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New York Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Wants Admissions Data on Grades and Race, but Who Will Collect It?
President Trump's new requirement mandating that colleges share more data about their students could help conservatives who have argued that elite universities discriminate against white and Asian students. But the Trump administration's push to force colleges to be more transparent about the race, test scores and grades of applicants may run into a problem. Since taking office in January, the administration has fired nearly everyone who worked at the National Center for Education Statistics, the statistics branch within the Department of Education that would be responsible for the new data collection effort. Of about 100 employees who worked at the National Center for Education Statistics, just four remain. 'Who is going to analyze that data?' said Angel B. Pérez, chief executive of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. In his second term, President Trump has often taken a paradoxical approach to education, pushing to diminish the federal government's role, even as he tries to wield its power. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Haunted By A Phantom Gap Year
I recently attended a college graduation of a close family member. I hadn't been to a school graduation in a few years, particularly due to…you guessed it… the pandemic lockdown. With fresh eyes, I sat and marveled at the pageantry in this process. What always gets me is the animated excitement that African-American families display. They are truly thrilled about the academic accomplishment of their relative, who almost floats across the stage. This contrasted sharply with the ways that white families generally express for their graduates. From my experience, I determine that Black families have a lower percentage of immediate relatives with a college degree than white families. Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics back up that assumption. In addition, the average college graduate tends to earn significantly more income over a lifetime career than a person who stopped with a high school degree. This perspective justifies plenty of the boisterous shouts in the arena bleachers. I felt a wave of nostalgia as I witnessed the graduates at their commencement. I once was that Black college graduate walking across the stage to accept my degree. As I walked, I knew that I had no solid job offers once I finished my education. Plus, I had the pressure of making payments on student loans once it was reported that I was no longer a full-time student. A few months after graduation, I was blessed and relieved to land a professional job. For transparency's sake, I'll also share that I grew up in a strict household. My mother, in particular, wielded a strong will in defining expectations for her sons' behavior while we lived under her roof. This parenting technique benefited us as we maintained good grades throughout school. However, this same dynamic was detrimental as I progressed through college. I remember moments in my college years when I was with my friends at bowling or hanging out that I would need to call home. Out of respect for my mom, I'd call to say that I needed to extend the time I initially stated I would leave the gathering. She never understood because I'd set an expectation earlier. More often than not, she'd demand that I return home. Considering that I was driving the family car and still lived at home, mom had an outsized influence on my young adult life. Thus, I had high hopes when I moved away to start my career. I could finally regulate the flow of my social life independently. I was single and ready to mingle! I felt like I was the king of my world, but I soon discovered that the world would get much slower. Many people who I tried to engage in plans for nights out had 'been there, done that." When I finally met folks who didn't mind traveling four hours roundtrip to Chicago or even for an overnight trip, time would prove that many of those travel friends were only there for a season. We still speak later in life, but moments shared together have become few and far between. This brings me to the topic of the 'gap year.' This was a foreign concept to me until I heard that one of the members of the most prominent African-American family in the US was taking one. Malia Obama had decided to defer her entrance into college to enjoy a year off after her high school graduation. Details of this gap year concept center around her traveling and exploring the world as a young adult with the energy to do it and minus responsibilities such as children or property. I was astounded by this opportunity she took. This turn of events blew a fuse in the minds of many African-Americans pursuing the standard path for higher education. The 'hows' of funding Malia's gap year were understandable since the Obama family was so successful. Still, she was interrupting a pattern that was an ingrained tradition for most African-American families. I've felt haunted by the revelation of this 'gap year' option. While I am now well into a career that utilizes my college degree, I have accumulated responsibilities over time that make taking an extended leave prohibitive. American culture has an aversion to resting during the workday…or even resting at all. The 'You sleep, I grind' culture is a prevalent mindset in America for the 18–62ish employee set. As I am moving through achieving this traditional 9–5 work expectation I have been conditioned to meet, the benefits I could've potentially accrued through extended interaction with the wider world may be fading. Here's the thing: will we Americans be financially fit and healthy enough in our senior years to enjoy exploring the world in retirement? The advantages of taking a gap year are that young minds and bodies absorb novel experiences whose benefits will help them as they pursue careers and later responsibilities. These young people know themselves better, and their goals are more focused. With that knowledge, they have a longer period to successfully execute those goals. Employers and communities are better off with well-rounded citizens who have worldly perspectives. Maybe in the multiverse, there's an alternate version of me lightly lamenting over lagging tech skills due to him setting different life goals based on travels during a gap year. That guy may've tried many jobs. Lived in a variety of locations. Intermittently 'frustrated' parents who were insistent on him plowing through the tried-and-true path to a degree and then to a profession. However, maybe the satisfaction from that alternate, immersive route would've provided the strength of mind to offset others' apprehensions about him taking a year to discover himself in the world. This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Joel A. Johnson's work on Medium. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The 10 most popular college majors and median salaries
Collegebound students wondering about the most popular majors would do well to consider statistics from Utilizing data from the National Center for Education and Statistics (NCES) and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the site identified the most popular majors and their median annual salary as of May 2023. Business came in first place with popular areas of specialty including Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Analytics, Marketing, Management, and Supply Chain Management/Logistics. Median Annual Salary: $79,050. Healthcare took second place and includes majors such as Nursing, Public health, Sports Medicine, Healthcare Administration, and Health Informatics. Median Annual Salary: $80,820. Social Sciences and History ranked third. Common specializations include Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, Criminology, and Sociology. Median Annual Salary: $78,280. Biological and Biomedical Sciences came in fourth place. Majors include Biology, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Environmental Science, and Microbiology. Median Annual Salary: $92,100. More: Five ways to avoid, reduce college debt | College Connection Psychology took fifth place with common specializations in Behavioral Psychology, Child & Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Organizational Psychology. Median Annual Salary: $92,740. Engineering ranked sixth with popular areas of specialty including Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Industrial, and Aeronautical Engineering. Median Annual Salary: $92,420. Computer and Information Sciences came in seventh place. Popular specializations include AI Engineering, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Information Systems, Network Security, Software Engineering, and Web Development. Median Annual Salary: $104,420. Visual and Performing Arts ranked eighth and includes Animation, Art History, Dance, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Music, Photography, Video Game Design, and Interior Design. Median Annual Salary: $51,660. Education came in ninth place and includes all levels of education: elementary, middle school, and secondary education. It also covers all subject areas. Median Annual Salary: $59,940. More: Demonstrated interest bolsters acceptance rate | College Connection Communications and Journalism ranked 10th. Popular areas include Advertising, Public Relations, Editing, Media Communication, and Technical Writing. Median Annual Salary: $66,320. Students wondering about the difficulty of various fields might be interested in learning that Engineering and Biomedical Sciences are considered among the most challenging and time-intensive majors. Majors considered among the easiest include Visual and Performing Arts, Communications and Journalism, and Education. Also helpful to note, according to the BLS, is that the highest median salaries are for Biological & Biomedical Sciences and Computer & Information Sciences. But the Biomedical Science majors typically pursue advanced degrees after graduating from college while the Computer & Information Science majors usually go straight into the workforce. Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit or call 908-369-5362. This article originally appeared on The 10 most popular college majors and their median salaries Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Black Men Are Vanishing From HBCUs. Here's Why
In 2023, Black male enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) dropped to its lowest point in nearly half a century. Just 28,000 Black men were enrolled across all HBCUs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That is more than a data point. It is a signal of a deeper crisis in American education. To understand why fewer Black men are in college, you have to look at who has been missing from classrooms for decades: Black teachers. After Brown v. Board , more than 100,000 Black educators were pushed out of the profession, disrupting a legacy of mentorship, cultural grounding, and academic success. Marchellos Scott (R) helps Morehouse College students fill out a voter registration form at a ... More college registration booth on August 19, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Scott, 21, a student organizer at the college — a private, historically Black university in Atlanta for men (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP) (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images I did not have a single Black male teacher in grade school or high school. Before I ever had a Black male teacher or even saw one in a classroom, I met a woman who taught me what school could be. Why HBCUs matter for Black student success According to a 2019 Johns Hopkins study, having just one Black teacher in elementary school can significantly increase the chances a Black student will graduate. Yet, 80 percent of public school teachers are white, and less than 2 percent are Black men. Ms. Selma Newton was not a principal or a civil rights icon. She was the librarian at my nearly all-Black elementary school on Chicago's South Side. She wore her hair natural, dressed in tweed skirt suits, and treated Black children as if we were the absolute center of the universe. 'My Black children,' she would exclaim, smiling as she threaded the film projector with a documentary or assigned Story of Our People , a radio show that told the history of the civil rights movement. Ms. Newton did not just teach us our history. She insisted we understand our role in it. It is only in retrospect that I realize how rare that experience was. I did not know then that for generations, teachers just like Ms. Newton had been the backbone of Black education. That is, until they got pushed out. Black Teachers Once Anchored Public Education. Then They Were Pushed Out 5/17/1954-Washington, DC: Attorneys who argued the case against segregation stand together smiling ... More in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building after the High Tribunal ruled that segregtion in public schoolsis unconstitutional. Left to right are: George E.C. Hayes, Washington, DC; Thurgood Marshall, special counsel for the NAACP; and James Nabrit, Jr., Progessor and Attorney at law at Howard University in Washington. Bettmann Archive Most Americans learn that Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation in schools. But we rarely hear about what else it did. The 1954 Supreme Court ruling also sparked the near-total dismantling of the Black teaching profession. Before Brown , nearly half of all college-educated Black Southerners worked in education. In the 17 states with legally segregated schools, Black teachers made up between 35 and 50 percent of all educators. But when Black students were supposedly integrated into white schools, their teachers and principals were left behind. Black schools were shut down. Tens of thousands of Black educators were demoted, dismissed, or quietly pushed out. Dr. Leslie Fenwick, dean emerita of Howard University's School of Education, calls this 'Jim Crow's Pink Slip.' And she makes it plain: 'The wholesale firing of Black educators was not an unintended consequence of desegregation—it was an unstated goal.' The system that replaced them was never built for the students they left behind. That loss was not just about jobs. It was about identity, safety, and belonging. When I started high school at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, there was only one Black teacher in the building: Mr. Arthur Reliford. He taught biology and coached basketball, but more than that, he was the school's cultural anchor for Black students. Though I never had him in class, he looked out for me. He was the soft landing in a place that was too hard on Black men and boys. Fewer Black Teachers Means Fewer Black Students in College Today, Black children make up more than 15 percent of America's public-school population. But only 7 percent of teachers are Black, and just 2 percent are Black men. And that 2 percent matters. One Black teacher between kindergarten and third grade increases a Black student's likelihood of graduating high school by 13 percent and attending college by 19 percent. For low-income Black boys, it cuts the dropout rate by nearly 40 percent. WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: A student at Howard University campus walks past a digital screen in ... More Washington, D.C., Monday, October 25, 2021. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post via Getty Images If you want to know why so few Black students go to college, it lies in that one number: 2 percent. This figure reflects a severe lack of representation and role models in education. According to the Learning Policy Institute, students of color perform better when taught by teachers who reflect their racial or ethnic background. If only 2 percent of teachers were white women, similar gaps in educational outcomes would likely raise national alarm. It took until junior year of college before I saw a Black man at the head of a classroom. The course was The Black Religious Experience . It was taught by the Reverend Dr. John Cartwright. Dr. John Henderson Cartwright was born in Louisiana in 1933. He studied at Morehouse College, where his classmates included Barbara Jordan and Martin Luther King Jr., and earned advanced degrees in theology and philosophy. In 1976, he became the first Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University, where he taught until retiring in 2004. Cartwright was widely respected for his scholarship and steady presence in academic and ethical discourse, particularly in the development of Black religious studies and social ethics curricula. Black And Latinx Children Learn Better From Black And Latinx Teachers—Study Finds On the first day, in a nearly all-white classroom, he wrote the course title on the board. 'Black,' it read. Some students immediately questioned the language. Should it not be 'African American'? Was 'Black' outdated? Cartwright let the conversation swirl. Then, after a long pause, he looked at me—the only Black student in the room—winked, and said, 'We will stick with Black.' It was the first time I felt fully seen in a college classroom. Happy African American schoolboy giving high-five to his teacher during class in the classroom. getty Why Black Boys Leave There is a line people like to say about Black boys: 'Not everyone is meant for college.' That is a phrase you do not hear from a Black immigrant parent. The truth is, Black boys are not dropping out. They are being pushed out. Over the years, new barriers replaced the old ones. As education became more standardized, so did teacher licensing. Certification exams weeded out thousands of Black candidates. Between 1984 and 1989 alone, more than 21,000 Black teachers lost their jobs. More recently, reforms like charter school expansion and school choice have only deepened the erasure. These 'innovations' often hired younger, less experienced (and whiter) educators and sidelined community-rooted Black teachers. And it had ripple effects. It pushed out Black fathers, too. Fathers who once saw teachers they related to, who used to feel welcome in school spaces. Despite the myth of the absent Black father, CDC data shows that Black dads are among the most engaged in the country. But the school system was not built for their presence. It was designed to manage their absence. Rebuilding the Black Teacher Pipeline Starts in High School But this story is not just about loss. It is also about what is still possible. In Philadelphia, Sharif El-Mekki is leading the Center for Black Educator Development. He is training a new generation of teachers in what he calls the Black Teaching Tradition, a way of teaching rooted in African history, civil rights movements, and community. SHARIF EL-MEKKI, FOUNDER/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CENTER FOR BLACK EDUCATOR DEVELOPMENT Sharif El-Mekki El-Mekki knows firsthand the power of culturally grounded education. He grew up attending a Pan-African school where 'Black history' was not a unit. It was the curriculum. In fifth grade, he took political science. His class was named after an African liberation movement. Guest speakers included Angela Davis and Sonia Sanchez. That education shaped him. 'I embraced the idea that the purest form of activism was teaching young Black children well,' he says. But El-Mekki also experienced the system's failings. After surviving a shooting at age 20, he saw clearly how different his life was from the young man who shot him. Same neighborhood. Same age. But radically different outcomes. El-Mekki went on to teach and later became a principal. He founded the Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice and eventually launched the Center for Black Educator Development. Black teachers cut misdiagnoses and lift outcomes Today, his center is rebuilding the Black teacher pipeline starting as early as ninth grade. Students who take part in the program receive stipends, mentorship, and college support. 'About 25 to 30 percent of our apprentices are young Black men,' he says. Compare that to the national average, only 1.3 percent of teachers are Black men, and you see why his work matters. The Center also focuses on retention. Their model supports new teachers with culturally responsive training, coaching, and a $20000 stipend in their fifth year. 'Being a Black male teacher in America is like being a Black man in America,' El-Mekki says. 'Same burdens. Same brilliance. Same resistance.' Sometimes what students need most is not a curriculum. It is a connection. Studies by the Search Institute and the Learning Policy Institute have shown that students with strong, trusting relationships with educators, especially those from similar backgrounds, experience improved academic performance, greater motivation, and stronger school engagement. What If? What if every Black boy had a Ms. Newton to introduce him to the history he came from? What if he had a Mr. Reliford to watch his back? What if he had a Dr. Cartwright to wink at him across the room? What if he had a Sharif El-Mekki to show him the way? We have spent decades blaming failing schools on poverty, parenting, and student behavior. But systemic disinvestment in majority-Black schools, teacher testing policies that disproportionately failed Black candidates, and hiring biases have played a larger role. Between 1984 and 1989 alone, more than 21000 Black teachers were removed due to certification test reforms that were never normed for racial bias. The question is not why Black boys are not going to college. The question is: What would it take to build an education system that actually wants them there? To read more pieces like this, subscribe to Vanilla is Black, my newsletter on race, power, and the economy.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Charlene Andersson Champions Emotional Safety in Classrooms as Key to Student Success
Veteran educator calls for nationwide focus on social connection and confidence-building in education reform LOS ANGELES, CA / / June 2, 2025 / With over 28 years of experience in California public schools, award-winning educator and certified educational therapist Charlene Andersson is using her platform to advocate for a nationwide shift in how schools define-and measure-success. Her message: emotional safety and student connection are not just nice-to-haves; they are critical to academic growth. "Success doesn't start with a test score," said Andersson. "It starts when a student feels safe enough to take a risk, speak up, or ask for help. That's where real learning begins." Andersson, who received the Japanese International Educators Award in 2005 and held the highest standardized test scores in her district for a decade, attributes her results to student-centered strategies. One such example is her use of "looping," where students stayed with her for up to three years by parent request. "Students who feel seen and understood are more likely to engage deeply with learning," Andersson said. "That's not theory-that's decades of experience." The numbers support her point. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, students who report strong relationships with teachers are 32% more likely to feel confident in their abilities, and a study by CASEL found that school programs integrating social-emotional learning see an 11% gain in academic achievement. Andersson recalls one student who was socially isolated but fascinated by the Mars Rover. She turned his passion into a collaborative class project that led to a provisional patent and a letter of encouragement from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. "He went from isolated to celebrated," she said. "That kind of transformation doesn't come from a worksheet. It comes from creating a classroom culture where every student belongs." Andersson is calling on schools and education policymakers to prioritize social-emotional learning (SEL), build teacher training around relationship-building strategies, and give teachers time and autonomy to support students holistically. "We need to stop treating SEL like an add-on," she urged. "It's the foundation. Without it, we're just checking boxes." In addition to her classroom work, Andersson has created arts education programs for children at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House, authored three children's books, and served on the California Board for Gifted Students. About Charlene Andersson Charlene Andersson is a professional educator and certified educational therapist based in Los Angeles, California. With nearly three decades in public education, she is known for her student-first teaching philosophy, her work with gifted and special needs students, and her advocacy for compassionate, connected classrooms. Today, she continues to mentor fellow educators, speak at conferences, and push for systems that value empathy as much as academics. "We ask kids to meet our standards," she said. "But first, we have to meet their needs." Media Contact Charlene Anderssoninfo@ SOURCE: Charlene Andersson View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
