Extra Credit Reading: Tuesday, November 28, 2006

As it's Science Tuesday, we humbly submit for your approval Diane Ravitch's in-depth look at our students' disappointing performance in science on standardized assessments as well as her call for improved access to better science instruction for all students but more especially from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Is controversial California school board member Steve Rocco a realist who cuts to the chase or is he simply a certifiable whack job? (See certifiable backstory here and there.)

Three "counter-recruiters" (people who actively discourage enlistment by young people in the military) dropped in on a high school campus in Homer, Alaska, earlier this year to pass-out anti-recruiting flyers. Asked to leave, they declined and were subsequently arrested and charged with trespassing. It looks as though the case of the "Homer Three" has now reached its conclusion.

Ouch! For every 100 ninth-graders, only 18 will enter college and finish within six years. Two-thirds of college students must now borrow money to pay for their education while the average student-loan debt for those attending public colleges has jumped to $17,250... -------------------------------See our latest EduPosts and yesterday's Extra Credit Reading.