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"Standardized test scores in DC have risen significantly in the seven years since schools came under mayoral control, according to a recent study, and it's not just because of an increase in affluent students. But while math scores have gone up steadily, literacy scores have largely stalled after an early jump. While DC officials have touted increases in test scores as a sign that education reforms are working, critics have argued that DC's changing demographics are behind the improvements. They say an influx of more affluent students has driven up the scores while the gap between those students and lower-income minority students has remained as wide as ever."

"Financial aid and scholarships have largely spared students from low and some middle-income families from shouldering the cost of recent tuition increases at the University of California and California State University, an independent think tank reported Wednesday. The Public Policy Institute of California said in a new report that even though in-state tuition increased an average of 64 percent at UC campuses during the height of the recession, most families with annual incomes under $110,000 did not end up paying more thanks to a greater availability of federal and state grants and aid supplied by the colleges themselves."

"Brown University launched a major new initiative Thursday aimed at providing internships, research opportunities, and funding to all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors -- particularly those from low-income backgrounds. Called BrownConnect, the program began with a pilot phase last year and has already created 154 new internship opportunities, the university said. It has also provided financial support for 254 interns in low-paid or unpaid internships."

"The best way, of course, to figure out how much you'll pay for college is to use a college cost calculator. Every college that takes federal student aid is required to provide information about how much students actually pay the net price, not the sticker price. The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit based out of Columbia University's Teacher College, has a nice roundup of the data, which is segmented by income. You can look up a college and see, for instance, how much an average student with family income below $30,000 pays every year after grants and scholarships are accounted for."

"Hispanics attending public schools in major cities posted similar gains, with 10-point and 13-point increases in grades four and eight, respectively. That's surprising, said Natalia Pane, author of the report and senior vice president of research operations at Child Trends. 'It's really interesting what's going on in the large cities,' Pane said. 'Our large cities were able to keep pace when they've got such higher proportions of students coming from low-income families.'"

"Bozeman's public schools are gearing up to open a small preschool for 4-year-old as a pilot project this January -- even before Gov. Steve Bullock pitches his statewide preschool plan to the 2015 Legislature. School Superintendent Rob Watson will seek an informal blessing for the pilot project when the Bozeman School Board meets Monday night at Willson School. The discussion will begin at 5:30 p.m., a half hour earlier than usual."

"The University of Louisville's college of education has received a $5 million gift - its largest ever - to improve teaching and learning at five Louisville public schools that serve disadvantaged students. The Mary K. Oxley Foundation gift, announced Friday, will be paired with $2.5 million from the U of L Foundation to continue and expand education efforts of U of L's ���Signature Partnership Initiative,� which started in 2007 to aid western Louisville, including its students. The money will go to five Jefferson County Public Schools: The Academy @ Shawnee, Westport Middle and Atkinson, Cochran and Portland elementary schools, all of which have high student poverty rates, said Ann Larson, dean of the College of Education and Human Development."

"Poverty is not just a lack of money. It's a shorthand for a host of other problemsscanty dinners and crumbling housing projects, chronic illnesses, and depressed or angry parentsthat can interfere with a child's ability to learn. Educators and researchers in several of the nation's largest districts are trying to look at schools based on a fuller picture of children's experiences, rather than only seeing poverty as a label."

"A study titled 'The Missing "One-Offs": The Hidden Supply of High-Achieving, Low Income Students' published in December 2012 found that only 34 percent of high-achieving high school seniors in the bottom quarter of the income distribution attended one of the country's 238 most selective colleges. Conversely, 78 percent of students in the highest income quartile enrolled in selective colleges. These statistics indicate that low-income students "under-match" in their college admissions. There are many causes for under-matching, the most pervasive being perceptions related to cost and financial aid, and exposure to and awareness of selective colleges."

"The Delaware Department of Education says nine schools across the state are moving away from their labels as low-performing schools. According to the DOE, the schools are exiting state support programs used in low-performing schools."

"On November 7-8, five hundred educators, corporate leaders, and students from across the country will gather for the 18th annual College For Every Student (CFES) National Conference in Burlington to share best practices and explore strategies for guiding low-income students toward college and career success. CFES supports 20,000 students through partnerships with 200 rural and urban K-12 schools and districts in 27 states and Ireland through its three high-impact and research-based practices."