Instructors of entry-level college courses consider the common standards in mathematics and English/language arts good reflections of the skills students must master to be successful in courses in a range of disciplines, according to a survey released last week. The study, "Reaching the Goal," aims to verify a key premise of the academic standards…

A group of states that is designing tests for the common academic standards has taken a key step to ensure that the assessments reflect students' readiness for college-level work: It gave top higher education officials from member states voting power on test-design questions that are closest to the heart of the college-readiness question. At its…

The General Educational Development program, or GED, is undergoing the biggest revamping in its 69-year history, driven by mounting recognition that young adults' future success depends on getting more than a high-school-level education. Potent forces have converged to stoke the GED's redesign. A labor market that increasingly seeks some…

A national panel urged federal policymakers to "take a more active role" in promoting adolescent reading and writing, and called for nothing short of a "literacy revolution" to keep students in school and ensure they are able to learn the complex material that college and careers will demand of them. The final report of the Carnegie Corporation of…