While U.S. schools struggled to reach even an average score on a key international exam for 15-year-olds in 2012, BASIS Tucson North, an economically modest, ethnically diverse charter school in Arizona, outperformed every country in the world, and left even Shanghai, China's academic gem in the dust. With the U.S. frantic about its place in…

This article describes the results of a California state law established in 2010 that created "Districts of Choice." The District of Choice law was meant to encourage districts to compete for students by offering innovative programs and this-school-fits-my-child options that parents wanted. This designation meant that children from any…

In this article, June Kronholz talks to co-chief executives of Teach For America (TFA), Elisa Villanueva Beard and Matt Kramer about how TFA has managed to keep its forward momentum for almost 24 years. Four primary reasons are discussed: (1) Common Vision, Regional Innovation; (2) Data-Driven Improvement; (3) Global Reach; and (4) Stoking the…

A growing body of research says there is a link between afterschool activities and graduating from high school, going to college, and becoming a responsible citizen. Temple University psychologist Laurence Steinberg, whose book, "You and Your Adolescent: The Essential Guide for Ages 10-25," discusses afterschool activities. He suggested two more…

This article features Khan Academy which offers an online math program and short video lectures embedded in the "module", or math concept, that fit students' goals. By now, more than 1 million people have watched the online video in which Salman Khan--a charming MIT math whiz, Harvard Business School graduate, and former Boston hedge-fund…

Spreading accountability from the teacher back to the education school is an idea the Obama administration is also promoting in its efforts to remake teacher training. This spring, a federal panel looking at teacher-preparation programs debated, among other things, rating education schools based on how much their teachers add to student learning.…

Data-driven instruction began its spread across the country about a decade ago, in the footsteps of the No Child Left Behind requirement that schools administer yearly achievement tests. Those tests didn't help teachers spot and backfill learning gaps, though. Scores came back after everyone had moved on to the next grade, and anyway, the tests…

What is a school to do with children who are intellectually years ahead of their age group, their textbooks, the curriculum, and usually their teachers? When the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) surveyed states in 2008 about what they provide in the way of gifted education, it found the answer to be "not much." At least a dozen…

Presidents at least as far back as Bill Clinton have made attendance a priority of their school-reform efforts, in part because of the social costs of youngsters not attending. There's a direct line from truancy to juvenile crime, gang membership, and drug use, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. There's an equally direct line from…

A century ago, often under pressure from labor unions, states passed seat-time and mandatory-attendance laws that compelled youngsters to stay in school, and out of the competition for jobs. The laws haven't changed much today, but kids have, and by their midteens, many of them--bored with high school or academically beyond it--are ready for the…

Online K-12 education made its appearance in the mid-1990s, largely as a resource for bright students who had no access to accelerated classes. It moved next into core high-school courses where districts found themselves with teacher shortages--math, science, foreign languages--and has been growing bumptiously, and in a dozen directions, ever…

Americans thrive on competition. But American schools have been suspicious of competition for generations, and are generally horrified by the idea that success should be accompanied by a reward like a title, a trophy, or a cash prize. In this article, the author stresses that the self-esteem movement in the 1990s made many educators squeamish…

This article discusses Michelle Rhee's style of leadership--as steely as the sound of her peekaboo high heels on a linoleum-tile hallway--which has angered much of Washington, D.C., and baffled the rest since she arrived as schools chancellor in June 2007. But it is also helping her gain control of a school system that has defied management for…