbers and leading retail/internet based booksellers; use of eBooks in course reserves and interlibrary loan; impact of eBooks on print book spending; use of eBooks in integrated search; price increases for eBooks; contract renewal rates for eBooks; use of special eBook platforms for smartphones and tablet computers; spending plans and current use of eBook reader such as Nook, Reader and Kindle; the role played by library consortia in eBooks;

Just a few of the study's many findings are that: impact of iPad and mobile computing on eBooks; spending on eDirectories and more.

Primary Research Group, Nov 2010, http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/3e52fb/library_use_of_ebooks_2011_edition

Web 2.0 Usage Increasing in K-12 Schools report

The use of Web 2.0 is increasing in K-12 schools. But, according to a new report, more widespread adoption is being hampered at least in part by teachers' lack of knowledge of how to use the technologies.

For the report, researchers surveyed 388 K-12 technology directors, leaders, and staffers across the country in an effort to gauge attitudes toward and adoption of social and collaborative Web 2.0 technologies, including student-generated content, teacher-generated content, social networking in an educational context, gaming, virtual learning environments, digital media, and communications technologies.

What the researchers found was that acceptance of Web 2.0 has increased since 2009--the first year of the survey--but that there are still some barriers to adoption, including some lingering perceptions of student "safety" risks, lack of technical support (including technical personnel), and lack of knowledge on the part of teachers of the effective use of Web 2.0 technologies. This last was, according to the researchers, "the most frequently cited human-related barrier to adoption."

On the positive side, more schools are reporting that significant portions of their teaching staff are creating their own content online. For the latest survey, 76 percent of districts reported that at least a quarter of all teachers create content online. This compared with 64 percent from the 2009 survey. Also up was the use of student-generated content by teachers, with 45 percent reporting that at least 25 percent of teachers use student-generated online work, compared with 32 percent in 2009.

Interactive Educational Systems Design on behalf of ed tech developers Atomic Learning, Lightspeed Systems, and netTrekker, 2011, http://www.digitaldistrictsurvey.com/pages/digital-districts

How Third Grade Reading Skills Influence Graduation study

Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation

This study finds that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave without a diploma than proficient readers. It is notable in breaking down for the first time the likelihood of graduation by different reading skill levels and poverty experiences.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation; Center for Demographic Analysis, University at Albany, State of New York; Foundation for Child Development, 2011, PDF link