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  3. Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping (超过)

Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping (超过)

admin2015-03-28  44
问题     Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping (超过) even the largest state university teachers’ colleges.
    A USA TODAY analysis of newly released U.S. Department of Education data finds that four big universities, operating mostly online, have quickly become the largest education schools in the USA. Last year the four — three of which are for-profit — awarded one in 16 bachelor’s degrees and post-graduate awards and nearly one in 11 advanced education awards, including master’s degrees and doctorates.
    A decade ago, the for-profit University of Phoenix awarded 72 education degrees to teachers, administrators and other school personnel through its online program, according to federal data. Last year, it awarded nearly 6,000 degrees, more than any other university.
    Traditional colleges still produce most of the bachelor’s degrees in teaching — ASU topped the list with 979 bachelor’s degrees in 2011. But online schools such as Phoenix and Walden University awarded thousands more master’s degrees than even the top traditional schools, all of which are pushing to offer online coursework.
    "We shouldn’t be surprised because the whole industry is moving in that direction," said Robert Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education. "The thing I would be interested in knowing is the degree to which they are simply pushing these things out in order to generate dollars or whether there’s some real innovation in there."
    For-profit universities have been the subject of intense scrutiny in Congress. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, last week released findings from a two-year investigation showing that they cost more than comparable not-for-profit schools and have higher dropout rates. For-profits, the investigation found, enroll about 10% of U.S. college students but account for nearly 50% of student loan defaults.
    Online education schools, many of which have open-enrollment policies similar to community colleges, say their offerings are high quality.
    Janet Williams, interim associate dean for educator licensure programs at Walden’s Richard W Riley College of Education & Leadership, said her student-teachers must undergo a full semester in a real-live K-12 school as a "demonstration teacher," paired with a master teacher and supervisor in the school district.
    Meredith Curley, dean of the University of Phoenix College of Education, said many students are returning to complete their education after starting families and changing careers. Their average age is 33, she said, and many work while they attend classes. Becky Lodewyck, Phoenix’s associate dean, said teaching candidates must complete at least 100 hours of field experience. She said online classes are "incredibly dynamic" and have the potential to hold students more accountable than face-to-face classes. "You can’t hide," she said. "Everyone participates — everyone has to be fully engaged in the work."
What can we know about the four big universities that mainly operate online?
选项 A、They have an important position in education in the US.
B、They have become the largest for-profit schools in America.
C、They focus on developing advanced education in the US.
D、They award most of the bachelor’s degrees in teaching.
答案A
解析 第2段首句提到，《今日美国》对美国教育部最近发布的数据进行了分析，结果发现，四所主要在网上运作的大学已经迅速成为美国最大的师范院校。由此可见，这四所学校在美国教育界占据了重要的地位，故A)符合文意，为答案。由第2句可知，这四所大学中只有三所是盈利性学校，故B)不符合文意，予以排除。C)是利用末句中的advanced education设置的干扰项，文中并没有提及这四所学校的发展方向。文中说的是每16个学士学位和研究生学位中就有一个是由这四所大学颁发的，因此这四所学校并不占大多数，故D)也可以排除。
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