What Facebook Users Share: Lower Grades

Forget the widely unloved redesign. Facebook has committed a greater offense. According to a new study by doctoral candidate Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State University and her co-author Adam Duberstein of Ohio Dominican University, college students who use the 200 million–member social network have significantly lower grade-point averages (GPAs) than those who do not.

The study, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association on April 16, surveyed 219 undergraduate and graduate students and found that GPAs of Facebook users typically ranged a full grade point lower than those of nonusers — 3.0 to 3.5 for users versus 3.5 to 4.0 for their non-networking peers. It also found that 79% of Facebook members did not believe there was any link between their GPA and their networking habits. (See the 50 best websites of 2008.)

Raising standards by getting strong-performing schools to help weaker ones

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education

A video series profiling policies and practices of education systems that demonstrate high or improving performance in the PISA tests

Shanghai is China’s largest city and its principal business center, with a population of 20.7 million. It is also an education hub and a magnet for migrants from other parts of China seeking to participate in its booming economy. In a culture which traditionally sets high value on education, Shanghai stands out for its commitment to raising education standards for all and for the high quality results that its students achieve. In the 2009 PISA tests, Shanghai ranked firmly at the top.