Journalism Resources

DetentionSlip.org A blog that keeps you up to date about students, schools and teachers and discipline cases, especially egregious ones.

Extra Credit The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's staff of education writers blog about various happenings and issues in local school districts and colleges.

Dallas ISD Daily Dish Dallas Morning News reporters Tawnell Hobbs and Kent Fischer provide daily updates on the Dallas Independent School district as well as roundups of what other media outlets are saying about the school system.

Taking Notes Jackson Citizen Patriot reporter Chad Livengood's blog on politics and education issues in southern Michigan.

EWA's Education Election blog EWA started this blog to encourage the presidential candidates to think of education as an issue. In it, members are tracking the candidates and their stands on education as a service to other reporters and the public.

MediaShift
Journalist Mark Glaser tracks how new media—from weblogs to podcasts to citizen journalism—are changing society and culture.

Admissions 101 This new Washington Post discussion board where people can "trade tips on winning the college admissions game" is led by education writer Jay Mathews.

EarlyStories Richard Lee Colvin comments on media coverage of early childhood education issues and links to resources for education writers. Colvin is director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at the Teachers College at Columbia University.

Higher Ed Watch Blog A handful of writers follow the policies and policymakers and their impact on higher education in the blog of the non-profit New America Foundation.

homeroom: An Education Blog
The Austin-American Statesman education team's blog withinformation and conversation about education in Central Texas.

School Zone Blogging Houston-area education with the Chronicle staff.

John Merrow Education Podcast John Merrow, an education reporter for over 30 years and correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, profiles significant issues in k-12 and higher education.

Get on the Bus Dayton Daily News reporter Scott Elliott writes a blog commenting on current news about schools, learning, teaching and kids.

Teacher Leaders Network Several members volunteer each year to keep weekly public diaries here on the website, including Betsy Rogers, 2003 National Teacher of the Year.

BoardBuzz The National School Boards Association puts out this blog, updated every weekday, with general education news from around the country.

Get Schooled
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Bridget Gutierrez comments on education issues of local and national importance. Updated every weekday.

Poynter's Romenesko Jim Romenesko's up-to-the-minute blog contains dozens of links to media industry news, commentary and memos.

Class Struggle
Jay Mathews, one of the nation's leading education reporters, publishes his online column, Class Struggle, each week in the Washington Post. While it mainly focuses on higher education, Class Struggle takes a critical look at all facets of education, from AP tests to quota systems.

Eduwonk Eduwonk is written by Andrew Rotherham, co-founder of Education Sector, and is the 2006 winner of best K-12 administration blog in "Best of the Education Blog Awards."

EWA Gathers U.S. Department of Education Sources of Data
Sunday, July 5, 2009

EWA publishes a tip sheet to help you locate the answer to your education questions.

EWA participated in Sunshine Week 2009, gathering data sources on education.  Here are the most useful national education data sources. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - SOURCES FOR EDUCATION DATA

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and the Institute of Education Sciences are the most common sources for reliable education data at the federal government level.  We have placed the most commonly used data bases first and then listed the remaining alphabetically.  At the bottom of the list are links to two other sources of education data the Government Accounting Office and the U.S. Bureau of Census.

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY (includes database and compilation sources)

Common Core of Data (CCD), which annually updates data on public elementary and secondary schools, includes contact information, demographics and fiscal information.
http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/

Digest of Education Statistics, like most of these resources a product of the National Center for Education Statistics, is a massive annual compilation of national statistical information about U.S. students and educational institutions from preschool through graduate school. The digest contains some of the most basic indicators -- the number of schools and colleges, students and teachers -- as well as trend data on educational attainment, funding and educational attainment of the labor force. http://nces.ed.gov/Programs/digest/

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is the world's largest bibliographic database of education literature. Some of the 1.2 million journal articles and other reports archived in ERIC are available in full online for free, while some must be obtained at a library or for a cost. http://www.eric.ed.gov/

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a series of tests -- in reading, math, science, writing, arts, civics, economics, geography and U.S. history -- given to a sample of students across the country. The results, known as the Nation's Report Card, are considered a valuable common metric through which to compare progress of all states and the large urban districts that participate. NAEP provides interesting information not just on test scores but also school environment and educational experiences; it does not, however, measure individual schools or students. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

School District Demographics System (SDDS) breaks down information about demographics and socioeconomics by school district, based on the most recent decennial census. Data can be compared between districts and years, and a map tool allows visual comparisons. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/index.asp

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) has tracked school-level safety data since 2000, using a sample of about 3,000 public schools nationwide. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/index.asp

Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) maintains public and private school data on characteristics and qualifications of teachers and principals, hiring practices, professional development and more. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/SASS/index.asp

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America's Charter Schools includes a study of charter school test results in 2003, as well as survey results about charter schools’ practices, structure and governance. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/charter/

Career/Technical Education Statistics (CTES) reports on the status of career and technical education, including student participation, staff characteristics and adult education. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/

National Center for Educational Research issues “practice guides” with recommendations for educators on topics such as facilitating study skills and encouraging girls in math and science.  http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) evaluates the impact of programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education and issues reports on topics such as teacher certification, Reading First and the effectiveness of educational software. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) conducts many studies on the condition and education of students with disabilities. http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/

National Household Education Survey (NHES) studies various elements of the education experience of Americans. The most recent topics analyzed, in 2005, are adult education, early childhood education participation and afterschool activities. http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

No Child Left Behind - This Department of Education website provides state-by-state information on achievement and meeting No Child Left Behind benchmarks. http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/progress/index.html, http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/cornerstones/index.html

No Child Left Behind Highly Qualified Teachers archives status reports on teacher preparation programs by state. https://title2.ed.gov/Title2DR/ChooseState.asp?Type=Map&Year=2007

Private Schools in America includes student achievement results and a comparison of achievement in public and private schools, when student characteristics such as race and gender are taken into account. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/privateschools/

What Works Clearinghouse evaluates popular curricula on their effectiveness and issues reports. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS

High School and Beyond is a series of longitudinal studies on cohorts of students as they progressed through early adulthood. Students (and in some cases, their teachers and parents) were asked about their academic life and school experiences, job aspirations, alcohol and drug use, home lives and more. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/hsb/

High School Transcript Study (HSTS) tracks high school graduates’ course choices, grades, credits earned and the relationship between courses taken and NAEP scores. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/hsts/

HIGHER EDUCATION

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) tracks the status of Americans shortly after they receive their bachelor’s degrees, particularly those who have pursued teaching careers. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/B&B/

Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) collects information about cohorts of students while and after they are in college. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps/

College Navigator is a user-friendly searchable database of IPEDS (see below) data geared toward prospective students. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System collects information from all U.S. colleges and university on enrollment, costs, finances, faculty and staff, financial aid, graduation rates and more. The many data tools allow users to set up rankings and comparisons between schools. http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/
National Study of Postsecondary Faculty was conducted in response to a continuing need for data on faculty and instructors - persons who directly affect the quality of education in postsecondary institutions.  http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/nsopf/
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) analyzes college and graduate school costs and how Americans pay them. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) compares 15-year-olds’ performance in reading, math and science across countries. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) compares the reading skills and attitudes toward reading of fourth graders in the United States and other countries. http://nces.ed.gov/Surveys/PIRLS/
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) compares the reading and math performance of fourth-grade and eighth-grade students across different countries. http://nces.ed.gov/timss/

OTHER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOURCES FOR EDUCATION DATA

General Accountability Office (GAO) archives reports since 1971, and some older products. GAO researches topics at the request of Congress. www.gao.gov/docsearch/repandtest.html

U.S. Department of Census has statistics related to educational attainment, training, school costs, enrollment, school districts and other characteristics crossed by education.
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFPeople?_submenuId=people_5&_sse=on, and American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=datasets_1&_lang=en&_ts=

Compiled by Mesha Williams, Linda Perlstein and Mike Bowler of the Education Writers Association.

EWA adds Green and Elliott to board of directors
Friday, March 20, 2009

EWA adds Elizabeth Green and Scott Elliott to board of directors.

Green covers K-12 topics in the Big Apple. Before working at GothamSchools.org, she was an education reporter at The New York Sun from 2007 until it published its last edition in the fall of 2008. Before working at the Sun, Green reported on education topics for U.S. News & World Report. She speaks frequently on education issues and has appeared as a guest on CNN, MSNBC and the Brian Lehrer Show. Green studied social studies at Harvard University. She is the first full-time online journalist to serve on EWA’s board.

Elliott is a columnist and education reporter at the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, where he has worked since 1998. He is the author of the popular education blog "Get on the Bus," one of the earliest blogs on education in journalism. Elliott has covered national, state and local education issues with a focus on school choice, testing and urban school reform. In 2004-05, he was a Knight Wallace Journalism Fellow in Education at the University of Michigan. Elliott and his colleague, Mark Fisher, won the 2005 National Headliner Award for education reporting for a series of stories about testing and No Child Left Behind. In addition, he is the author of Public Schools, Private Markets: A Reporter’s Guide to Covering Privatization in Education, published in 2005 by the Education Writers Association. He has spoken at various journalism conferences, including EWA’s fall 2007 meeting on school choice and charters in Milwaukee and the 2006 and 2008 annual meetings.

“Elizabeth and Scott add additional experience in new media to the EWA board,” said EWA president Richard Whitmire. “As the news industry struggles with the mix of traditional and new media, it is important for EWA and its members to tap new media skills and knowledge. We look forward to having Elizabeth and Scott join the board.”

The appointments are part of EWA’s expansion of its board of directors, a bylaws change approved by the membership in 2008.

Green joins the board immediately, and Elliott will start his term at the end of the 2009 annual meeting.

You can see other members of EWA’s board here.

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The Washington, D.C.-based Education Writers Association is the national professional association of reporters, editors and writers who cover education for newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, online media, blogs and trade publications. For additional information, go to http://www.ewa.org/ or contact publications@ewa.org.

Demand More on Education South Carolinians are in a good position to demand more about education from the parade of presidential candidates passing through town. Why has this become a national issue? In September 1989, the nation's governors agreed on a national education reform movement that called for each state to ratchet up learning standards.The State - Richard Whitmire

Let's hear candidates' plans for education Reforming K-12 schools is no longer a local or state issue. Ever since that 1989 governors' school-reform summit in Charlottesville, the balance has been tipping toward Washington. The federal No Child Left Behind Act is only a small piece of that.

Multimedia Tools, Tips and Tricks from Andy Sternberg (pdf) pdf Web and University of Southern California student guru Andy Sternberg offers a list of Web sites where you'll find tools for adding photos, video, mashups and more to your stories. He presented at EWA's 2007 National Seminar.

Results of EWA Pre-K Survey Show Reporters Forced to Juggle Beats pdf Journalists are increasingly interested in covering early educationissues. However, many are forced to juggle pre-K and preschool storieswith demands of K-12 and higher education beats.

EWA's Second Higher Education Survey Shows Some Differences in Coverage pdf The majority of stories produced by higher education reporters in 2005were almost evenly split between three subject areas -institutional/personnel issues, finance and academics.

Standards for Education Reporters pdf EWA created a guide on what reporters should know and be able to do when covering education.

The Higher Ed Beat pdf EWA's survey of higher education reporters in 2002 showed that many sawcoverage of rising tuition and college finance as the top issues.

Dart Center Academic Fellowship at the Columbia School of Journalism
Applications are being accepted for the Dart Center Academic Fellowship program at Columbia University. The new program is designed to provide college and university journalism faculty and advisers to student media advanced skills in teaching the art and craft of newsgathering, storytelling and self-care when reporting human tragedy.

The Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship
A year long fellowship at Columbia School of Journalism in New York City offers three journalists a $75,000 stipend to work on a project that advances the understanding of the American education system.

Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism
A six-month fellowship program at Ohio State University, offeringprofessional journalists a $20,000 grant to work on an independentpublic affairs project of their choosing.

Knight-Wallace Fellows
University of Michigan program for eight months of study and a $55,000 stipend geared toward experienced professional journalists.

Nieman Fellowships
Harvard University administers awards to midcareer reporters, editors, photographers, producers, editorial writers and cartoonists, and Internet specialists for 10 months of study at Harvard and a $55,000 stipend.

John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships
A Stanford University program for outstanding mid-career journalists that offers a $55,000 stipend and the chance to study and perform professional research.

Radio Television News Directors Association An association representing local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media.

J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism Group that encourages innovative news experiments that use new technologies to help people actively engage in critical public issues.

National Newspaper Association Organization representing 3,200 local community newspapers in the United States.

National Association of Hispanic Journalists Organization established in 1984 for the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry.

The Freedom Forum A nonpartisan group that promotes freedom of the press through newsroom diversity, First Amendment advocacy and operation of the Newseum.

Poynter Institute School for journalism professionals and teachers with a wealth of information and articles related to the field.

Asian American Journalists Association Organization dedicated to encouraging and supporting Asian Pacific American journalists and coverage of Asian Pacific American issues.

Investigative Reporters and Editors A grassroots nonprofit organization established in 1975 that provides training, resources and community for investigative reporters.

National Association of Black Journalists Organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides programs and services to and advocates on behalf of black journalists worldwide.

Society of Professional Journalists A 90-year-old organization dedicated to professional development, journalist advocacy and career support services

Online News Association An organization geared toward promoting news on the Internet and through other digital platforms.

Committee of Concerned Journalists A consortium of reporters, editors and journalism professionals that explains and creates conversation on the role of the profession in society.

JournalismNext Association for minority journalists geared toward career support services.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press An organization that offers free legal assistance to journalists and advocates free speech and press.

Native American Journalists Association Organization that aims to serve and empower Native journalists through programs and actions designed to enrich journalism and promote Native cultures.

Journalism Center for Children and Families A national nonprofit program that seeks deeper coverage of social issues affecting disadvantaged children and families.

National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting NICAR is a program of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. and the Missouri School of Journalism. Founded in 1989, NICAR has trained thousands of journalists in the practical skills of finding, prying loose and analyzing electronic information.

UNITY
Alliance of minority journalists’ associations dedicated to positive change and advancement in the presence, growth and leadership of journalists of color.