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VOA慢速英语--大学小组致力于收集有关入学

时间:2019-01-27 17:46:30

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(单词翻译)

College Group Works1 to Gather Data on Access, Completion

Unlike many other countries, the United States does not have one single governing body that sets education policy for the entire nation.

The Department of Education creates some rules. But the way in which schools operate is mostly decided2 by the individual states. Some say this gives schools more freedoms to serve the different needs of different populations.

Yet many experts argue there is a need for a more united effort for exploring ways to improve the education system. This argument is especially common within the American higher education community.

For example, the Institute for College Access and Success last month released3 a report calling for the federal4 government to improve data reporting. The organization asked the government to create a single measurement5 of job placements for college graduates.

But one organization has decided not to wait for the government to take action. Instead, it is aiming to create one of the largest joint6 efforts to gather information about the higher education experience in the nation’s history.

Filling the holes left by the Department of Education

Ricardo Torres is the president of the National Student Clearinghouse, an independent, non-profit education organization. He says higher education community members created the organization nearly 15 years ago because of a lack of data reporting on the part of the federal government.

The Department of Education does have a system for reporting information about colleges and universities. It is called the Integrated7 Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDs.

But Torres argues that this system is lacking in several ways. For example, up until 2017, it only published data on first-time, full-time8 college students. Torres notes that, before 2017, the system did not look at part-time students and it did not publish the rate of college completion by low-income students receiving federal aid. Also, it still does not look at students who change schools.

Torres told VOA, “The fact that you have all these ways to complete a journey creates a giant complexity9, and that’s called keeping track of who is actually completing and how institutions are able to help a learner along the way.”

This kind of information is very important, Torres says. It can affect how soon college students must begin paying back their student loans10. And it greatly affects an institution’s understanding of how well it is serving its students.

The National Student Clearinghouse has worked with over 3,600 institutions to gather and share this kind of data. In 2017, it sought to expand these efforts by testing a new program: the Postsecondary Data Partnership11, or PDP. As part of the testing, three state systems and several individual schools shared as much data as they could related12 to student access to higher education, their academic progress and, finally, their successful completion of college.

In 2018, the PDP expanded to include a larger number of the National Student Clearinghouse’s partner institutions. Torres says the aim is to gather more data from even more institutions this year. This includes information on the kinds of classes students take, their performance in those classes and even their parents’ education background.

Once this information is gathered, PDP researchers process the data and present it to the institutions and other organizations. They aim to present the results in a clear, easy-to-understand way. They also make sure the information schools are reporting is correct, which is important considering they identified 6.5 million errors in the data they gathered last year, Torres says.

How this data is used

Bruce Vandal says these are exactly the kinds of tools his organization needs to be successful. Vandal is the senior vice13 president of Complete College America, a partnership of 46 higher education systems and institutions. His group works to make sure that low-income, minority and first-generation students have the chance to attend and succeed in college.

Vandal calls the PDP the most centrally organized data collection effort yet. In the past, schools and education organizations were doing their own disconnected research, often repeating the work others had already done.

“On some level … the field has matured and actually has clarity14 about the work that could be done,” said Vandal. “And so in that respect, it sort of represents progress in the field, whereas15 before, you can imagine, everybody sort of had their own take and were looking at different sets of data.”

The Education Department may now be gathering16 more data, but they still have not decided what their goals for that data are or how to use it, Vandal adds. Having one central body gathering and processing all this data reduces work for the institutions and the organizations they work with.

Instead, the institutions and organizations can spend more time examining efforts to support students, he says. For example, in the past, many institutions placed students who performed poorly in high school into special lower-level math and English classes. This was seen as a chance for these students to prove they were, in fact, ready to perform at the college level in those subjects.

But Complete College America found that a large number of students put in these classes never complete their education. These classes add to the traditional amount of time it takes to complete a study program. So, they increased education costs.

Now, Vandal notes, some institutions have begun to place lower-performing students in normal classes, but with additional17 support services.

Ricardo Torres says the value of this data is so clear that other countries have asked his group for advice on how to gather information of their own.

I’m Pete Musto.

And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

access – n. a way of being able to use or get something

placement(s) – n. the act of finding18 an appropriate place for someone to live, work, or learn

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

income – n. money that is earned from work, investments19, or business

journey – n. an act of traveling from one place to another

giant – adj. very large

keep(ing) track of – phrasal verb. to be aware of how something is changing, what someone is doing

institution(s) – n. an established organization

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

background – n. the events and conditions that help to explain why something happens

error(s) – n. something that is not correct

mature(d) – v. to continue developing to a desired level

clarity – n. the quality of being clear


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1 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
2 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 released 23690fd759f17135ec9879b56ff2600c     
v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 );放开;发布;发行
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他,这倒容易。
4 federal RkSxm     
adj.联盟的;联邦的;(美国)联邦政府的
参考例句:
  • Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
  • The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。
5 measurement xC6xu     
n.测量,衡量;(量得的)尺寸,大小
参考例句:
  • I can find the size of something by means of measurement.我可以用测量法求得某物的体积。
  • He has made an accurate measurement of my garden.他准确地丈量了我的花园。
6 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。
7 integrated AqdzEG     
a.整合的,完整的
参考例句:
  • A fully integrated low phase noise LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is presented.介绍了一种全集成的LC压控振荡器(VCO)的设计。
8 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
9 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
参考例句:
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
10 loans f806527a4b4ecb554edad98174334a70     
n.借出物,借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出,贷与(尤指钱)( loan的第三人称单数 );出借(贵重物品给博物馆等)
参考例句:
  • They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
  • Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
12 related vkGzSv     
adj.有关系的,有关联的,叙述的,讲述的
参考例句:
  • I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
  • We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
13 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
14 clarity uXazE     
n.清澈,透明,明晰
参考例句:
  • His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
  • Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。
15 whereas XgQwB     
conj.而,却,反之
参考例句:
  • They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子,而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
16 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
17 additional rJTyM     
adj.添加的,额外的,另外的
参考例句:
  • It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
  • I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。
18 finding 5tAzVe     
n.发现,发现物;调查的结果
参考例句:
  • The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
  • That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
19 investments a6dba6e72f1adaf693af15720bcbf55a     
n.投资( investment的名词复数 );投资额;(时间、精力的)投入;值得买的东西
参考例句:
  • With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定,投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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