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English

Duolingo English Test gaining in US admissions

by Loknath Das April 5, 2024

written by Loknath Das

Duolingo English Test

The Duolingo English Test (formerly called Duolingo Test Center) has been adopted by universities across the US and South America including Colgate, UCLA and the University of Notre Dame as a cheaper and more convenient alternative to traditional exams.

The exam can be taken on demand on a mobile phone or personal computer for $50. Students’ exam results, including a 90-second video interview, are sent to admissions offices within 48 hours of completion.

“It’s something students could arrange to do from their iPhone at a cost that is a fraction of the other tests”

According to the company, institutions are using Duolingo to make decisions on waitlisted candidates, but around 40 are also using it as a direct alternative to TOEFL and IELTS exams, including Yale University.

“For many years they were the only shows in town and this year we were persuaded to use DET and compared the characteristics,” said Keith Light, director of international admissions at Yale.

“We found it appealing because of its portability. Students don’t have to go to a test centre. To take the TOEFL or IELTS, they tend to have to travel some distance at a relatively high cost.

“It’s something students could arrange to do from their iPhone at a cost that is a fraction of the other tests.”

To ensure results are authentic, the exam is moderated by human proctors who verify the student’s identity and guard against cheating.

“I have a feeling test security is going to be a perpetual challenge – as it is for other standardised tests – but we feel pretty good about DET’s setup,” said Light.

Since giving applicants the option to submit DET scores in November 2016, dozens of prospective Yale students have used it, he said.

“It’s not widely known but I have a feeling interest will accelerate. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a surge as counsellors around the world promote it.”

The exam launched in 2014 and finished pilot trials before the 2016/17 admissions period.

Jeff Brenzel, university admissions liaison at Duolingo, said the company now aims to grow partnerships and introduce enhancements to the test this summer.

“Now that we’ve been through a full admissions cycle with a significant group of partners, we’re having schools contact us because the word is getting out about how this functions in a real admissions environment,” he said.

“On the current pace that we’re taking queries from schools and also reaching out to additional schools, we’re expecting about 400-500 schools in the US to be using the DET by the end of this coming fall.”

[Source:- Pienews]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Education quality in English schools ‘at risk from new funding formula’

by Loknath Das April 5, 2024

written by Loknath Das

Report of public account committee says DfE failing to understand plight of England’s schools.

Report of public account committee says DfE failing to understand plight of England’s schools. Photograph: David Jones/PA

School funding cuts are threatening to undermine the quality of education in England’s classrooms, putting children’s academic progress at risk as head teachers struggle to find savings, finds a highly critical report.

MPs on the Commons public accounts committee (PAC) say schools in England are facing the most significant financial pressure since the mid-1990s, with school leaders having to find £3bn in savings by 2020.

Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the PAC, accused the government of collective delusion about the scope for further efficiency savings and warned: “Pupils’ futures are at risk if the DfE fails to act on the warnings in our report.”

The scathing report accuses the Department for Education of failing to understand the plight of England’s schools, which have already had to cut staff, maintenance costs, IT investment and pastoral services to meet rising costs.

The report casts doubt on claims saying schools can save £1.3bn by better procurement and £1.7bn by using staff more efficiently, and urges officials to go out and talk to school leaders rather than rely on desk-based statistical analysis of school spending.

The government has been under sustained pressure over school finances as concern has grown among parents as well as head teachers. Funding per pupil is projected to fall by 8% in real terms by 2020 as schools face increased employer costs, cuts to the education services grant, plus the introduction of the apprenticeship levy from next month.

Wednesday’s report accuses the department of failing to learn lessons from the NHS where, it says, unrealistic efficiency targets have damaged the finances of NHS trusts as they try to meet growing demand at the same time as reducing costs. “Government must not allow this to happen in schools,” said Hiller. “There are troubling similarities in its approach – similarities the DfE is unwilling to recognise. Grand plans drawn up in Whitehall are dangerous if they are implemented without regard to real-world consequences, and we will expect to see measures to address our concerns as a matter of urgency.”

Among its recommendations the report calls on the department to monitor how schools are making savings and look at the impact on class sizes, curriculum and pupil-teacher ratios. It also wants the government to assess the cost implications for schools of the apprenticeship levy.

An education department spokesperson said: “We will study the report’s recommendations and respond in due course. We have protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010, with school funding at its highest level on record at more than £40bn in 2016-17 – and that is set to rise, as pupil numbers rise over the next two years, to £42bn by 2019-20.

“These protections, and the wider investment in the school system, mean that spending per pupil will be over 50% higher in real terms in 2020 than it was in 2000, as set out by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies.”

John Pugh MP, the Liberal Democrat’s education spokesman and PAC member, said that more than 250 head teachers had written to him in the last month warning that unless extra money were found standards would fall.

“Tory ministers must be the only people left who haven’t spotted the crisis in schools funding, or worse – they’re choosing to ignore it,” he said. “If ministers think they can find these savings without harming educational outcomes, they’re in cloud cuckoo land.”

The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “When even the Conservative-dominated PAC says that the DfE ‘does not seem to understand the pressures that schools are already under’, and that funding cuts could ‘threaten the quality of education and educational outcomes’, it’s hard to see why anyone else would have any confidence in their management of our schools.”

Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The PAC is entirely right to conclude that government underfunding is putting standards at risk. The DfE has buried its head in the sand over this issue and resorts to repeatedly stating that school spending is at record levels when it is fully aware that this is only because of rising pupil numbers.”

[“Source-theguardian”]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Asbestos claims hit £10m over English schools

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

A picture of danger asbestos removal sign

Councils in England have paid out at least £10m in compensation to people who developed illnesses because of asbestos in school buildings.

Figures obtained by BBC News show that in the past decade 32 councils have settled claims from former teachers, school staff or pupils.

The National Union of Teachers says up to 300 adults die each year because of exposure to asbestos while at school.

The government says it is investing £23bn to improve school buildings.

But campaigners warn that the presence of asbestos in schools continues to put pupils lives at risk.

“My mum Sue was a teacher for 30 years and her life was cut short because of this horrible material,” Lucie Stephens said.

“As she was dying she was really angry and concerned about the 900 children that she’d taught during her career. If my mum has been exposed to this deadly substance, how many of those children will have been exposed?”

Using the Freedom of Information Act, BBC Yorkshire has obtained figures from 135 councils in England, that show there are at least 12,600 council-run schools where asbestos is known to be present.

The number of actual schools that contain asbestos is likely to be higher as many have become academies and so are not included in the figures.

It is widely accepted that any school building built before the year 2000 is likely to contain some form of asbestos.

In the last five years local authorities have also recorded 99 instances of significant asbestos disturbances, where people have been put in danger because of potential exposure to the substance.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was commonly used as a building material because of its fireproof and insulating characteristics.

A complete ban on the use of the material was introduced in the UK in 1999.

If left undisturbed the material poses no risk to human beings.

However, if someone breathes in asbestos fibres, it can cause serious illnesses such as asbestosis and a type of lung cancer called mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma kills around 5,000 people each year. By the time it is diagnosed it is almost always fatal.

Dennis Law, from Sheffield, lost his wife Susan who died at the age of 64 from mesothelioma.

“The end of her life was horrific, she had ulcers and red blotches all over her body.

“For 20 years my wife was a teaching assistant and a dinner lady, and she shouldn’t have died because of where she worked”.

The BBC’s investigation also discovered there is no uniform approach to monitoring the presence of asbestos in schools in England.

Of those that responded, 13 councils said they held no information about which schools in their area contained the hazardous material.

Ten councils also refused to disclose information about the number of asbestos cases it had settled; meaning it is likely that more than £10m has been paid out in compensation to victims.

“This is a ticking time bomb because very few teachers and parents know that there is asbestos in schools. The very least we should do is make sure that this information is available to them,” said Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the Asbestos in Schools group.

Speaking to the BBC last month Education Secretary Justine Greening said arecent government review had provided schools with the latest advice in how to keep pupils and staff safe.

“In the overwhelming number of cases we do remove asbestos from schools, but in some cases our experts are telling us its better to leave the material in place. What our review had done though is given us a clear blueprint for how we tackle this issue going forward and that is what we are focussed on doing,” Ms Greening said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education added: “The health and safety of children and staff in our schools is vital – that’s why we are investing £23bn in school buildings by 2021.

“This will help ensure asbestos is managed safely and that the amount in school buildings continues to reduce over time.”

Additional reporting by Nicola Hudson, Nicola Rees and Ruth Green.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

‘No significant progress’ being made on improving retention rates at English universities

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

No progress is being made in reducing dropout rates among students at universities across England, according to new research.

Findings have shown retention rates have barely moved since the 2009/10 academic year, and that the rates for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are still relatively lower when compared with others.

Just over eight per cent of those from low participation areas were not continuing in higher education over the last year, as opposed to just over six per cent in other areas. The report also shows there is a group of 20 institutions where around one in ten students are not completing university after just one year.

The findings, from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) and supported by student recruitment consultancy, Hobsons, has, however, shown institutions which are making a success of their student experience – with more satisfied students – are likely to have higher rates of course completion.

The report also shows that, while it’s typically assumed institutions that are doing more to widen participation are not likely to see higher completion rates as a result, there is a large group of universities that is making progress on both. Institutions including City, St Mary’s, Aston, Bishop Grosseteste, Lincoln, and Kingston have among the highest retention rates of all institutions for the most disadvantaged students, revealing no correlation between improving widening participation and worsening continuation rates.

Author of the findings, SMF director Emran Mian, described how every student who does not continue in higher education means “a loss of potential, a bad experience for that student, and poor value for the taxpayer,” as the investment in tuition costs is likely to have a low return.

Making reference to the Government’s white paper which states how “even the present position on retention represents thousands of life opportunities wasted, of young dreams unfulfilled,” Mian said the new research suggests a link between an institution’s student satisfaction and its dropout rates: “Institutions which prioritise student success are likely to see lower rates of non-continuation.

“Our research also suggests institutions cannot claim that making progress on widening participation has impaired their performance on increasing retention rates. Policymakers, students, and taxpayers expect institutions to make progress on both fronts. Government should encourage higher education institutions to focus on improving student success.”

Jeremy Cooper, managing director at Hobsons, a student recruitment consultancy, added how it was clear to see that, when students are happy and succeeding at university, they are more likely to complete their study. He continued: “Despite relatively low student dropout, there is a persistent minority that are falling through the gaps. As we continue to widen access, we have to focus on how we make progress supporting student success and give all students the targeted support they need.”

The research has come after it was revealed by MyVoucherCodes at the start of this year that 27 per cent of freshers saw in the new year by either dropping out of their course or admitted to contemplating making the bold move in the summer because of the expense, not liking the course they had chosen, or not liking the university they were at. Other reasons included that they had either found full-time employment or felt they were “disenchanted with further education.”

Meanwhile, London Metropolitan University and the University of Bolton emerged as having the highest expected student dropout rate, according to a league table on degree completion by the Complete University Guide. While London Met had an average dropout rate of 29 per cent, Bolton followed closely behind with 28.9 per cent of first-time undergraduates who were not expected to see out their studies this year.

Psychotherapist and researcher in psychological wellbeing at the University of Derby, Gareth Hughes, offered tips for students through MyVoucherCodes to help boost their university experience in order to ensure students made the right decision for them, including making as many new friends and getting involved in as many on and off-campus activities as possible.

He said: “No matter how many activities and events students cram into the first term, they will still benefit from trying new things and meeting new people. First-year students should try joining some new students’ union clubs and societies. If they are worried about making friends, they can contact their university’s student wellbeing service.”

[Source:- independent]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Sir Tom Hunter asks Nicola Sturgeon why English education reforms ignored

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Nicola Sturgeon is facing questions over why she is ignoring successful school reforms in England

Nicola Sturgeon has been told to take her head out of the sand after one of Scotland’s most high-profile entrepreneurs questioned her why education reforms that have closed the attainment gap in England have not been adopted in Scotland.

Sir Tom Hunter praised the freedom to innovate and academic success at academy schools south of the Border, which are outside local authority control, and asked the First Minister “why we wouldn’t give our kids a chance to have this?”

Speaking during a programme broadcast by BBC Scotland tonight, Mr Sturgeon repeated her insistence that her drive to close the gulf between the best and worst state schools was not limited by political ideology.

But the First Minister has previously said she is not convinced that freeing schools from the control of Scotland’s 32 local authorities would help and she has instead focused on directing more public money to the councils with the worst-performing schools.

Liz Smith, Scottish Tory young people spokesman, accused Ms Sturgeon of having her head in the sand, saying: “The First Minister promised to turn this problem around and said that she was open to new ideas, but so far there has been little evidence of this.

“The time has come for radical action to dismantle the damaging, one-size-fits-all approach which provides parents with no choice and which holds back head teachers from making the innovative reforms to help raise attainment.”

Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter launchs a university entrepreneurship programme with Scottish first minister Alex Salmond (not pictured) at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh Sir Tom Hunter praised an English academy he visited

The businessman concluded at the end of the programme, which is titled BBC Scotland Investigates: Educating Sir Tom, that one model of schooling “doesn’t fit all” and questioned whether Scotland’s political leaders were “afraid” of taking the steps required.

He added: “I would say we’d be doing Scotland’s children a disservice if we were afraid.” The programme sees the businessman visit King Solomon Academy in London, which serves a poor area but has achieved the best GCSE results of any non-selective school in England.

One in five state-funded schools south of the Border is now outside local authority control. Academies receive direct funding from Whitehall and have power over their curriculum, budget and staffing.

Max Haimendorf, King Solomon’s head teacher and an Oxford graduate, told Sir Tom the school was found in 2007 by ambitious business leaders who wanted to do things differently and “eradicate” the attainment gap.

Among the series of innovations adopted were a longer school day, all youngsters learning a musical instrument, students shadowing professionals such as lawyers in the City of London and classrooms being named after the universities teachers attended to help motivate the children.

It often uses the Teach First scheme to recruit staff, which places many of the brightest university graduates in the most challenging schools. However, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs last month that she had been advised to be “cautious” about the scheme.

In his interview with the First Minister at the conclusion of the half-hour programme, Sir Tom told Ms Sturgeon: “It seems to me there are innovations which we don’t have in Scotland. I just wonder why we wouldn’t give our kids a chance to have this.”

The First Minister replied that she had examined the experience of the London Challenge, which helped some inner-city schools in the capital, adding: “I’m not ideological about this and I am absolutely clear.

“If something can be proven to work we should try it … Making sure that our young folk get the best education is the only thing that matters to me and if something can be shown to work in doing that or if something’s worth trying to do that, then I’ll certainly be in the market for it.”

[Source:- Telegraph]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Blogging

BLOGGING IN COLLEGE AND WHY EVERY ENGLISH MAJOR SHOULD TRY IT

by Loknath Das March 9, 2018

written by Loknath Das

blogging in college

Blogging in college can be a challenge for any student, especially English majors who are already required to do more than their fair share of reading and writing. I’ll admit it, sometimes the process of maintaining a blog can be overwhelming and tedious, yet blogging is a hobby that I return to for many reasons, especially because of how rewarding and enjoyable it can be.

1. Blogging allows a space to write imperfectly.

Many college students avoid starting a blog because they think that they won’t ever be able to make it exactly the way that they want it, whether it be the design or content itself. However, blogging in college allows students a space to polish these skills by practicing them in an organic situation. The theme or design of the blog doesn’t have to be perfect, and neither does the content.

English majors can especially benefit from the practice of writing in a low-pressure environment that still demands some effort. I personally like to think of blogging as being in between journal/diary writing and professional or published writing.

It doesn’t have to be flawless, but it needs to be something you feel comfortable sharing with the world. No pressure, though! You can always go back and edit something or even delete it altogether.

2. Blogging provides an authentic audience.

Blogging allows you to have a sense of ownership over your writing because it is something that you and you alone publish. The beauty of a blog is that it provides some freedom, allowing writers to create and post whatever they want, whenever they want.

College can provide authentic audiences for your work, depending on how successful your marketing strategies are and how searchable your content is. This really allows one to feel like the writing that they are doing matters since real people are looking for it and reading it.

Many times, blog posts won’t receive a lot of views or shares, but don’t worry, there are people out there reading and enjoying your content, whether or not it seems like it.

3. Blogging allows you to find community.

Blogging can allow you to find like-minded people that you may not have met otherwise. It can allow you to follow people who blog about topics you are deeply interested in or simply curious about.

Your feed will show you the latest blog posts of other people. Scrolling through and liking and commenting thoughtfully on other people’s content may lead to them being interested in your content as well.

Beware of being ingenuine in these actions, though, since it is not hard to tell when someone is interacting with you simply in the hopes of getting further engagement on their site. When you are authentic and interested in others and their content, usually they will do the same for you.

4. Blogging allows you to document your journey.

Blogging in college can allow you to document your journey from orientation to graduation through photos, videos, graphics and most commonly, words. You may feel as though you are already doing this through other social media platforms, but a blog is different because it forces you to take some extra time to truly reflect on an experience, event or topic that is important to you.

The blog can reflect not only how your writing has improved over time, but also you as a person. This is really important because sometimes a person just needs to step back from the hustle and bustle of life and take time to really pay attention to where they are, where they are going, who they are and who they are becoming. Blogging provides a cost-efficient and easy way of doing this.

5. Blogging can help you find career opportunities.

Many internships and career opportunities seek candidates who are skilled in writing, as well as digital media. Some applications will even ask candidates to provide a link to their blog site if they happen to feel comfortable doing so.

Creating a blog can help you further professionalize yourself as well as provide a method of displaying relevant skills, such as writing, editing, designing and marketing, skills that employers are actively seeking when considering applicants.

However, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable having your future boss or coworkers reading the content on your blog, whether it be too personal or inappropriate, then I wouldn’t recommend linking your blog to your application or resume.

While blogging can be something that can help find or obtain an internship or a job, a blog is not something that has to be created solely for that purpose. It is more than okay to write for yourself and yourself only.

When creating a blog, don’t stress too much about the details. You can always go back and readjust the design and content on your site if you realize that you are not as happy with it as you originally were. Remember that it’s okay to focus on one topic or several at once.

Remember that it’s okay to write either formally or informally, since you are the creator of the blog and you have the right to decide what that blog can and should look like. Remember that it’s okay to start over, and remember that it’s okay to choose a different style or brand whenever you feel like.

The most important thing about blogging is making it your own and staying true to your own voice. The miscellaneous details that you may or may not initially have anxiety about will work themselves out as you become more familiar with blogging in general and as your blog becomes more established.

Don’t be afraid to begin, don’t be afraid to continue creating and don’t be afraid to take a break when you need to — your blog will still be there where you left it.

[“Source-studybreaks”]

March 9, 2018 0 comment