Having one meeting with a college counselor and taking a practice SAT exam just won’t cut it anymore as appropriate college prep for high school students. According to recent trends, higher competition and more college options are forcing students and teachers to rethink the way they approach college readiness. College Readiness Takes on New Meaning The increased cost of post-secondary school is fundamentally changing the way high school students and teachers view the college application process. It is no longer practical to look at college strictly as a time of well-rounded social and personal development; the costs are too high for this. Instead, colleges are beginning …

A new study conducted as a joint effort by Harvard, the University of Chicago and UC San Diego has concluded that merit-based pay is an effective way to increase the performance and efficiency of teachers. Merit-based pay, or performance pay, as it is sometimes called, is a somewhat controversial practice that bases a teacher's salary on the success of their students. Merit-based pay …

While embracing technology and streamlining programs may be a good start for most American colleges to offset the rising costs of higher education, Fort Hays State in western Kansas has taken a more aggressive approach: By outsourcing courses and some faculty to two Chinese universities, the public university is bringing their U.S. bachelor’s degree to about 3,500 Chinese students. In Fall, 2000, Fort Hays began offering courses in mainland China to 40 students. Today, they are serving about 3,500 students at Sias International University and Shenyang Normal University. The course offerings can lead to a Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership, Bachelor of Science in In…

Harvard University has released a fascinating new report conducted by the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Government and Education Next. The report is called "Achievement Growth: International and U.S. State Trends in Student Performance,” and presents some very intriguing finds. The report, which charts the progress of the United States in closing the international education gap, estimates the learning gains of students in the United States and 48 other countries from 1995 to 2009. In addition, the study examines changes in student performance in 41 states within the United States between 1992 and 2…

Following President Obama's executive action to halt deportation on young, undocumented immigrants pursuing their education, people across the country are trying to find out how their own states handle immigration. One of the issues that has arisen regards undocumented students in higher education: How are admissions criteria affected? Are they eligible for financial aid?

The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good surveyed the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (…

Josh Hoekstra, a 39-year-old U.S. history teacher from Rosemont High School in Minneapolis, is revitalizing history education with his Teach with Tournaments method. U.S. history is one of American students’ worst performing subjects, and Josh wanted to give the topic the innovation it needed to inspire greater interest. Harnessing his students' enthusiasm for NCAA’s March Madness tournament, Josh created a passion-driven, competitive learning model that encouraged students to become personally connected with historical figures they st…