Scores Stagnate at High Schools

Scores Stagnate at High Schools by Stephanie Banchero, WSJ.com

Despite modest gains in college-readiness among U.S. high-school students in the past few years, new data show that fewer than 25% of 2010 graduates who took the ACT college-entrance exam possessed the academic skills necessary to pass entry-level courses.

• How Prepared Is the Class of '10?

San Jose Unified's online school a first in the Bay Area

San Jose Unified's online school a first in the Bay Area by Sharon Noguchi, SJ Mercury

San Jose Unified's Liberty Online is aimed at independent learners who don't thrive in traditional schools. It is open to any student in grades 6-12 living in Santa Clara County. The school targets truants and students who are 70 or more credits behind.

The Official SAT Online Course

In my opinion, CollegeBoard's The Official SAT Online Course™ is #1! If you are outside of the United States and/or don't have access to a SAT tutor and/or need to use your time and money efficiently, The Official SAT Online Course™ offers the best solution for the best value.

Also check out:

• SAT Practice Home
• The Official SAT Question of the Day™
• Practice Questions
• The Essay
• Full Practice Test
• Answers Imagined
• Skills Insight™

Why Johnny’s College Isn’t What It Used to Be

‘Higher Education?’ By ANDREW HACKER and CLAUDIA DREIFUS Reviewed by STEVEN KNAPP, NYTimes Book Review

Two academics pose questions about the degree to which universities’ main purpose — for them, the teaching of undergraduates — is being undermined.

• Also see: Education Life: Essay Adapted From ‘Higher Education?’ (July 25, 2010)

The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

Long Live the Internet!

The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet
By Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff, Wired.com, August 17, 2010

Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting. Chris Anderson explains how this new paradigm reflects the inevitable course of capitalism. And Michael Wolff explains why the new breed of media titan is forsaking the Web for more promising (and profitable) pastures.

• The Web Is Dead? A Debate


• How the Web Wins


• How Do Native Apps and Web Apps Compare

As Private Tutoring Booms, Parents Look at the Returns

As Private Tutoring Booms, Parents Look at the Returns By PAUL SULLIVAN, NYTimes Wealth Matter column

Wealthy parents pay a lot for their children’s tutors, and they usually expect more than improved grades. "[Tutors] are now being used far more to guide students through particularly tough courses, insure their grades are equal to or above their peers’ and, in the end, polish a child’s college application."

UC Berkeley is top public university in U.S. News' annual college rankings

UC Berkeley is top public university in U.S. News' annual college rankings AP

UC Berkeley once again is the highest-ranked public university in the nation in the latest edition of the influential U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" list**.

**The 2011 U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" list is available at bookstores/newstands. You can buy the "web only" 2011 College Guide for $19.95 and the web/book for $24.95.

Santa Clara University's Global Social Benefit Incubator

Social entrepreneurs bring lessons to Silicon Valley by Mike Cassidy, SJ Mercury News
Nineteen social entrepreneurs have come to Santa Clara University to learn the ins and outs of building a successful enterprise. But it turns out these leaders of for-profit and non-profit companies have a lot to teach Silicon Valley about the real challenges of running a business.

Do Universities Discriminate against Asian-Americans?

Do Universities Discriminate against Asian-Americans? KQED 88.5FM, Forum 03/26/2010

A look into elite universities found that many Asian-Americans are denied admission, despite higher test scores and grades than students of other races. Does this mirror discrimination against Jews in academia in the 1950s and 60s, or does it reflect universities struggling to maintain diversity? We'll also look into new admissions policies at the University of California which critics say will reduce the number of Asian-Americans allowed in. (download mp3)

• Angela Suh Um, founder and chief consultant with the Boston Academic Consulting Group and former employee in the admissions departments of MIT and Harvard
• Daniel Golden, editor at large at Bloomberg News and author of "The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges -- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates"
• Ling-Chi Wang, retired professor of ethnic studies and Asian-American studies at UC Berkeley
• Mark Rashid, professor of civil engineering at UC Davis and former chair of the UC's Admission Board (2006-2008)

Thanks, Candace Hardy!

UC Berkeley will not send students DNA results

UC Berkeley will not send students DNA results by Victoria Colliver, SFGate.com

Under pressure from state public health officials, the professors behind UC Berkeley's controversial plan to genetically test incoming fresshman and transfer students.

How to Find Cheaper College Textbooks

How to Find Cheaper College Textbooks By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD, NYTimes BUCKS blog

"College textbook prices rose about 6 percent, on average, every year — that’s twice the rate of inflation — from 1986 to 2004. And there’s nothing more infuriating than paying the sticker price on textbooks (well, with the exception of tuition itself), when many other books are available at a discount. The cost of buying the textbooks can easily add up to $1,000 a year or more."

Question on Test Scores Is Tweaked on the Common Application

Question on Test Scores Is Tweaked on the Common Application By JACQUES STEINBERG, NYTimes, the Choice Blog

"This year’s version of the Common Application, which went live on the Web late on the evening of July 31, includes something of a tweak on the section in which applicants are asked to self-report their standardized test scores to the colleges they are applying to. (Official reports will, of course, be sent to those colleges directly by the scorers of the SAT and ACT, respectively.)"

The First Common Application for the Class of '15

The First Common Application for the Class of '15 By JACQUES STEINBERG, NYTimes, the Choice Blog

"This year’s version of the Common Application was due to be posted online around 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 1 — it wound up going up a few minutes earlier — and I wondered: How soon had the first application been sent in, by whom and why?"

Pulling an All-Nighter for the College Application

Pulling an All-Nighter for the College Application By JACQUES STEINBERG, NYTimes

As more students each year seek to get the earliest possible jump on their applications, deans of admission are sounding a cautionary note: a premium is placed on thoughtfulness, not speed.

Education: The Economic Issue of Our Time

WH.gov: Education: The Economic Issue of Our Time

President Obama speaks about the link between higher education and economic prosperity and calls on the United States to lead the world in the percentage of college graduates in remarks at the University of Texas. August 9, 2010.

MUST READ: Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

CTForum.org: Joseph Ellis discusses the Presidency (3 min).

Joseph John Ellis is a Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College who has written influential and award-winning histories on the Federalist period. His book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2000) received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2001.

Founding brothers: the revolutionary generation, 2000

• Google Books preview
• Mr Brandon's Book Review (4 min video)
• Reading Group Guide
• Gonzaga Study Guide
• Founding Brothers History Channel DVD
• Adapted Lesson Plan for the DVD (anticipate your teacher's questions!)

Other Books by Joseph J. Ellis:

• First Family: Abigail and John Adams, Oct 2010
• American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic, 2008 (Google Books overview)
• His Excellency: George Washington, 2004 (Google Books preview)
• After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture, 2002 (Google Book preview)
• Passionate sage: the character and legacy of John Adams, 2001 (Google Books preview)
• American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, 1997 (Google Books overview--no preview)
  

China Girls Math Olympiad

GO USA MATHGIRLS!

Three of the eight members of the US team to compete in the 9th annual China Girls Mathematical Olympiad; Cynthia Day, 15; Lynnelle Ye, 18; and Jing Jing Li, 16. (Patrick Tehan, Mercury News)

Three South Bay students head to China Girls Math Olympiad by SHARON NOGUCHI, SJ Mercury, 08/03/2010

Eight girls will represent the United States at the 2010 China Girls Math Olympiad this week in Shijiazhuang, about 170 miles northeast of Beijing. Three of the eight competitors come from the South Bay: Cynthia, who will be a junior at Lynbrook High in San Jose; Lynnelle Ye, a graduate of Palo Alto High; and Shiyu "Jing Jing" Li, who graduated from Cupertino High.

Interested? See: MAA American Mathematics Competitions

For American Students, Life Lessons in the Mideast

For American Students, Life Lessons in the Mideast By JENNIFER CONLIN, NYTimes 08-06-2010

More college students are choosing Arabic-speaking countries for study-abroad programs, to experience the Mideast beyond America’s viewpoints.

• Slide Show: New Paths in the Mideast

Bombas Nucleares Detonadas 1945-1998 by Isao Hashimoto

Bombas Nucleares Detonadas 1945-1998 (Isao Hashimoto) (via BoingBoing)

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto's "1945-1998" is an animated map showing the 2,053 nuclear explosions that took place around the world during the 20th century, from the detonations at Alamogordo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to the tests conducted by India and Pakistan in 1998.

ACT Prep

Next ACT Test Date: September 11, 2010

Registration Deadline: August 6, 2010

The ACT (American College Testing) is a standardized test for US college admission produced by ACT, Inc. The ACT multiple-choice tests cover English, Math, Reading, and Science. There is also an optional Writing test.
ACT Resources:

• ACTstudent.org QUESTION OF THE DAY


• ACTstudent.org Practice Questions (on FaceBook)


• Amazon.com ACT Test Prep Resources


• Barron's ACT Books
• CollegeConfidential: SAT & ACT Discussion Boards


• Kaplan ACT Online Course


• McGraw-Hill 10 ACT Practice Tests, 3rd or 2011 Edition 4 book test, 2 cd-rom tests, 2 online tests)
• OnlineTestPrep: SAT or ACT


• Peterson's ACT FAQs


• Princeton Review ACT Online Course


• SparkNotes ACT


• Test-Guide.com ACT

The standardized-test smackdown by DAVID KAPLAN, Fortune/CNNMoney.com, 11/30/2009

The makers of the SAT and ACT are fighting for market share as more college-bound students sit for entrance exams.

ACT vs. SAT by MICHELLE SLATALLA, NYTimes 11/04/2007

"Now, with some Ivy League schools rejecting nine of 10 qualified candidates, applicants are looking for any edge to improve their chances. Many, particularly those in traditional SAT territory, are taking both tests and submitting the higher score or both scores. . . But not everybody has the time or money to prepare for both tests. And the truth is, most probably don’t need to. While the tests have distinct personalities — the ACT is curriculum-based, while the SAT is aimed more at general reasoning and problem-solving skills — spokesmen for both say their formats favor only one type of student: the one with a good grasp of material taught in rigorous high school courses."

Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age

Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age By TRIP GABRIEL, NYTimes

Many students simply do not grasp that using words they did not write is a serious academic misdeed.

Harvard Business Stays Small in Asia

WSJ: Harvard Business School Won't Open Asian Campuses

Harvard Business Stays Small in Asia by Duncan Mavin, WSJ.com

Harvard Business School's new dean ruled out opening campuses in Asia to tap huge demand from students in the region.

MUST READ: Michael Macrone

PURPLE for 2400!

The "Brush Up" series by Michael Macrone familarizes the reader with the three pillars of"Western Civ": The Bible, Greek/Roman thought, and Shakespeare.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare!: (1990) An Infectious Tour Through the Most Famous and Quotable Words and Phrases from the Bard

It's Greek to Me: Brush Up Your Classics (1991): A guide to common sayings and concepts deriving from classical literature

By Jove!: Brush Up Your Mythology (1992) A guide to common sayings and concepts deriving from Greek and Roman mythology.

Brush Up Your Bible! (1993) A guide to common sayings and concepts deriving from the Bible

Eureka!: What Archimedes Really Meant and 80 Other Key Ideas Explained (1994) A tour through the "great ideas" of Western culture.

Brush Up Your Poetry!: A Many-Splendoured Tour of the World's Best-Loved Verse (1996) An overview of Western poetry.

"The Disappearing Spoon": The fascinating history of the periodic table

"The Disappearing Spoon": The fascinating history of the periodic table by Sam Kean, Salon.com

A new book turns the story of chemical discovery into an engrossing, adventurous read. Follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.