How to Make Sense of College Admissions Rankings

(New York Times) By Frank Bruni —  Willard Dix is one of the crankiest observers of the college admissions process I know; he’s also one of the smartest. He worked at Amherst, his alma mater, then advised college-bound students at a private secondary school in Chicago. He now blogs about higher education. I asked him on the […]

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3 Facts About Aid, Tuition for Out-of-State Students

( US News ) By Farran Powell Mississippi is a long way from Upstate New York, but Allie Hanson wanted to attend a public university out of state and chose her school based on its aid award. “Mississippi State has awesome merit-based packages,” says the 19-year-old sophomore, of Clifton Park, New York. “Because I got a 30 on my […]

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Personalized Learning: What Does the Research Say?

(Edweek) By Benjamin Herold The K-12 sector is investing heavily in technology as a means of providing students with a more customized educational experience. So far, though, the research evidence behind “personalized learning” remains thin. The U.S. Department of Education has given half a billion dollars to districts that embrace the trend, with limited findings to date. […]

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History of Test Prep: The effects of the new SAT

(Cornell College News) By Staff Writers — The new SAT has two sections: mathematics and English, each scored from 200-800, for a total out of 1600. The most recent “old SAT” gave a total out of 2400. While the average for the SAT of 2006-15 was 1500, the average on the newest rendition is showing 1090, […]

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Is China’s gaokao the world’s toughest school exam?

(The Guardian) By Alec Ash — For two days in early June every year, China comes to a standstill as high school students who are about to graduate take their college entrance exams. Literally the “higher examination”, the gaokao is a national event on a par with a public holiday, but much less fun. Construction work is halted near […]

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