Google Play Store Apps Violating Data-Privacy Law

According to a study published by researchers affiliated with the International Computer Science Institute, thousands of free apps available in the Google Play store are potentially violating a major federal data-privacy law intended to protect children from online tracking. According to research, more than half of thousands of Android apps in the “Designed for Families” section of the Google Play store potentially violated COPPA, or the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The study also examines how efforts by Google to limit tracking through the use of a resettable advertising ID has had little success.

Reyes, I., Wijesekera, P., Reardon, J., Bar On, A. E., Razaghpanah, A., Vallina-Rodriguez, N., & Egelman, S. (2018). “Won’t somebody think of the children?” Examining COPPA compliance at scale. Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, 3, 63-83. https://petsymposium.org/2018/files/papers/issue3/popets-2018-0021.pdf

Student Achievement Gaps Widen

Test scores released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed a widening gap between high- and low-achieving students. Moreover, the results reveal a concerning trend in which the nation’s highest-performing eighth graders inched higher, while the results for the lowest-performing students declined—an indication that achievement gaps are widening. In fourth-grade reading, the gap between the top 10% and the bottom 10% of students widened by four points. For eighth graders, national reading scores increased by three points—but only because students in the top 10% and top 25% scored higher. Scores for average and below-average students were flat. The results highlight the need for greater equity in literacy education.

The Nation’s Report Card (2018). How did U.S. students perform on the most recent assessments? United States: The Nation’s Report Card. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

The Use of Reference Resources

A new white paper published by Oxford University Press explores how students seek contextual information to support a range of activities central to their studies. The study’s large-scale survey of undergraduate and master’s students found that reference content supports a range of core activities for independent study. Whilst research is the most commonly identified, class preparation, general reading, and studying for exams were also identified by a majority of students as cases in which they would seek contextual information to support their work. This applies consistently across the full range of subject-areas, and across the regions examined. In sum, this study suggests a new perspective in the debate on the place of reference resources in the current information environment.

Oxford University Press (2018). Paths to reference: How today's students find and use reference resources. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.

https://global.oup.com/academic/content/pdf/pathstoreference.pdf