More states are adopting high school exit exams that assess college and career readiness instead of focusing on state curricula standards, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The Center on Education Policy at George Washington University's new report, "State High School Exit Exams: A Policy in Transition," showed that public schools in eight of 26 states that administer exit exams geared the tests toward meeting college-readiness standards, such as the Common Core State Standards. An additional 10 states plan to adopt similar measures in the future, according to The Chronicle. This shift comes at a time when more than 60 percent of community college students and about 90 percent of undergraduates are taking remedial courses as a result of inadequate postsecondary education preparation in high school, according to The Chronicle.
Brown University and Columbia University are among 17 colleges that have elected to partner with Coursera, a leading provider of massive open online courses as part of a growing initiative to expand access to education, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Wednesday. Coursera, which opened in January, has over one million students already enrolled. Some colleges, including Emory University, are considering seeking profit from their new partnerships with Coursera by offering certificates for successful course completion. Many of the colleges, among them the Berklee College of Music, Wesleyan University and the University of Melbourne, consider the partnership an experiment and may expand their course offerings after a trial run, according to The Chronicle.
An investigation by the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General led to the indictment of 21 individuals involved in federal financial aid fraud rings, according to an Education Department press release. The investigation shut down seven fraud rings that collectively stole more than $700,000 worth of federal aid through at least 15 California-based schools, most of which were online-only education providers. These long-distance, online education programs do not require physical proof of identity, facilitating widespread fraud, according to the Tuesday release. The investigation is part of a department initiative that has led to the indictment of more than 300 people involved in fraud rings.
