Did you know...
- Teaching is a hard job, and when compared to other industrialized nations, American teacher pay is middle-of-the-pack. Maybe that’s what explains a University of Pennsylvania study that found a third of teachers quit the profession within the first 3 years. When you extend the time frame to five years, 46% leave.
- Where are the most-learned people in America? According to a 2019 WalletHub study, the most educated city in America was Ann Arbor, Michigan. The San Jose and Washington, D.C. metro areas followed closely behind. The least educated city, according to the study, was Visalia, California—in between Fresno and Bakersfield.
- Boston has the highest concentration of higher ed institutions in the nation. There are over 100 colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area. It also has seven R1 "very high research activity" universities: Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Brandeis, Boston College, Northeastern, and Tufts. This R1 concentration, too, is a record.
- Finland has some of the highest performing schools in the world. They often lead world rankings in education. Even so, primary school isn't compulsory until the age of seven. There are no national tests, no rankings, no inspections, and very few private schools. Finish students also report some of the highest satisfaction levels and lowest anxiety levels.
- The oldest continually operating higher ed institution in the world is the University of al-Qarawiyyin. It was established in Fez, Morocco, in the year 859. That makes it over 1,160 years old! It was founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, and became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers in the Muslim world. It joined the modern Morocco university system in 1963.