Podcast: Pre-K Bills in Congress, Cracks in the Credit Hour and More

This week’s education podcast — available through iTunes and the In the Tank blog – begins with discussion of the recent movement by the 113^th Congress on early learning. Starting with President Obama’s call to expand preschool access in his State of the Union Address, Congress has introduced of a number of early education bills in the past three months. For more details on the legislation currently being considered by the 113^th Congress, see our coverage on the Early Ed Watch blog. Listen in to learn more.

 

In higher education news, Amy Laitinen, deputy director of the Education Policy Program at New America, blogged on Higher Ed Watch about a recent letter released by Department of Education officials. This letter encourages colleges and universities to use federal financial aid to pay for competency-based learning. While most federal financial aid is awarded based on credit hours – which is a time-based measure – this move by the Department demonstrates a significant shift for prioritizing learning over seat time.

 

On the podcast, Amy talks a bit about competency-based learning, as well as potential implications for the Department’s letter for higher education. She also discussed the role of the Department’s Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI) in cracking the credit hour.

 

Finally, the podcast also features analysis by Clare McCann, program associate at New America, on the NCAA March Madness final four schools. While these schools may excel in school spirit, Clare discusses several measures that highlight lower student outcomes, especially for low-income students. For additional information about the March Madness schools, see Clare’s full coverage on the Higher Ed Watch blog.