Education

High school dropout rates are rising in districts across the state, including many here in the Triad.

We talked to second-year students about what would have helped most in that crucial first year of college. Their main point: It's not just about academics.

Algebra is the one course that prevents the most people from graduating high school, and it's the single most failed course in community colleges. Now some educators are questioning whether people really need these skills as adults, and whether it's time for a new approach to teaching math.

"Leigh Anne Arthur is the victim of a blatant attack of her privacy," states the petition started by students after the teacher in South Carolina was dismissed. It's been signed more than 3,000 times.

Schools are moving to high-stakes testing of social and emotional skills. Some experts say it's too soon.

It's an effort to combat the damaging effects on kids from the city's lead-laced water. The effects of lead exposure are lifelong and can cause learning disabilities.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus keep millions of people from graduating. And they're unnecessary, argues author and professor Andrew Hacker.

Margaret Spellings, the new president of the University of North Carolina system, had her first day on the job Tuesday.