The first of two articles in consecutive months describes the origins and nature of growing income inequality, and some of its consequences for American children. It documents the increased family income inequality that's occurred over the past 40 years and shows that the increased income disparity has been more than matched by an expanding…

Scholarship that moves from research into practice shares characteristics that make it visible to teachers, friendly to their worldview, practicable for realities of K-12 schools, and easily sharable. That doesn't mean however, that it's good or effective. Connecting research and practice is important work, if only because it has the…

More than 50 studies have examined the role of hope in predicting the performance of elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. In each, hope predicted test scores and term GPA. In many studies, hope was a significant predictor of student success even when controlling for previous grades, intelligence, and other psychological…

A striking convergence of research, documentation, commentary, and policy in the past five years strongly suggests that an almost exclusive focus on academic knowledge and skills is an incomplete solution. Additional behaviors, skills, and mindsets--sometimes called metacognitive skills or 21st-century skills--are just as necessary for academic…

The authors tell a story of the effects of state and national immigration policies on one teenage girl, and use that situation to call for change that will benefit her and similarly situated students in U.S. schools. The girl was brought to the U.S. when she was a toddler, attended American schools, never returned to or visited her native Mexico,…

Extended learning opportunities have emerged as a useful way to rethink how schools are organized and funded. That includes reconsidering who teaches and how they go about their work. That effort should be guided by four key policy considerations and goals: 1. Reengineer the role of teacher. 2. Rethink K-12, higher education, and community-based…

Back on Track, developed by Jobs for the Future, is a design for schools to not only re-engage off-track and out-of-school youths to graduate from high school, but also to put them on a clear, supported path to a college education. Two schools that have combined Back on Track with the early college model, in which students can earn both a high…

It is 40-plus years since the upstart Professional Development Program was initiated at Simon Fraser University. Among its many audacious innovations, the program offered opportunities for practicing teachers to play leading roles in the professional development of student teachers. Seconded (temporarily released) to the university for two-year…

High school teachers and administrators are often shocked to learn that universities consider their graduates unprepared for college work. They're especially chagrined when their most successful students seem ill prepared for college work. Author Kevin St. Jarre proposes that secondary schools spend more effort on ensuring that students know how…

In rural China today, only 0.2% have a college education. Since 1980, China has sustained the highest rate of growth in per-capita income in the world. From 1981 to 2001, the number of poor people living on less than $1 per day was reduced from 634 million to 211 million. The poverty problem, however, has not been solved. In 2005, a delegation of…

P-16 initiatives across the nation, with the endorsement of the National Governors Association, are striving to create a seamless education system from preschool through college graduation. P-12 and postsecondary educators are being asked to collaborate on a much deeper level. These efforts are rooted in the belief that "today's education system…

An exemplary program based at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay greatly increases the odds that at-risk youngsters will not only graduate from high school, but will go on to higher education. The program is also a model of university/community collaboration. ["Inspiring Students to Create the Future" was written with Timothy U. Kaufman, Linda…

In this article, the author argues that traditional college entrance requirements exercise a detrimental effect on other elements of the educational system. She begins by looking at the way that the entire K-12 system is skewed toward meeting the needs of those students headed for selective colleges and universities and the way less successful…

In the early 1990s a handful of states created independent public charter schools, providing opportunities for teachers and others to develop innovative schooling options. Unlike private schools funded through vouchers or tuition tax credits, these new public schools practice open admissions, accepting all students as space permits. In exchange…

There are only three South Korean universities that count in Koreans' eyes and they enroll 15,000 students, chosen from 873,000 applicants (1.7%), based on the results of a national exam. The night before the national exam, many mothers pray all night in temple. (They also prayed the previous 99 nights, but not so long.) The country comes to a…