Source Note: “Falling Behind Schedule”

March 13, 2009 in Research Project

Title: “Falling Behind Schedule”

Summary: Multimedia display shows most schools failing to meet proficiency deadlines.

Topic: Should the Obama Administration reform the No Child Left Behind Act?

Category: Journalistic; Multimedia; Map with text

Publication Information: The New York Times, 10/13/08

Author: N/A

Location: nytimes.com

Accessed: March 12, 2009

Support:

• Color-coded map of the United States: The color shadings represent the approximate percentage of schools in the state failing to meet the 2008 proficiency goals. Washington and Florida both have 50-84% of their schools still below their promised 2008 benchmarks, and Hawaii’s schools aren’t fairing much better, with 25-50% still below the minimum scores.

Audience and Agenda: The New York Times is, along with the Washington Post, the major national newspaper most commonly cited in U.S. academic circles. It is one of the only metropolitan newspapers that does not rely primarily on commercial wire services for coverage outside its namesake locale. According to its Quantcast audience profile, it shares online readership  primarily with other business-minded publications such as The Economist and The Wall Street Journal, and recieves approximately 13.9 million visits per month.

Usefulness: This multimedia display provides a visual breakdown of the states that are still behind in meeting their federally-mandated, self-determined proficiency requirements. As most people are familiar with geographical boundaries of the individual states, the presentation is especially effective at conveying the scale of the noncompliance/under-performance. Visual presentations are especially useful for explaining research results to lay audiences, making it a valuable addition to my research project.

Works cited:

““nytimes.com – Quantcast Audience Profile,”http://www.quantcast.com/nytimes.com

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