Grades are broken. Students grub for them, pick classes where good ones come easily, and otherwise hustle to win the highest scores for the least learning. As a result, college grades are inflated to the point of meaninglessness--especially to employers who want to know which diploma-holder is best qualified for their jobs. An alternative is to…

Education Scotland's publication, "External Quality Arrangements for Scotland's Colleges, Updated August 2013," specifies that HM Inspectors will produce a number of subject aspect reports over the four-year period 2012-16. This report reviews college admission policies, procedures, and the criteria used when selecting applicants for a…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent of "over-qualification" (i.e. holding a qualification which is above that required to gain entry to the job being done) and "skills under-utilisation" (i.e. being in a job which does not make use of the knowledge and skills possessed) in the United Kingdom and to…

Key system challenges identified by the Abu Dhabi Education Council provided the impetus for an aggressive strategic plan as necessary guidance and support for the development of the P-12 education system to contribute to advancing its positioning in the global knowledge economy. For the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the analysis served as a tool…

Students of color in low-income schools are 3 to 10 times more likely to have unqualified teachers than students in predominantly White schools. These disparities in teacher distribution matter greatly: Research consistently shows that teacher quality is one of the most important variables for student success and that teachers with stronger…

The purpose of this article is to analyze the meaning and presumptions of competence in the concrete context of knowledge capitalism. First, the nature of competence as a "commodification of human ability" that obtains a standardized monetary value to sell in the labor market, is elucidated by applying Karl Marx's critical theory. Second, it is…

During the early Nineties the proportion of UK graduates doubled over a very short period of time. This paper investigates the effect of the expansion on early labour market attainment, focusing on over-education. We define over-education by combining occupation codes and a self-reported measure for the appropriateness of the match between…

This report introduces the New Mexico Public Education Department's executive staff and 2006 annual report. Areas reported include: (1) Academic Rigor and Accountability; (2) Closing the Achievement Gap; (3) School Readiness; (4) Quality Teachers; (5) Parent and Community Involvement; (6) Investing in 21st Century Classrooms; (7) Building College…

The "Core Indicators of Effectiveness Report" delineates the performance of Wyoming's community colleges as measured by the 14 indicators set forth by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and adopted by the seven Wyoming community colleges and the Wyoming Community College Commission. These indicators, while providing…

Reports the results of the 13th Annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools sponsored by the National Associations of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, and the Kettering Foundation. A companion poll appears in the September 1981 issue of the "Phi Delta Kappan." (WD)

A study examined how educational indicators such as high school diplomas, grades, courses taken, and experience are used by employers for hiring purposes. Data were collected through participatory observation (the researcher applied for entry-level and temporary jobs and worked for a few months) and a literature review. The results showed no…

As a followup to "Standards Mean Business," the National Alliance of Business publication prepared for the 1996 National Education Summit, this publication highlights some of the many ways in which business leaders are working with educators and community leaders to bridge the gap between school and work and to support high academic standards. The…

In February 2005, Achieve and the National Governors Association sponsored a National Education Summit on High Schools at which governors from 45 states, business leaders and education officials addressed the preparation gap that leaves many high school graduates unprepared for success in college and the workplace. The Summit helped focus the…

For decades it has been a commonly held belief that high school students planning to go to college need to take more rigorous coursework than those going directly into the workforce. Today, however, many employers are convinced that in an expanding global economy, entry-level workers need much the same knowledge and skills as college-going…

The report describes research strategies to explore the relationship between literacy and employment and to incorporate the influence of job skills with California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) students at Cabrillo College (California). The overall design tests the literacy and job skills of study participants before and…