Same-Sex Schools on the Incline

Today, same-sex public schools are becoming popular again. And the debate is starting up, again, on whether or not it's good to separate the sexes when it comes to educating America's youth. FOXNews.com has a interesting look at a popular all-girls inner-city school that is praising the benefits of such a system, but you also get the other side that says that neither gender learns from one another. Are the studies really true, that students who attend same-sex schools do better? Or do they hurt their chances for becoming well-meaning, productive members of society?
(Click here to read the article for yourself. Then, if you're really worked up, we'll take your comments here. We'd love to hear your opinion.)

National SAT Scores Drop 7 points

The national average scores for the SAT college entrance exam dropped 7 points for the school class of 2006. The test scores, administered under a brand new version of the test, saw the biggest drop in test scores in 31 years. Not only that, but the number of test-takers was also down by about 9,600 students to 1.47 million.

The fair majority of those who dropped out of the tests were students who identified themselves as belonging to low-income families. 41,000 fewer students retook the test than last year.

This year, girls narrowed the gap in math and reading scores from 42 to 26 points, mainly because they outperformed boys on the new writing sections multiple choice questions and essay. (USAToday.com)

Short Ends: Hitlers' Cross, Katrina aid money

It's another week, meaning time for more Short Ends, stories that we found across the internet that we thought we would bring to your attention. This feature isn't necessarily a headline update, though there may be those elements present. Rather, these stories tend to be not so "time sensative," so if you are reading this post, say, ten days after it was published, you'd still find these stories interesting to read. Or that's what we tell ourselves to make us feel like we have timeless value instead of being a flash-in-the-pan blogger. Oh behold how delicate is the ego of a web logger!

• While Hitler tried to conquer the world through force, one restaurant owner in India is hoping to conquer through food at his new diner, Hitler's Cross. (On Deadline)
• A recent survey done showed that more money was raised by schoolchildren for Katrina relief than by most major corporations. (The Blotter)
• While there is no building built yet, the World Trade Center Museum already has an exhibit on display in New York City. (NY1)
• CBS has a insightful post on how bloggers and the media have over-reacted to each other when it comes to the doctored photographs in the middle-east. (Public Eye)
• Archeologists in Israel have found an elaborate waterworks system that used underground tunnels to turn parts of Persia into an amazing water spectacle. (MSNBC)
• The Guardian Unlimited looks back on the famous TV incident last year when the BBC accidentially put the wrong man on-air for an interview. According to them, the man has had several notable TV gigs since then and has since landed a film deal. (Guardian Unlimited Newsblog)
• Incoming college freshmen this year have only known two presidents, have seen wars televised and have had little use for stamps. The times definately are a-changing! (Yahoo! News)
• A NYTimes blogger has found a collection of all those fun punch 'em & shoot 'em banner ads that you can play, without you having to visit the sponsor. So you can shoot Brad Pitt's paparazzi all. afternoon. long. (Pogue's Post)