• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Why Comparison Groups Are Not the Best Way to Rate Colleges

  Matthew M. Chingos | October 2, 2013 11:00am

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  The Obama administration’s plan to rate colleges based on student outcomes must be carefully honed to ensure fair comparisons between institutions. Matt Chingos argues that using comparison groups is a flawed approach to rating institutions and recommends that the Department of Education instead utilize regression adjustment to generate accurate ratings.

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  States' Merit-Based Aid Undermines the Aim of the Federal Pell Grant Program

  Beth Akers | September 25, 2013 11:00am

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  Beth Akers highlights the dissonance between federal Pell Grant and state grant aid programs, and suggests that states should reconsider their merit-based approach to aid delivery. Whereas the federal program delivers financial assistance to low-income students who might not otherwise attend college, state programs deliver a significant proportion of aid to high achieving students who are disproportionately from higher income households.  Read More

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  The Year of the Asterisk? California's Testing Proposal Subverts Test-Based Accountability

  Thomas J. Kane | September 18, 2013 11:30am

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  Thomas Kane reacts to California's recent announcement that it plans to abandon statewide testing in favor of field tests of the Smarter Balanced Assessment - without reporting results. Kane proposes alternative solutions for California and other states eager to accelerate the transition to the Common Core State Standards.

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  The DOJ Attempt to Block School Vouchers in Louisiana Undermines Civil Rights

  Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst | September 11, 2013 11:00am

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  In this week’s Chalkboard, Russ Whitehurst tackles the controversy surrounding the lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice has entered into opposing Louisiana’s voucher system. He argues that the DOJ’s attempt to block school vouchers in Louisiana undermines civil rights. 
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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Algebra II and The Declining Significance of Coursetaking

  Tom Loveless | September 4, 2013 11:00am

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  The Brown Center report “The Algebra Imperative” shows that current state, national, and international math assessments do not adequately measure how well American students are learning algebra.  Here, Tom Loveless elaborates upon a point made in the report: that taking and successfully completing an Algebra II course, which once certified high school students’ mastery of advanced topics in algebra and solid preparation for college-level mathematics, no longer means what it once did.  The credentialing integrity of Algebra II has weakened. 

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Big Challenges Ahead for President Obama's College Ratings

  Beth Akers and Matthew M. Chingos | August 23, 2013 12:00pm

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  In a special edition Chalkboard post, Beth Akers and Matthew Chingos react to President Obama’s call for a new rating system that will judge colleges based on accessibility for low-income students, affordability, and outcomes, including employment and earnings. They argue that many challenges face the creation of measuring college quality accurately and provide examples to illustrate those challenges.  Read More

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Ending Summer Vacation is Long Overdue—Here’s How to Pay for a Longer School Year

  Matthew M. Chingos | August 7, 2013 11:00am

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  Matthew M. Chingos tackles whether summer vacation should come to an end. He argues that states can afford to lengthen the school year by increasing class size. Despite the achievement gains lost due to increased class size, he says the increase in days in school will result in a positive effect on achievement.

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Moving on to the Real Issues in Student Lending

  Beth Akers | July 31, 2013 11:00am

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  Beth Akers dispels the pervasive theme in the narrative surrounding student loans that a crisis is on the horizon. She shows that cases of exorbitant debt burdens represent the experiences of a very small minority of borrowers and says we need to rethink the proposition that more student loan debt necessarily leads to greater financial hardship.

  
  

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Obama's Preschool Proposal is Not Based on Sound Research

  Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst and David J. Armor | July 24, 2013 11:00am

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  Russ Whitehurst and David Armor warn that advocates of universal pre-K and Obama’s proposal for Preschool for All ground their policy preferences in findings from a selected group of research studies that are problematic. They examine the limitations of several recent studies that carry considerable weight in the policy debate.  Read More

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• Brown Center Chalkboard

  Courts Will Expect Evidence on Race-Neutral Admission Options in the Aftermath of the Fisher Case

  Thomas J. Kane | July 17, 2013 11:00am

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  In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Fisher v. University of Texas, Thomas Kane argues that if higher education leaders expect to preserve race-conscious admissions policies, they will need to assemble much clearer evidence on the feasibility of race-neutral options. He provides a possible way to investigate the trade-offs involving race-neutral approaches to generating diversity.  Read More

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