U.S. Education

Missoulian: Global study of student scores a mixed bag for US

 Highlights From PIRLS 2011:Reading Achievement of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context 

“The Progress In International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2011 is the third administration of this international comparison since the initial administration in 2001. PIRLS is used to compare over time the reading skills of 4th-grade students and is designed to align broadly with reading curricula in the participating countries. The results, therefore, suggest the degree to which students have learned the reading concepts and skills likely to have been taught in school. In 2011, there were 53 education systems (including countries and other education systems) that participated at grade 4.”

 Highlights From TIMSS 2011: Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and 

Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context 

“The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 is the fifth administration of this international comparative study since 1995 when first administered. TIMSS is used to compare over time the mathematics and science knowledge and skills of fourth- and eighth-graders. TIMSS is designed to align broadly with mathematics and science curricula in the participating countries. The results, therefore, suggest the degree to which students have learned mathematics and science concepts and skills likely to have been taught in school. In 2011, there were 54 countries and 20 other educational systems that participated in TIMSS, at the fourth- or eighth-grade level, or both.”

Montana Pay / Health Insurance / gGlobal Trends / Homeless

Missoulian: Conflicting studies compare salaries of Montana public, private workers

Employee Profile 2012
We publish the “Employee Profile” annually. The profile reports information on the executive branch workforce excluding elected officials and their exempt personal staff, university system employees, and employees of the Montana State Fund.

Montana Policy Institute Study

Missoulian: Lindeen says health insurance 'exchange' could be running next year in Montana 

Affordable Insurance Exchange 

“An health insurance exchange is a one-stop, online shop where consumers can compare options from private insurers on an apples-to-apples basis. In short, an exchange is a way to bring competition, transparency, and easy access to the health insurance market.”

Missoulian: Spies see poverty down, but resource fights ahead

Global Trends
"Global Trends 2030 is intended to stimulate thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories over the next 15 years. As with the NIC’s previous Global Trends reports, we do not seek to predict the future—which would be an impossible feat—but instead provide a framework for thinking about possible futures and their implications."

Missoulian: Homeless rate steady in latest government estimate 

Annual Homeless Assessment Report

Unemployment Rate / Pearl Harbor / Black Boxes

Missoulian: US economy adds 146K jobs, rate falls to 7.7 pct.

Employment Situation Summary 

 “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care.”

Missoulian:Pearl Harbor dead remembered on 71st anniversary

Image from Photo Gallery: December 7, 1941

World War II Valor in the Pacific 

“World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument preserves and interprets the stories of the Pacific War, including the events at Pearl Harbor, the internment of Japanese Americans, the battles in the Aleutians, and the occupation of Japan.”

Missoulian: Black boxes in cars raise privacy concerns 

Part 563, EVENT DATA RECORDERS
“The purpose of Part 563, EVENT DATA RECORDERS (EDR) is to help ensure that ERDs record, in a readily usable manner, data valuable for effective crash investigations and for analysis of safety equipment performance (e.g., advanced restraint systems). These data will help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur and will lead to safer vehicle designs.”

Illegal immigration/ NASA images

Missoulian: Illegal immigration drops after decade-long rise

 

Current Population Survey: 2011

“The tables include detailed statistics about five-year age groups by sex, the 55-and-older population, the Hispanic population, the black population and the Asian population. The tables provide a wide range of social, economic and housing characteristics, such as marital status, educational attainment, nativity, employment status, occupation, poverty and housing tenure.”

Missoulian: EARTH PHOTO GALLERY: Photos of Earth since 1960s

Earth as Art

In 1960, the United States put its first Earth-observing environmental satellite into orbit around the planet. Over the decades, these satellites have provided invaluable information, and the vantage point of space has provided new perspectives on Earth. This book celebrates Earth’s aesthetic beauty in the patterns, shapes, colors, and textures of the land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere.

NASA-NOAA Satellite Reveals New Views ofEarth at Night

New Moon Map

Missoulian: Below surface, moon reveals a"shattered" history  

NASA's GRAIL Creates Most Accurate MoonGravity Map

"What this map tells us is that more than any other celestial body we know of, the moon wears its gravity field on its sleeve," said GRAIL Principal Investigator Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "When we see a notable change in the gravity field, we can sync up this change with surface topography features such as craters, rilles or mountains."