时间:2019-02-17 作者:英语课 分类:2019年VOA慢速英语(一)月


英语课

College Group Works 1 to Gather Data on Access, Completion


Unlike many other countries, the United States does not have one single governing body that sets education policy for the entire nation.


The Department of Education creates some rules. But the way in which schools operate is mostly decided 2 by the individual states. Some say this gives schools more freedoms to serve the different needs of different populations.


Yet many experts argue there is a need for a more united effort for exploring ways to improve the education system. This argument is especially common within the American higher education community.


For example, the Institute for College Access and Success last month released 3 a report calling for the federal 4 government to improve data reporting. The organization asked the government to create a single measurement 5 of job placements for college graduates.


But one organization has decided not to wait for the government to take action. Instead, it is aiming to create one of the largest joint 6 efforts to gather information about the higher education experience in the nation’s history.


Filling the holes left by the Department of Education


Ricardo Torres is the president of the National Student Clearinghouse, an independent, non-profit education organization. He says higher education community members created the organization nearly 15 years ago because of a lack of data reporting on the part of the federal government.


The Department of Education does have a system for reporting information about colleges and universities. It is called the Integrated 7 Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDs.


But Torres argues that this system is lacking in several ways. For example, up until 2017, it only published data on first-time, full-time 8 college students. Torres notes that, before 2017, the system did not look at part-time students and it did not publish the rate of college completion by low-income students receiving federal aid. Also, it still does not look at students who change schools.


Torres told VOA, “The fact that you have all these ways to complete a journey creates a giant complexity 9, and that’s called keeping track of who is actually completing and how institutions are able to help a learner along the way.”


This kind of information is very important, Torres says. It can affect how soon college students must begin paying back their student loans 10. And it greatly affects an institution’s understanding of how well it is serving its students.


The National Student Clearinghouse has worked with over 3,600 institutions to gather and share this kind of data. In 2017, it sought to expand these efforts by testing a new program: the Postsecondary Data Partnership 11, or PDP. As part of the testing, three state systems and several individual schools shared as much data as they could related 12 to student access to higher education, their academic progress and, finally, their successful completion of college.


In 2018, the PDP expanded to include a larger number of the National Student Clearinghouse’s partner institutions. Torres says the aim is to gather more data from even more institutions this year. This includes information on the kinds of classes students take, their performance in those classes and even their parents’ education background.


Once this information is gathered, PDP researchers process the data and present it to the institutions and other organizations. They aim to present the results in a clear, easy-to-understand way. They also make sure the information schools are reporting is correct, which is important considering they identified 6.5 million errors in the data they gathered last year, Torres says.


How this data is used


Bruce Vandal says these are exactly the kinds of tools his organization needs to be successful. Vandal is the senior vice 13 president of Complete College America, a partnership of 46 higher education systems and institutions. His group works to make sure that low-income, minority and first-generation students have the chance to attend and succeed in college.


Vandal calls the PDP the most centrally organized data collection effort yet. In the past, schools and education organizations were doing their own disconnected research, often repeating the work others had already done.


“On some level … the field has matured and actually has clarity 14 about the work that could be done,” said Vandal. “And so in that respect, it sort of represents progress in the field, whereas 15 before, you can imagine, everybody sort of had their own take and were looking at different sets of data.”


The Education Department may now be gathering 16 more data, but they still have not decided what their goals for that data are or how to use it, Vandal adds. Having one central body gathering and processing all this data reduces work for the institutions and the organizations they work with.


Instead, the institutions and organizations can spend more time examining efforts to support students, he says. For example, in the past, many institutions placed students who performed poorly in high school into special lower-level math and English classes. This was seen as a chance for these students to prove they were, in fact, ready to perform at the college level in those subjects.


But Complete College America found that a large number of students put in these classes never complete their education. These classes add to the traditional amount of time it takes to complete a study program. So, they increased education costs.


Now, Vandal notes, some institutions have begun to place lower-performing students in normal classes, but with additional 17 support services.


Ricardo Torres says the value of this data is so clear that other countries have asked his group for advice on how to gather information of their own.


I’m Pete Musto.


And I’m Dorothy Gundy.


Words in This Story


access – n. a way of being able to use or get something


placement(s) – n. the act of finding 18 an appropriate place for someone to live, work, or learn


graduate(s) – n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university


income – n. money that is earned from work, investments 19, or business


journey – n. an act of traveling from one place to another


giant – adj. very large


keep(ing) track of – phrasal verb. to be aware of how something is changing, what someone is doing


institution(s) – n. an established organization


academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education


background – n. the events and conditions that help to explain why something happens


error(s) – n. something that is not correct


mature(d) – v. to continue developing to a desired level


clarity – n. the quality of being clear



n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 );放开;发布;发行
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他,这倒容易。
adj.联盟的;联邦的;(美国)联邦政府的
  • Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
  • The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。
n.测量,衡量;(量得的)尺寸,大小
  • I can find the size of something by means of measurement.我可以用测量法求得某物的体积。
  • He has made an accurate measurement of my garden.他准确地丈量了我的花园。
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
a.整合的,完整的
  • A fully integrated low phase noise LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is presented.介绍了一种全集成的LC压控振荡器(VCO)的设计。
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
n.借出物,借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出,贷与(尤指钱)( loan的第三人称单数 );出借(贵重物品给博物馆等)
  • They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
  • Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
adj.有关系的,有关联的,叙述的,讲述的
  • I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
  • We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
n.清澈,透明,明晰
  • His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
  • Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。
conj.而,却,反之
  • They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子,而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
n.集会,聚会,聚集
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
adj.添加的,额外的,另外的
  • It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
  • I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。
n.发现,发现物;调查的结果
  • The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
  • That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
n.投资( investment的名词复数 );投资额;(时间、精力的)投入;值得买的东西
  • With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定,投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
aerial photographicsurvey
Akkol
barium hyposulfite
bebreak
betwine
block altitude
Blue Vinney
bone-glass
boundary bulkhead
Broughton Astley
Calycanthus
cardinal principle
CCL1
clearing-out sale
clinker void
cold rolled drawing sheet
communications act 2003
competition site
control language statement
depoliticalizations
distortion of lattice
distributed management facility
Dukes' disease
dusky-colored
dypnone
economic life time
electronic density
end relief angle
epi-dihydrotestosterone
excretory cell
falc
farmingville
fixer-uppers
focked
germanic oxide
gigaku (japan)
governing mechanism
gypsiorthid
Hemsleya chinensis
intercropped
international silk association
Jubilee, Year of
juvenile case
kalt
lelyly
logarithmic wind shear law
M.a.s
magnetic bit extractor
manufacturing information
municipal tax
Myrtillocactus
no voltage relay
non linear field theory
non-executive function
on general release
out of relation to
over-engineer
overcrowded city
PCTCP
phenolphtalein
Pola de Lena
post-modem
postvulcanization
pressurized fluidized bed combustion combined cycle units
pyranosides
radiobiological effect
rain storm
rube goldbergs
Schlenk flask
self-caused
Severodvinsk
sharing electron
ship-shore radio teletypewriter
shot of chain
skister
solids flow meter
sound stage width
special weapon security
spin-wave resonance
squared rubble
steam temperature control(stc)
supercompany
superleagues
switch oil tight
the pleasures of flesh
the subconscious
thrust-journal plain bearing
toppy
torpifies
toxic inflammation
triplate
turning period
tuymans
urostealith
vapor air mixture
viaticum
vibro beam accelerometer
virial theorem
vivacest
waiting-time
weathering capacity
yellow lady-slipper