The COVID-19 pandemic has redoubled attention to the challenges families face in making sure their children are fully prepared and supported in their journey through school. This first of three Quality Counts 2021 installments provides grades and scores for the nation and each state on a range of factors setting students up for success in school…

President Barack Obama used his first State of the Union address since winning re-election to put education at the center of his broader strategy to bolster the nation's economic prospects. He is proposing to dramatically expand preschool access for low- and middle-income children and to create a new competitive program aimed at helping high…

Faced with stiffer economic competition and worried about the skills of their future workforces, many states are trying to connect education from preschool through postsecondary so that more students are prepared for further study, work, and citizenship. In the past decade, 30 states have created what are often called "P-16" councils or …

This article features graduates of the Chicago-based Academy for Urban School Leadership who are channeled directly into low-performing "turn around" schools where they receive guidance from accomplished veterans. Founded by venture capitalist Martin J. Koldyke, the 5-year-old nonprofit academy is independent of the 426,000-student Chicago system,…

Large companies and major business groups are known for hiring well-heeled lobbyists to push for their interests, especially in such areas as tax and spending laws. Their federal lobbying presence on education issues has been relatively modest. The author discusses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable--two prominent…