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VOA慢速英语--美国将改革“大学记分卡”计分模式

时间:2018-11-20 23:10:34

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US National Average Data Removed from ‘College Scorecard’

There are many things for students in the United States to consider when thinking about which college or university to attend. This includes the location of the school, whether it is in a big city or the countryside, the size of the student population, and even how well known the school is.

But as the cost of U.S. higher education keeps rising, another consideration for many students is return on investment.

Not all colleges and universities require a lot of money for a student’s education. But at some schools, students can expect to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars within the normal four-to-six year study period. If they have to spend that much, students want to know what they can expect to earn in their chosen career field.

In 2013, then-U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration launched an online tool to help students decide which college or university to attend. It is a Department of Education-operated website called College Scorecard.

The department created the website as a database for all kinds of information on schools across the country. It lists information on yearly costs, average student debt, completion rates and expected job earnings1.

The Obama administration put all this data in one place as a way of providing answers to questions about higher education.

“We know students and families … often … feel they lack the tools to … decide which school is right for them,” noted2 then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Critics raised questions about whether the data treated all schools fairly and whether it was helping3 some schools, but not others. Some were concerned that the website was designed only for students receiving financial aid from the federal government. And others argued that the data failed to demonstrate the student experience at some schools.

But generally speaking, College Scorecard has been a useful tool for Americans wanting to make informed decisions about higher education. So says Kaitlyn Vitez, higher education campaign director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The group, also known as U.S. PIRG, is an alliance of activist4 non-profit organizations across the country and in Canada.

A major change to the 'College Scorecard'

Recently, the administration of President Donald Trump5 made a change to the College Scorecard that critics say limits its usefulness. In September, the Department of Education removed all the national median data from the website.

The national median data provided the national average for any of the qualities and groupings listed on the College Scorecard. For example, if users looked at the debt they could expect to take on from studying at a given school, they would also see the overall average for all the schools in the system.

This gave students at least some kind of general comparison when weighing costs and expected results, said U.S. PIRG’s Kaitlyn Vitez. She added that without this information, students might not be able to tell if a school is successfully serving students as well as others.

Vitez noted there are other ways for comparing the return on investment from colleges and universities. But some publications give more attention to schools that are well-known and respected, but not necessarily the best value.

Vitez said the current administration would want to limit this kind of information because of its support for for-profit higher education. The Obama administration took legal action against several for-profit schools, accusing them of wrongdoing.

Vitez said the current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has taken steps to remove rules that she considers harmful to the for-profit higher education industry. This includes announcing plans to cancel a rule requiring schools to ensure that their graduates find good-paying jobs.

Vitez told VOA, “If we’re not going to be holding these schools accountable for … all those … really important metrics, and we’re also not going to … show that some of the schools are not a good choice for students, that doesn’t serve the public interest.”

But the Department of Education argues that the national median data has serious problems and is not that clear.

In a written statement, a department spokesperson noted that the national medians were established with data from every school receiving federal money. The official argued it is unfair to compare all schools with the same measures, as many colleges and universities are very different in important ways.

For example, a selective school that serves mostly wealthy students will have different outcomes than a school that mainly serves poor communities.

“Comparing these two types of institutions is meaningless,” the spokesperson wrote. “Institutional selectivity has a significant impact on institutional outcomes, and therefore the most appropriate comparisons are between institutions that serve similar students and have similar admissions criteria6.”

Who the remove of national medians affects

However, even some supporters of Secretary DeVos and her efforts find the change in the College Scorecard troubling.

Daniel Elkins is the legislative7 director for the Enlisted8 Association of the National Guard of the United States. His organization represents the interests of thousands of members of the U.S. armed forces.

Elkins says his group was pleased with recent actions by DeVos, including the plan to remove the employment guarantee rule. He argues it does not correctly punish all the schools guilty of underserving their students. However, he said, the removal of national median data is a move in the complete opposite direction from where the department should be heading.

Elkins notes that many armed forces members who seek a college or university education are non-traditional students. This means they are likely the first in their families to go college and may have little money of their own. He noted that their families may not be able to help them financially or have experience with higher education.

The U.S. military offers financial aid for education to some of its members. But many of them often need to take out loans to help pay for college. Elkins and Vitez agree any lack of knowledge can lead them to borrowing from bad lenders or attending bad schools. And the special tools the military uses to help members find good schools depend on information from College Scorecard, including national medians.

“If you do not have anything to compare it to, you don’t understand … what’s out there,” said Elkins. “Then you have to compare multiple graphs, multiple charts, and try and figure out an average on your own.”

In October, Elkins’ organization released a joint9 statement with several other military veterans groups. They asked the Department of Education to return national medians to the College Scorecard by mid-November. The information has yet to return to the website.

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

graduate(s) – n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

accountable – adj. required to be responsible for something

metric(s) – n. a system or standard of measurement

selective – adj. careful to choose only the best people or things

institution(s) – n. an established organization

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

appropriate – adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation

criteria – n. something that is used as a reason for making a judgment10 or decision

graph(s) – n. a drawing that uses a series of dots or lines to show how much or how quickly something changes

chart(s) – n. information in the form of a table or diagram


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
2 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
3 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
4 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
5 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
6 criteria vafyC     
n.标准
参考例句:
  • The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
  • There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。
7 legislative K9hzG     
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的
参考例句:
  • Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
  • Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。
8 enlisted 2d04964099d0ec430db1d422c56be9e2     
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持)
参考例句:
  • enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
  • He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 joint m3lx4     
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
参考例句:
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
10 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

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