As every good secondary administrator knows, rigorous curricula matter. Challenging curricula is the factor in lifting each student to reach their potential: "the academic intensity of the student's high school curriculum still counts more than anything else...in providing momentum toward completing a bachelor's degree" (Adelman, 2006,…

Advanced high-school courses, such as Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the United States, present a content selection conundrum of major proportions. Judicious content selection is necessary if students are to learn subject matter meaningfully, but the sheer breadth of tested material in these courses promotes nearly the opposite:…

The Annual Condition of Education Report provides a wide range of state-level data, including shifts in student populations and demographics, teacher salaries and characteristics, student achievement results, and school financial information. The report provides important metrics to the education community about the status of the education system.…