Less than half of high school graduates who took the SAT in 2013 were prepared for college, continuing a five-year trend.

Less than half - 44 percent -- who took the ACT had the reading skills necessary for college. That's down from 53 percent in 2009. And nearly a third failed to meet standards in four areas: reading, English, science and math.

The failures have persisted despite years of new tests, new curricula and new demands on teachers, notes educational researcher and consultant Charles M. Reigeluth, author of "Reinventing Schools: It's Time to Break the Mold," (www.reigeluth.net).

"We continue to approach the same problems with the same sorts of solutions, despite the fact that they're not working," he says. "Instead, we need a fundamental shift in how we educate our children. Our public school system was designed to meet the needs of a long-ago era - the Industrial Age. It's not working because we're now in the Information Age."

Teachers unfairly shoulder much of the blame for the lack of progress, he notes, but they're hamstrung by roles and rules that don't work for 21st century students.

"We need to change from teacher-centered education to learner-centered. In the Industrial Age paradigm, teachers are a judge and a perceived threat. In the Information Age, they should be guides and coaches who help students overcome obstacles," says Reigeluth.

His multidimensional approach includes reducing bureaucracy in schools; encouraging students to teach each other with teacher supervision; having interns and other paraprofessionals, including retiree volunteers, assist with guiding student learning; and creating an "educational cooperative," where a community's adults can earn access to learning resources, advancing their own education, in exchange for helping students learn.

"The new paradigm can significantly reduce the cost of education while increasing the quality," says Reigeluth, who outlines the five new roles teachers would have in this redesigned system.

•  Mentor ... the same 20 to 30 students for several years, addressing all aspects of student development. Students and teachers would develop the deeper relationships that foster real caring on both sides. Mentors would help students prepare a personal learning plan for each project period, six to 12 weeks, including helping each student and his parents choose appropriate instructional goals, subject to standards set by the community, state and nation. Mentors would also help identify and support the best means for each student to achieve those goals.

•  Designer ... of student work options, mostly projects or tasks, to engage students in the learning process. Open educational resources developed by teachers throughout the country and available to all educators for free via the Internet can alleviate much of the burden of the designer role.

•  Facilitator ... of the learning process, which entails monitoring student progress, enhancing student motivation and coaching student performance.

•  Learner ... the teacher is always learning with the students, about students, from and for the students. The teacher does not have all the answers, but the teacher helps students find answers. And the teacher is always learning more about how best to meet students' needs. The new paradigm provides sufficient support for teacher learning.

•  Owner and manager ... of the school. Like lawyers and accountants in a small firm, teachers would be partners who own their public school and make decisions about its operations, including budgeting and staffing. This model is already a success at the Minnesota New Country School and other EdVisions schools. This role elevates teachers to that of true professionals, rather than workers controlled by an all-powerful bureaucracy.

"These new roles offer empowerment to those who are most affected by our system, the student and the teacher, the latter of whom I suggest calling 'guides' to better reflect their new roles," Reigeluth says. "The new roles better serve students in the age in which we live."

About Charles M. Reigeluth

Charles M. Reigeluth is a distinguished educational researcher who focuses on paradigm change in education. He has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in instructional psychology from Brigham Young University. He was a professor at the Instructional Systems Technology Department at Indiana University, and is a former chairman of the department. His new book, "Reinventing Schools," (www.reigeluth.net), advocates and chronicles a national paradigm change in K-12 education. He offers presentations and consulting on this topic.

MADISON (August 5, 2014) - Approximately 6,500 students received degrees during the University of Wisconsin-Madison's May 17, 2014 spring commencement ceremony.

Among the graduates are Alexia Nicole Zatarain, Doctor of Law (Juris Doctor) from Davenport and William Clarence Nunn, Master of Business Administration - Business General Management from Rock Island.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. delivered the charge to graduates at the ceremony, which was held at Camp Randall Stadium

For more information about UW-Madison commencement, visithttp://commencement.wisc.edu. Here are the degree recipients from your area:

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CHARLESTON, IL (08/01/2014)(readMedia)-- Kaitlyn Teager of East Moline, IL was one of more than 990 undergraduate students named to Eastern Illinois University's Spring 2014 Deans' List.

The Deans' List at EIU recognizes undergraduates with a declared major whose academic performance has been excellent. Students who achieve a GPA of 3.80 to 4.00 (on a 4.00 scale) while completing a minimum of 12 graded semester hours, excluding credit/no credit grades, in a fall or spring semester will be named to the Deans' List.

Please join us in congratulating Kaitlyn on this achievement!

Located in Charleston, IL, Eastern Illinois University has a rich tradition of preparing students to accomplish their life goals through a great combination of quality academics and personal relationships. Consistently ranked in the top third of Midwest universities in its class by U.S. News and World Report, Eastern has earned its reputation by offering a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs taught by an experienced and caring faculty. In addition to reasonable tuition, fees, and room and board rates, Eastern offers a textbook rental system, saving the average student hundreds of dollars per semester.

DES MOINES, IA (07/30/2014)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, a member of the Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation, announced today that Aubrey Kohl of Bettendorf was among the four students to receive a Robert D. Blue scholarship award for the 2014-2015 school year. The Robert D. Blue Scholarship, which is given by the Foundation, awarded four Iowa students to assist in covering expenses at an Iowa college. The recipients represented four Iowa counties and four Iowa schools.

"Students selected to receive this award must be a citizen of Iowa and demonstrate literary and scholastic ability; exhibit qualities of truth, courage, and fellowship; and display moral force of character," commented State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald. "Aubrey is an excellent example of the type of student that we were looking for." Kohl will be attending Cornell College this fall.

Awards were based on the review of an application, letters of recommendation, scholastic achievement, and an essay on the responsibility of a citizen toward his or her community. Additional information about the Robert D. Blue Scholarship is available on-line at rdblue.org.

Foundation members include Governor Terry Branstad, Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, Board of Education President Charlie Edwards; former governors Chester Culver, Tom Vilsack, and Robert Ray; and citizen members Elaine Estes, Arvid Huisman, Wayne Marty and Janet Metcalf.

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