THINK TANK ROUND-UP: LANGUAGE AS A CULPRIT EDITION.

Wed May 6 18:52:17 UTC 2009

If it's Tuesday, it's TTR. This week, we're showcasing a unique
collaboration between the left and the right on education reform, a
specific look at the education challenges for the Latino population,
an argument in favor of keeping the Social Security retirement age as
is, and an analysis of the job-creating potential of transportation
investments.

Can't spell "education" without…AEI? In a remarkable joint venture
between the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise
Institute, "nonpartisan" proposals are laid out to deal with the
troubling state of affairs in public education. The publication
details systemic failures: 70 percent of eighth-graders cannot read on
grade level, 1.2 million high school students drop out each year, and
only 50 percent of African American and Hispanic students graduate
with a high school diploma. It appears the ideologically disparate
think tanks reached several policy compromises. In exchange for CAP
support of competition through charter schools and multiple
kindergarten providers, AEI conceded its hard-line stance on
localization, signing off on a policy to encourage common standards
that transcend state lines. An agreement was also reached to support
the development of comprehensive data systems to help principals,
teachers, and students gain timely access to important information.
These systems could aggregate information on both individual students
and teachers over time, ensuring a greater degree of support for those
who may fall behind. Though we shouldn't overstate its significance,
this document has potential as a guide for an achievable consensus on
education reform. -- JL

The harsh realities of Latino education. After whites, Latinos are the
second-largest group of students in the U.S. -- and only 58 percent of
them graduate high school. In a report released last week, the
National Council of La Raza examines the ills facing Latinos in the
U.S. education system, from Early Head Start (infants and toddlers) to
post-secondary education. Most Latinos are educated in schools with
poor resources, and they have a harder time getting financial aid for
higher education. Language is a culprit, as is school funding. Though
Latino students are by and large native-born U.S. citizens, 40 percent
are English Language Learners, most of whom drop out of high school --
in eighth grade, two thirds of ELLs score below the basic achievement
level for math and reading, so it's no wonder why. The report suggests
that Latinos would be a useful benchmark to gauge the efficacy of
education reform. -- CP

Retirement age: yet another class disparity. [PDF] The Economic Policy
Institute has a new research paper arguing against raising the Social
Security retirement age. The paper reveals the class and race biases
underlying arguments for raising the age that Social Security
recipients can access their benefits. As educated, high-income workers
with "interesting and secure jobs" many of those making these policy
suggestions do not see postponing retirement as a big deal, but it is
a whole different world for low-income workers who have spent their
lives working in grueling manufacturing or sales jobs. For these
workers, life expectancy hasn't grown much and they get fewer years of
retirement, on average, than their higher-income counterparts. In
short, we should not make sweeping policy changes based on the
assumption that all social classes will be able to shoulder the burden
of later retirement equally. -- JB

If it's Tuesday, it's TTR. This week, we're showcasing a unique
collaboration between the left and the right on education reform, a
specific look at the education challenges for the Latino population,
an argument in favor of keeping the Social Security retirement age as
is, and an analysis of the job-creating potential of transportation
investments.

Can't spell "education" without…AEI? In a remarkable joint venture
between the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise
Institute, "nonpartisan" proposals are laid out to deal with the
troubling state of affairs in public education. The publication
details systemic failures: 70 percent of eighth-graders cannot read on
grade level, 1.2 million high school students drop out each year, and
only 50 percent of African American and Hispanic students graduate
with a high school diploma. It appears the ideologically disparate
think tanks reached several policy compromises. In exchange for CAP
support of competition through charter schools and multiple
kindergarten providers, AEI conceded its hard-line stance on
localization, signing off on a policy to encourage common standards
that transcend state lines. An agreement was also reached to support
the development of comprehensive data systems to help principals,
teachers, and students gain timely access to important information.
These systems could aggregate information on both individual students
and teachers over time, ensuring a greater degree of support for those
who may fall behind. Though we shouldn't overstate its significance,
this document has potential as a guide for an achievable consensus on
education reform. -- JL

The harsh realities of Latino education. After whites, Latinos are the
second-largest group of students in the U.S. -- and only 58 percent of
them graduate high school. In a report released last week, the
National Council of La Raza examines the ills facing Latinos in the
U.S. education system, from Early Head Start (infants and toddlers) to
post-secondary education. Most Latinos are educated in schools with
poor resources, and they have a harder time getting financial aid for
higher education. Language is a culprit, as is school funding. Though
Latino students are by and large native-born U.S. citizens, 40 percent
are English Language Learners, most of whom drop out of high school --
in eighth grade, two thirds of ELLs score below the basic achievement
level for math and reading, so it's no wonder why. The report suggests
that Latinos would be a useful benchmark to gauge the efficacy of
education reform. -- CP

Retirement age: yet another class disparity. [PDF] The Economic Policy
Institute has a new research paper arguing against raising the Social
Security retirement age. The paper reveals the class and race biases
underlying arguments for raising the age that Social Security
recipients can access their benefits. As educated, high-income workers
with "interesting and secure jobs" many of those making these policy
suggestions do not see postponing retirement as a big deal, but it is
a whole different world for low-income workers who have spent their
lives working in grueling manufacturing or sales jobs. For these
workers, life expectancy hasn't grown much and they get fewer years of
retirement, on average, than their higher-income counterparts. In
short, we should not make sweeping policy changes based on the
assumption that all social classes will be able to shoulder the burden
of later retirement equally. -- JB

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=05&year=2009&base_name=think_tank_roundup_language_as

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