The GSV Big 10: MASA!
Trump University 2.0? Choice in the Heart of Texas? DOE DOA?
Chart of the Week
The Big 10:
Texas Clinches a School-Choice Majority | WSJ Opinion
Despite being in the deep bright red heart of Texas, school choice had been thwarted by agents of the enemy within Governor Abbott’s own party. To the Governor’s immense credit, he targeted 11 Republicans who hadn’t supported school choice in last week’s election, and defeated 8 of them. Now, the Lone Star State is poised to pass a Texas-size school choice program with 5 million students able to benefit.
Make America Smart Again! | @chamath on X
Provocateur Chamath Palihapitiya of “All In” podcast fame with a tweet that we can all agree on. The Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) co-head pipes in with his two bits.
Cheating Has Become Normal | The Chronicle of Higher Education
With the magic trick of generative AI, cheating has never been easier. For students, it has always been a problem. When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object you potentially have an unsolvable problem. Here, I think it compels us to rethink what “cheating” actually is and what the goal of education is…let’s find a way to use the powerful new technology to learn cheaper, faster, and better…at the speed of light. For those who want to beat the system, they are only defeating themselves.
It used to be a notoriously violent prison. Now it’s home to a first-of-its kind education program | CalMatters
We need to make prisons prep schools. 80% of the prison population are high school dropouts, and many don’t have the education required to be gainfully employed after leaving prison. California’s Pelican Bay Prison partnered with Cal Poly Humboldt to create an innovative and effective program to provide a unique path from learning to earning.
OPINION: We can do better than remedial ed | Hechinger Report
Historically, if an incoming student to a two year university wasn’t proficient in math or English, they’d have to take a remedial course to be admitted..this impacted 40% of incoming students. Because of the extra time and cost, it created another barrier to graduation, with a disproportionate number of these students dropping out. Co-requisite courses that create a gateway without as much friction have been shown to be far more effective, especially for disadvantaged populations.
Could a Trump Presidency Cost Columbia University $3.5 Billion? | The Free Press
There is a new sheriff in town and there are billions of reasons why Columbia might want to get its act together. The sickening antisemitism that was on full display has piqued a lot of interest in the economics of the institution. There is $1.33 billion in federal grants and another $800 million in research funding that could be impacted. There is another $800 million in tuition from the nearly 14K international students. An endowment tax could cost another $300 million in lost cash to spend a year.
Early Data Signals Enrollment Cliff for College Freshmen | Whiteboard Advisors
The headlines of higher education student growth for both undergraduate and graduate programs would seem like good news, but what’s going on beneath the surface tells a different story. Freshman enrollment is actually down 5%, and amongst public universities, it’s off nearly 10%. Sure, the disastrous rollout of FAFSA had an impact, but the truth of the matter is that high school graduates are increasingly questioning the value of a full-blown college education. And high school enrollment has reached a peach.
So You Want To Abolish The Department Of Education? Here’s What You Need To Know. | Forbes
Founder and President of the Center for Education Reform Jeanne Allen gives her prescriptive approach on how to make the DOE more effective. Jeanne’s four-point plan includes increasing school choice and higher ed funding, looking at support for unique groups of students, and Title 1 funding. While there are growing cries to get rid of the Department of Education, my cheap-seat view is it’s not time to get rid of the DOE, but to reimagine and reinvigorate it.
How The Ivy League Broke America | The Atlantic
David Brooks gives a comprehensive and insightful perspective on how we got to the place where the majority of Americans don’t trust our institutions or the people who run them. Historically, the leaders of society have been developed at our elite universities, but here we are where those institutions seem upset with regular people, and what once was a ticket to be a leader increasingly is branded as a loser. We need to make elite mean excellence and not exclusivity, and make sure that opportunity is not based on where you went to school or who your parents are, but by your intelligence, energy, and initiative.
Donald Trump Details Plan to Create the ‘American Academy’ to Provide Free Higher Education to All Citizens | Tennessee Star
#47 is proposing the American Academy, a free online university available to everybody. As articulated, the American Academy will be funded by taxing some of the largest private university endowments. Removing friction from aspiring students getting the education they need by removing cost and geographical limits are steps in the right direction, but the proof in the pudding will be how good the product is and what opportunities are created from graduating.
BONUS: A Star President’s Resignation Was a Mystery. Was It All About Rankings? | The New York Times
We see the writing on the wall and it says “U.S. News…you lose.”
ICYMI: Patrick Gilligan is building the future of mental health support for teenagers ⬇️
