Keeping up my end of the conversation as policy wonk

I love reading policy reports and position papers. Think what you like, I just do. I’d like to pass along two recent reports from the Pew Charitable Trust, one of my favorite think tanks.

The first report “paint(s) a rich and complex picture of the role that digital technology plays in people’s social worlds.” But the big surprise is that social media sites (SMS) are playing an increasing role in the lives of older people (e.g. in my life what I’m doing right now) and a decreasing role in the lives of 18-22 year-olds.

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks.aspx

The second report responds to the question being bantered around a lot these days: “Is College Worth It? College Presidents, Public Assess Value, Quality and Mission of Higher Education.” One of my colleagues mentioned that the question should be: “What is college worth?” To society? To the workforce?

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1993/survey-is-college-degree-worth-cost-debt-college-presidents-higher-education-system

Someone better do the numbers. A majority of college presidents believe that students are less prepared than they were 10 years ago. And the NYC Report Card tells us that the first noticeable improvement in reading and math scores appears in this year’s fourth graders. So we can expect at least another eight years of more of the same or worse.

Strategic planning anyone? It sure wasn’t “No Child Left Behind.”

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