Is there any good news in the current requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, especially regarding English learners (students whose first language is not English)?

Here we report on historical and recent grading patterns at American four-year colleges and universities. Records of average grades show that since the 1960s, grading has evolved in an ad hoc way into identifiable patterns at the national level. The mean grade point average of a school is highly dependent on the average quality of its student body and whether it is public or private. Relative to other schools, public-commuter and engineering schools grade harshly. Superimposed on these trends is a nationwide rise in grades over time of roughly 0.1 change in GPA per decade. These trends may help explain why private school students are disproportionately represented in Ph.D. study in science and engineering and why they tend to dominate admission into the most prestigious professional schools. They also may help explain why undergraduate students are increasingly disengaged from learning and why the US has difficulty filling its employment needs in engineering and technology.

Can a school district be held liable when a high school teacher forcibly “French-kisses” a student? A Louisiana court says yes.

Youth obesity rates have risen dramatically. In general, this issue has been defined as a public health problem, and, as such, efforts to address it have mostly included schools to the extent that they can affect physical fitness, diet, and nutrition. Yet, ample evidence indicates that the stigma of obesity rising can also interfere with the educational missions of schools by disrupting the socioemotional development of young people. In this way, rising obesity rates constitute an educational issue that requires different kinds of responses from schools. In this commentary, a sociologist describes the contours of the “obesity pandemic” and puts forward several points for debate about what schools can do not just to reduce the prevalence of obesity but also to prevent the socioemotional risks of obesity from interfering with teaching and learning.

It is a critical moment in educational policy. The Obama administration has renewed emphasis on educational policy and No Child Left Behind is up for renewal. But in the current debate, there has not been sufficient discussion of a crucial piece of educational debates: what kinds of research should be considered to be acceptable? In recent years, randomized-controlled trials were elevated to the position as the “gold standard” for educational research. We believe this position to be highly problematic. As the debate about education begins to pick up speed, it is important to broaden the definition of legitimate educational research.

The aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti has left a fragile nation teetering on the brink of collapse. In the coming weeks and months, donor countries, aid agencies, and NGOs will continue their tireless efforts to bring help and hope to Haiti’s roughly 10 million survivors. And yet, while urgent needs lurk on every street corner, nothing will determine the country’s long-term fate more than the trajectory of its education system.

School districts and their employees are occasionally sued after a student commits suicide, but courts are reluctant to hold them liable for these tragic events. Thus, an educator’s responsibility to prevent a student from committing suicide is primarily a professional and ethical obligation and not a legal duty.

The re-authorization of ESEA presents the Obama administration with the opportunity to address the flaws in the No Child Behind law and chart a new direction in federal policy. This is an opportunity that should not be wasted. NCLB needs more than minor tinkering or adjustments. A major overhaul is needed if greater improvements in our nation's schools are to be realized in the next few years.

This commentary critically appraises Camilli, Vargas, Ryan and Barnett’s (2010) meta-analysis of the cognitive effects of early education interventions. It also presents a related synthesis of recent randomized controlled trials.

A new report authored by Tom Loveless and published by the Fordham Institute misleads in an attempt to convince policymakers to maintain tracking policies. The report combines weak data with questionable analyses to manufacture a flawed argument against detracking.

Teacher and writer Nancie Atwell responds to critics of reading workshop—an approach in which students choose the books they read—by identifying and dissecting five myths about independent reading.

Recent efforts to combat low school enrollment in the developing world -- such as President Obama's pledge to establish a $2-billion Global Fund for Education and the 2002 creation of the World Bank's Fast Track Initiative -- represent a promising model for a synchronized, global effort on education that should be erected upon. Yet, to effectively supply the funding, guidance, and logistical support to achieve education for everyone, policymakers must focus their efforts more intensely on tapping the unrealized potential of females and rural inhabitants.

Based on her book How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment, sociologist Michèle Lamont discusses the role of emotions, interactions, and identities in influencing academic evaluation, including for tenure. She argues that subjectivity is essential for evaluation and that we need to be more aware of its impact – not try to eliminate it. She also argues that we should shift our focus away from bias toward gaining a better understanding of evaluative cultures and evaluative practices and of how they differ across disciplines, universities, and national contexts.

This commentary argues that researchers, educators, and policymakers need to better understand low-income youth's perspectives about the opportunities and barriers preventing them from accessing, persisting, and completing postsecondary education.

Should public schools adopt the business model of Google? Is selling advertising space inside the schoolhouse gate an answer to our chronically underfunded public schools?

A professor and her teaching assistant present a cultural perspective on the teaching of sexual identity development in a graduate higher education course. They raise questions about the challenges associated with engaging graduate students in discussions of sexual identification issues.

In June 2008, the Post-9/11 GI Bill signed into law with overwhelming support of both houses of Congress. This bill enables eligible Post-9/11 veterans to attend any in-state public college free of charge. How college administrators respond will have enormous impact on those military students who enroll. Our research looks at the degree to which college campuses are ready to take on the task of serving these non-traditional students.

Do parents have a constitutional right to be physically present at school with their children? A federal court in Texas says no.

This commentary outlines a fresh approach to recruiting and training good teachers.

This commentary surveys how Higher Education has historically enabled the rapid rise of Intercollegiate Athletics as a commercial business while compromising its ability to protect academic standards. However, the myth behind the economic value of investing in the intercollegiate sports arms race is being exposed under the new economic climate, empowering faculty and university presidents to redistribute academic resources so that all students have access to both an education and athletic participation. But are academics too powerless to seize the opportunity?

Educational achievement gaps impose on the United States the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession, but there is reason for hope: race and poverty are not destiny.

This commentary argues that teacher training programs should incorporate a more robust instruction on school law.

Skepticism is warranted when considering Uncle Sam’s ability to directly address teacher distribution. Ill-conceived policies may encourage districts to move teachers from schools and classrooms where they are effective to situations in which they are less effective. Heavy-handed efforts to reallocate teachers may drive good teachers from the profession. And we are far less able to identify “effective” teachers in any cookie-cutter fashion than many who call for federal action might wish. For all these reasons, humility is in order.

This commentary details the remarkable relationship between what Rachel Carson evidenced in her revolutionary book Silent Spring and how public officials in our field continue to use control measures, namely high-stakes tests, to monitor and regulate what is happening in America’s public schools.

Given the simultaneous ticking of biological and tenure clocks, research topics related to work and family for faculty have captured the attention of faculty and administrators in higher education. A primary emphasis of this research is early career faculty. The goal of this commentary is to broaden the conversation by including the perspectives of mid career faculty based on longitudinal data.