Number of Student Loans in Default Declines

Number of Student Loans in Default Declines

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, NYTimes

It was the first drop in the default rate in years, but 21 schools still have rates so high that they could be barred from federal loan and grant programs.

Academic Skills on Web Are Tied to Income Level

Academic Skills on Web Are Tied to Income Level

By MOTOKO RICH, NYTimes
A new study indicates that the higher the income level of a student’s family, the more adept the student will be on how to use the web.

TED-ED Music and math: The genius of Beethoven - Natalya St. Clair

TED-ED: Music and math: The genius of Beethoven - Natalya St. Clair

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/music-and-math-the-genius-of-beethoven-natalya-st-clair

How is it that Beethoven, who is celebrated as one of the most significant composers of all time, wrote many of his most beloved songs while going deaf? The answer lies in the math behind his music. Natalya St. Clair employs the "Moonlight Sonata" to illustrate the way Beethoven was able to convey emotion and creativity using the certainty of mathematics.

Lesson by Natalya St. Clair, animation by Qa'ed Mai.

‘A National Admissions Office’ for Low-Income Strivers

‘A National Admissions Office’ for Low-Income Strivers

By DAVID LEONHARDT, NYTimes

QuestBridge has quietly become a force in college admissions. On some elite campuses, 1 in 10 students come from the program.

Amy Cuddy Takes a Stand

Amy Cuddy Takes a Stand

By DAVID HOCHMAN, NYTimes

A successful pose has helped Ms. Cuddy become a leading voice on TED Talks.

To Get More Out of Science, Show the Rejected Research

To Get More Out of Science, Show the Rejected Research

By BRENDAN NYHAN, NYTimes

A proposal aims to address the problem of studies that go unpublished even though their findings can be important.

Obama Unveils Push for Young People to Do More Against Campus Assaults

Obama Unveils Push for Young People to Do More Against Campus Assaults

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and ELENA SCHNEIDER, NYTimes

The campaign will feature celebrities and television ads in an effort to enlist students in the fight to end violence against women on campus.

Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition

Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition

By SUSAN DYNARSKI, NYTimes

An ambitious plan to create a better-informed marketplace for education doesn’t take into account how public universities are funded.

Take Note of These Back-to-School Aids

Take Note of These Back-to-School Aids
By KIT EATON, NYTimes

Apps can put a dictionary, graphing calculator, organizer and more in the palms of students’ hands

The Big History | Big History Project

Big History Project | The Big History

Flip through the story of the Big History Project and get a glimpse of how the course came to be.

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ...

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ...
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, NYTimes

Christian and Gates at the Four Seasons in New York.
Should one of the world’s richest men get to dictate the future of how we learn about our past?

Why Flunking Exams Is Actually a Good Thing

Why Flunking Exams Is Actually a Good Thing
By BENEDICT CAREY, NYTimes

To learn how to study, start by bombing a pretest.

Student-Built Apps Teach Colleges a Thing or Two

Student-Built Apps Teach Colleges a Thing or Two
By ARIEL KAMINER, NYTimes

Undergraduates are building apps that are faster, easier-to-navigate versions of campus systems such as the ones that manage course catalogs and class scheduling.

Active Role in Class Helps Black and First-Generation College Students, Study Say

Active Role in Class Helps Black and First-Generation College Students, Study Says
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, NYTimes

A study of college students found that the trend toward more class participation, and away from a traditional lecture-based approach, raised average test scores, with bigger gains for some.

Despite Racial Disparity, Alumni Group Backs Test-Only Policy for Elite Schools

Despite Racial Disparity, Alumni Group Backs Test-Only Policy for Elite Schools
By KATE TAYLOR

Very few black and Hispanic students attend New York City’s eight specialized high schools, which base admissions solely on the results of a standardized test.

Grading Teachers, With Data From Class

Grading Teachers, With Data From Class
By FARHAD MANJOO, NYTimes

Panorama Education, aided by prominent tech investors, is refining student feedback through innovative data collection. School systems are embracing the concept.

This American Life: 504: How I Got Into College

This American Life: 504: How I Got Into College, Sept. 6, 2013

Students all over are starting college this month, and some of them still have a nagging question: what, exactly, got me in? An admissions officer tells us the most wrongheaded things applicants try. And Michael Lewis has the incredible story of how a stolen library book got one man — Emir Kamenica — into his dream school. (download mp3) (transcript)

Generation Later, Poor Are Still Rare at Elite Colleges

Generation Later, Poor Are Still Rare at Elite Colleges
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, NYTimes

Surveys of top colleges found virtually no change from the 1990s to 2012 in enrollment of students who are less well off despite a huge increase in the number of such students going to college.

The Teacher Wars

‘The Teacher Wars’
By DANA GOLDSTEIN
Reviewed by ALEXANDER NAZARYAN, NYTimes

The journalist Dana Goldstein’s “The Teacher Wars” serves up historical commentary instead of a searing philippic on one of the day’s hot-button issues: the role of teaching in America.

Japan Seeks Edge With Global Talent

Japan Seeks Edge With Global Talent
By MIKI TANIKAWA

Japanese corporations are recruiting international students today to improve their ability to compete internationally.

Why Colleges With a Distinct Focus Have a Hidden Advantage

Why Colleges With a Distinct Focus Have a Hidden Advantage
By NEIL IRWIN, NYTimes

Looking at where students who gain admission to numerous colleges choose to go reveals some surprises.

Lowering Interest Rates on Loans Isn’t the Best Way to Help College Students

Lowering Interest Rates on Loans Isn’t the Best Way to Help College Students
By SUSAN DYNARSKI, NYTimes

Increasing college attendance and reducing defaults are worthy goals, and there are effective methods to do it.

Schools for Tomorrow Conference

Schools for Tomorrow Conference
NYTimes

Join us on Sept. 8 and 9 for a compelling discussion on how innovations and challenges — social, economic, political and technological — are calling into question the very nature of higher education.

Saving on College Textbooks by Molly Wood--The New York Times

Saving on College Textbooks by Molly Wood | The New York Times

There are cheaper ways to get your textbooks for college, they just involve being a better shopper. Sites like Chegg, Bookrenter and Packback allow you to digitally buy or rent books as you need them.

Produced by: Rebekah Fergusson and Vanessa Perez

Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1vqh2ss

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Chinese Students Flock to US High Schools in Soaring Numbers

Chinese Students Flock to US High Schools in Soaring Numbers
by Shannon Van Sant, VOANews.com

As American high schools start their academic year this September, it is expected to be another record year for enrollments by Chinese students. China's booming middle class is growing wealthier, and many parents and students are taking extraordinary steps to get a unique educational experience - even if it means paying a hefty price. (read more)

New US College Entrance Test Worries China

VOANews: New US College Entrance Test Worries China

More than 200,000 Chinese students studied last year at a college or university in the United States. For many students, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, is simply another standardized test they are required to take. But recent changes to the SAT are creating some political unease in China. (read more) (download mp3)

Picking Up an Elusive College Dream

Picking Up an Elusive College Dream
By DIANA KAPP, NYTimes

For Tenille Warren, the burden of growing up poor was too heavy for even the offer of a free ride to college to counter. But, about to turn 38, she is back on track at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

New Health Law Is Sending Many Back to School

New Health Law Is Sending Many Back to School
By PHYLLIS KORKKI, NYTimes.com

Programs at U.C.L.A. and Columbia keep health professionals and those entering the field up to date on the issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act.

Shuffle, Deal and Learn

Shuffle, Deal and Learn
By JONAH BROMWICH, NYTimes

Brainscape has many flashcard decks for free or for purchase, lets you assemble your own, and shuffles as you rate your knowledge of the cards.

Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day? - Kenneth C. Davis

TED-ED: Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day? - Kenneth C. Davis

View full lesson: http://bit.ly/1yZVuly

In the United States and Canada, the first Monday of September is a federal holiday, Labor Day. Originally celebrated in New York City's Union Square in 1882, Labor Day was organized by unions as a rare day of rest for the overworked during the Industrial Revolution. Kenneth C. Davis illustrates the history of Labor Day from Union Square to today.