Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Those with degrees still enroll!

These days, thousands of people who enroll in community college programs already have four-year degrees — or more — in hand. Almost 11,000 students pursuing an associate's degree or a diploma in the N.C. Community College System in 2006 had a bachelor's degree. More than 2,500 students had a master's degree or higher. The reason for pursuing another degree is usually related to job marketability.

Read more at:http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/NEWSREC0101/70624001

Friday, June 22, 2007

Diplomas Count

A new report published in Education Week looks at the skills required to get jobs in every state and concludes that, at both the state and national level, people need to complete at least some college to earn a decent wage.

The report bases such findings on an analysis of data from two sources: a U.S. Department of Labor database that classifies jobs based on the education, training, and experience that they require, and U.S. Census Bureau statistics showing how many people work in various types of jobs and how much they earn.

"At both national and state levels, our research shows that a high-school diploma alone is not sufficient for students to access the jobs that will provide a real future and to thrive in our economy," said Christopher B. Swanson, who conducted the analysis as director of a research center affiliated with the newspaper.

In other findings, the report estimates that about 30 percent of ninth graders fail to graduate from high school with their peers four years later. For black males, the four-year graduation rate is 46 percent; for Hispanic males, it's 52 percent.

Based on an examination of state policies, the report says that just 11 states define what students should know and be able to do to be prepared for credit-bearing courses in college, and 14 states are working on a definition. Twenty-two states require high schools to administer exit examinations, while three others plan to do so. The number of states basing their exit exams on standards set at the 10th-grade level or higher has risen from six in 2002 to 18 in 2007. —Peter Schmidt

Read the entire article at http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2007/06/12/index.html

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know

Just fun with words

Press Release

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know by Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries (Editor)
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BOSTON, MA — The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know.

"The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."

The following is the entire list of 100 words:

  • abjure
  • abrogate
  • abstemious
  • acumen
  • antebellum
  • auspicious
  • belie
  • bellicose
  • bowdlerize
  • chicanery
  • chromosome
  • churlish
  • circumlocution
  • circumnavigate
  • deciduous
  • deleterious
  • diffident
  • enervate
  • enfranchise
  • epiphany
  • equinox
  • euro
  • evanescent
  • expurgate
  • facetious
  • fatuous
  • feckless
  • fiduciary
  • filibuster
  • gamete
  • gauche
  • gerrymander
  • hegemony
  • hemoglobin
  • homogeneous
  • hubris
  • hypotenuse
  • impeach
  • incognito
  • incontrovertible
  • inculcate
  • infrastructure
  • interpolate
  • irony
  • jejune
  • kinetic
  • kowtow
  • laissez faire
  • lexicon
  • loquacious
  • lugubrious
  • metamorphosis
  • mitosis
  • moiety
  • nanotechnology
  • nihilis
  • mnomenclature
  • nonsectarian
  • notarize
  • obsequious
  • oligarchy
  • omnipotent
  • orthography
  • oxidize
  • parabola
  • paradigm
  • parameter
  • pecuniary
  • photosynthesis
  • plagiarize
  • plasma
  • polymer
  • precipitous
  • quasar
  • quotidian
  • recapitulate
  • reciprocal
  • reparation
  • respiration
  • sanguine
  • soliloquy
  • subjugate
  • suffragist
  • supercilious
  • tautology
  • taxonomy
  • tectonic
  • tempestuous
  • thermodynamics
  • totalitarian
  • unctuous
  • usurp
  • vacuous
  • vehement
  • vortex
  • winnow
  • wrought
  • xenophobe
  • yeoman

Monday, June 11, 2007

Presidential Campaigns Create Student Jobs

Job prospects for college graduates are looking up thanks to the 2008 presidential candidates. Eighteen contenders and counting translates into plenty of campaign hiring of promising but untested newcomers, especially in states with early nominating contests. Laurin Manning is taking a break from law school to work as Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's jack-of-all trades, earning about $2,300 a month. Her office walls are bare, and her title for weeks was a work in progress. Read more at:http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/08/ap3803068.html