Fast Fact

Armand Biroonak's picture

Average College Debt

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
September 15, 2008

The average debt for students graduating college now exceeds $19,000.

Source
U.S. Department of Education
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Armand Biroonak's picture

Voucher Programs Have No Impact on Performance

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
August 21, 2008

Two studies from Bush’s own Department of Education found that the voucher program in Washington D.C. has had no impact on students’ academic performance. An exhaustive eight-year study of Milwaukee’s school voucher program reached the same conclusion.

Source

Department of Education 2007

Department of Education 2008

Economic Policy Institute

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Armand Biroonak's picture

The Cost of Higher Education: Lots of Debt

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
July 17, 2008

At least two-thirds of college students graduate with some debt and the average debt among graduates exceeds $19,000.

Source
"National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)," National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/
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Natalene Ong's picture

Bush, McCain, and the Republican Congress slashed student aid programs

Submitted by Natalene Ong
July 17, 2008

Bush promoted and McCain supported the largest cut to federal student aid in history. During "the raid on student aid," the last Republican Congress slashed $12.7 billion from student loan programs. Aid was restored and enhanced only after Democrats took over Congress in 2007.

Source
Democratic Caucus. INVESTING IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Democratic Caucus. [Online] [Cited: July 17, 2008.] http://www.dems.gov/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={967D862D-601C-48B7-9893-86F157E261C1}&DE={8E46D3E4-7618-4945-B04C-CFF337027D7E}.
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Natalene Ong's picture

Under Bush, direct federal aid to college students declined while subsidies for private student loan companies skyrocketed

Submitted by Natalene Ong
July 17, 2008

While Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress, federal funding for Pell Grants and Direct Student Loans remained flat, while federal work study funds and Byrd Honors Scholarships declined. Conversely, funding for the Family Education Loan Program, a program which subsidizes private student loan companies, more than doubled from $25 billion in 2001 to $51 billion in 2007.

Source
US Department of Education. Fiscal Year 2001-2009 State Tables for the U.S. Department of Education. US Department of Education. [Online] July 1, 2008. [Cited: July 17, 2008.] http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/index.html.
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Natalene Ong's picture

At least two-thirds of college students graduate with some debt

Submitted by Natalene Ong
July 17, 2008

The average debt among college graduates exceeds $19,000. One-fourth of all students borrow $25,000 or more. These statistics were last published by the U.S. Department of Education in 2004, so they understate current student debt.

Source
US Department of Education. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study . US Department of Education. [Online] [Cited: July 17, 2008.] http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/.
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Natalene Ong's picture

College costs have risen dramatically during the Bush Administration

Submitted by Natalene Ong
July 17, 2008

Tuition and fees at a public four-year college have increased from $3,500 to nearly $6,200 since Bush took office—an increase of 46 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. Tuition at private colleges also became more expensive, increasing on average from $16,000 in 2000-01 to $23,700 in 2007-08.

Source
College Board. Trends in College Pricing. College Board. [Online] 2007. [Cited: July 17, 2008.] http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/trends/trends_pricing_07.pdf.
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Armand Biroonak's picture

College Tuition and Fees Balloon

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
July 17, 2008

Tuition and fees at public four-year colleges are up 46 percent since 2001.

Source
"Trends in College Pricing 2007," College Board. 2007. http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/trends/trends_pricing_07.pdf
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Alex Carter's picture

Compared to other countries, U.S. flunks in teacher pay

Submitted by Alex Carter
April 2, 2008

In South Korea and Germany, starting salaries for teachers are about 141% of per capita GDP, while the figure for the United States is only 81%; in fact, all countries in this sample pay their teachers a significantly higher relative wage as a starting salary compared to the United States.

Source
Joydeep Roy. "Compared to other countries, U.S. flunks in teacher pay." Economic Policy Institute. 2 April 2008. http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_20080402.
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Anita Chariw2's picture

WIth one day of Iraq War funding could have...

Submitted by Anita Chariw2 (not verified)
March 25, 2008

With one day of Iraq War funding we could have hired 6,921 new public school teachers for a year.

Source
The 2008 Statistical Abstract. Education: Elementary and Secondary Education: Staff and Finances. Table 245. Average Salary and Wages Paid in Public School Systems: 1985 to 2005. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0245.pdf
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