Description: In 2006, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began to dig deeper into the nation's educational effectiveness by grading all 50 states and Washington, DC, on their K-12 school systems in order to identify both leaders and laggards in the tough business of school performance. The Chamber assembled a diverse group of experts and partners to look at education performance and reform from a business perspective including an emphasis on coupling academic outcomes with attention to key business metrics: innovation, flexibility, management, and fiscal prudence. Interactive parts require Flash.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/
Description: This report covers topics such as victimization, fights, bullying, disorder, weapons, student perceptions of school safety, teacher injury, and drugs and alcohol. Indicators of crime and safety are compared across different population subgroups and over time. Data on crimes that occur outside of school grounds are offered as a point of comparison where available. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES - http://nces.ed.gov/index.asp), located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Use the search and the drop down topics menu to find more: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/ Lots of cool stuff, so poke around a bit!
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/default.cfm
Description: Measuring Up 2006 grades states, not students or individual universities, on their performance in higher education. The states are responsible for preparing students for higher education by means of sound K–12 school systems, and they provide most of the public financial support—$72 billion currently—for colleges and universities. The report cards are published every two years. Previous report cards were published in 2000, 2002, and 2004. From The National Center For Public Policy and Higher Education.
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports.asp
Description: All Pew reports and memos are based on research, surveys and analysis and in some cases on the work with research partners. Reports fit loosely into eleven topic areas: Online Activities & Pursuits; Demographics; Internet Evolution; Technology & Media Use; Health; Family, Friends & Community; Major News Events; Public Policy; E-Gov & E-Policy; Education; and Work. Also includes presentations that you can use or repurpose (http://www.pewinter net.org/presentations.asp), links to sites they used as resources (http://www.pewinternet.org/links.asp), or down and dirty facts from their research (http://www.pewinter net.org/trends.asp).
http://www.wainhouse.com/files/papers/wr-k-12-us-stateaudit.pdf
Description: Not many people realize that almost 25% of U.S. public schools have group videoconferencing systems, and that almost 1% of all classrooms have group systems – not counting PC-based technologies. Penetration varies widely state by state, and this white paper ranks each state by total classrooms and by percentages of schools with videoconferencing. From Wainhouse Research Reports. See also White Papers for more topics (http://www.wrplatinum.com/default.aspx?Relo=1&HMID=7& SMID=30) and Rich Media Briefings (http://www.wrplatin um.com/default.aspx?SMID=91). Access to some reports requires subscription (free).
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