Links for 11/30/09

Ofer Malamud

I find that individuals from Scotland, where specialization occurs relatively late, are less likely to switch to an unrelated occupation compared to their English counterparts who specialize early. This implies that the benefits to increased match quality are sufficiently large to outweigh the greater loss in skills from specializing early, and thus confirms the important role of higher education in helping students discover their own tastes and talents.

Thomas Dee and Brian Jacob

Our results indicate that NCLB generated statistically significant increases in the average math performance of 4th graders (effect size = 0.22 by 2007) as well as improvements at the lower and top percentiles. There is also evidence of improvements in 8th grade math achievement, particularly among traditionally low-achieving groups and at the lower percentiles. However, we find no evidence that NCLB increased reading achievement in either 4th or 8th grade.

HAROLD E. FORD JR., LOUIS V. GERSTNER JR. AND ELI BROAD

The administration is resisting the temptation to award funds to as many states as possible. And that's good…

If the administration were to simply spread the funds around, Race to the Top would end up supporting incremental, not transformational, change. The time is right for bold, comprehensive reform—even if only in a handful of states…

Quick Takes

The student union of the University of British Columbia has filed a complaint with the United Nations, seeking to have it declare that tuition increases in Canada violate the country's commitment to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Mary Sheehy Moe

...graduates of the Montana university system's two-year schools are borrowing more per degree year than graduates of the state's public four-year universities, statistics show. That's despite the fact that tuition at two-year schools averages 30 percent lower than four-year schools