Notes in the Margins: AP, performance funding and the so-called STEM shortage

Study: There may not be a shortage of American STEM graduates after all The EPI study found that the United States has “more than a sufficient supply of workers available to work in STEM occupations.” Basic dynamics of supply and demand would dictate that if there were a domestic labor shortage, wages should have risen. Instead, researchers found, they’ve been flat, with many Americans holding STEM degrees unable to enter the field. (The Washington Post)

Map of Performance Funding for Higher Education Twelve stateshave a funding formula in place that provides some amount of funding based on performance indicators such as course completion, time to degree, transfer rates, the number of degrees awarded, or the number of low-income and minority graduates.  Four states are transitioning to some type of performance funding. Several more states have had "formal discussions" about performance funding. (NCSL via Marketplace)

Controversial FAU Professor Says Boston Bombing Is A Government Conspiracy James Tracy's comments on the bombing, as well as the Sandy Hook school shootings, have raised tensions among some school officials and raised the issue of academic freedom. (The Huffington Post)

The Winds of Change -- Periodicals Price Survey 2013 There continues to be a struggle to find the resources needed to support library collections and services, and conditions remain highly unsettled. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, 24 states are working from 2013 budgets with lower general fund expenditures in FY13 than in 2008, the last year before the recession. Nearly half the states have not returned to prerecession levels of revenue and spending. (Library Journal)

AP program isn't all it's cracked up to be A new study from Stanford University that reviews research on the Advanced Placement program of college-level high school courses concludes that the common wisdom about AP -- including about how much benefit students get from it -- is not accurate. (The Washington Post)

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