What We're Reading: Week of November 8, 2021
I hope everyone had a wonderful week. We gathered articles this week that cover integrating real-world math through data science, dual enrollment as a solution to COVID-19 equity gaps, the growing interest in community college bachelor’s degrees, and more. Thanks for reading with us!
Curriculum
Can Data Literacy Be Fun? The Census Bureau Is Building An App For That, EdSurge
A group of graduate students is creating a free app to help teachers build data literacy skills in the classroom. They’re working hand-in-hand with the Opportunity Project, a program led by the federal Census Open Innovation Labs that brings technologists and community advocates together to solve problems.
Equity
Faced with soaring Ds and Fs, schools are ditching the old way of grading, Los Angeles Times
There is a growing trend in which educators are moving away from traditional point-driven grading systems, aiming to close large academic gaps among racial, ethnic and economic groups.
High School
AP, High School Equity and College Admission, Diverse Education
By itself, test-optional admissions will fail to promote diversity at America’s colleges, especially at elite institutions, writes Anne Kim.
Dual Enrollment Can Help Fix the High School-to-College Pathway for Students Hit Hardest by COVID-19, The 74 Million
Dual enrollment is a recovery strategy with promise to support communities most impacted by COVID-19. But it will take commitment to reduce the barriers that stop low-income, rural, Black and Hispanic students from participating.
Higher Education
Community college bachelor's degrees gain traction, report finds, Higher Ed Dive
Support for community colleges with bachelor's degrees has recently been gaining more traction: seven of the 24 community college baccalaureate, or CCB, states have been authorized in the last five years, according to the report.
More California Latino students attending college, but 'disturbing gaps' remain, EdSource
The number of students of Latino descent who are applying, attending, and graduating from public colleges and universities in the state has increased in recent years, but more needs to be done, according to a report released by Campaign for College Opportunity.
Middle School
Fueled by Grants, States Bet Innovative Career Training Programs Will Lure Disengaged Youth Back to School After COVID — Starting in Middle School, The 74 Million
Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced $25 million in new grants in two states and nine cities — the latest in a series of initiatives by private donors and state and civic leaders — to boost promising career-pathway programs at a time when they are particularly suited to addressing educational inequities widened by COVID.
To attract more students to STEM fields in college, advocates urge starting in sixth grade, Hechinger Report
Early interventions attempt to funnel more students to science, technology, engineering and math.
Student Supports
The ‘absolutely essential’ role of Black counselors on campus, EdWeek
Amid calls for schools to diversify their teaching staff, some are saying those efforts should extend beyond the classroom — to the counseling office.
Counselors say students' SEL skills just as important as academic development, K-12 Dive
Students' self-management skills, such as self-discipline, self-control and self-motivation, are some of the most difficult social and emotional practices to learn but also the most important to develop, according to a report issued jointly by the American School Counselor Association and ACT, a nonprofit that provides college and career readiness programs and assessments.