Falling Out of the Lead: Following High Achievers Through High School and Beyond

A previous Education Trust report, "Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color", described inequities at the high end of the achievement spectrum and found that gaps at the advanced level on the 12th-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have generally stagnated or grown over the past decade. In this report, we want to explore the experiences of these high-achieving students. We examine the trajectories of students who are high-achieving when they enter high school and document their success on key indicators of postsecondary readiness, including high school course-taking, performance on AP exams and college admissions tests (SAT/ACT), academic GPAs, and college enrollment patterns. Our intention is to drill down further and understand if and on what indicators initially high-achieving students of color and low-socioeconomic status (SES) students are getting off track in high school. By better understanding such patterns, we hope educators can look at their practices with a fresh eye and think anew about how to provide truly rigorous opportunities that will best support students of color and low-SES students who are already high-achieving. This responsibility, of course, also lies with elementary and middle schools, but there are actions that high school educators can take now to improve experiences for these students. Schools like CAHS provide some insight into how this work is being done

Structure of the Canola and Biodiesel Industries

The biodiesel industry in the United States has grown significantly in recent years. Production increased from 25 million gallons in 2004 to an estimated 250 million gallons in 2006, and many new plants are being built. Most biodiesel in the United States is produced from soybean oil, but canola offers characteristics which make it a favorable feedstock for biodiesel production. Characteristics of canola oil also make it an increasingly popular choice for human consumption. This study examines the structure of the biodiesel and canola industries. Specifically, the study describes changes in the biodiesel industry, trends in canola production in the United States and Canada, profitability and production risk for canola, the characteristics of canola oil for both human consumption and biodiesel production, the profitability of biodiesel production, and the potential to meet the demand for biodiesel production in the United States.Canola, Biodiesel, Vegetable oil, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Voice Off: American Sign Language at RWU

RWU’s sign language courses helps students learn unique skills and communication method in courses where words are rarely spoken

A Taste for Comet Water

This website presents the story of Comet LINEAR, which broke apart in 2000, revealing what many scientists thought all along - water in Earth's oceans could have come from outer space. The article discusses findings from the breakup of Comet LINEAR and the possibility of water in its composition. Educational levels: General public, High school, Middle school

The New Face of Jim Crow: Voter Suppression in America

The radical right wing in America has developed an array of subtle and overt methods to suppress voter registration and turnout. The methods are targeted to constituencies most likely to oppose right-wing causes and candidates: low-income families, minorities, senior citizens and citizens for whom English is a second language.Some voter suppression is unintentional, the result of applying or misapplying changes in voting laws. However, voter suppression today is overwhelmingly achieved through regulatory, legislative and administrative means, resulting in modern-day equivalents of poll taxes and literacy tests that kept Black voters from the ballot box in the Jim Crow era.Couched in feel-good phrases such as "voter security" and "anti-voter fraud," these measures limit voter registration, turn voters away from polling places, and cast doubt on the validity of ballots. For example, stringent voter ID rules that require photo ID at the polls sound reasonable, until the estimated up to 12 percent of eligible voters who do not have a driver's license are figured in. And while "anti-fraud" measures sound good, in truth there is little evidence of organized voter fraud anywhere in the nation, while voter suppression tactics are varied and widespread.The Radical Right strategy of turning out base supporters while suppressing the votes of its opponents has often been successful. Legislatures controlled by far-right conservatives now determine the voting laws and how redistricting is conducted in many states. Governors, secretaries of state, and other election officials, supported by the Radical Right, now administer many states' elections. This report, by no means comprehensive, provides a brief overview of various suppression techniques so that citizens, community activists and the news media can recognize similar attempts as patterns of voter suppression emerge across the country

Falling Like Autumn Leaves: Cutler\u27s Brigade at Gettysburg

The 147th New York\u27s monument stands along Reynolds Avenue, silently (and incorrectly) marking where the regiment bravely fought and fell on that July day in 1863. The monument lists the brigade, division, and corps of the regiment, along with the various other battles that are part of the regiment\u27s story. It also lists the regimental losses as well - out of 380 men that started the fight on July 1, 212 men were killed and wounded. Placed by the veterans themselves, they knew what that monument represented. It represented the entire ordeal of their regiment and its brigade on the first day of Gettysburg. [excerpt