This article describes the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Launched last year by a pair of economists, the center specializes in calculating and comparing the long- and short-term costs--and probable payoffs--of different educational strategies that promise to improve students' lives. Studies…

One indication that the lines between high schools and colleges are blurring is the growth in programs that permit students to earn college credit while still in high school. More than 250 educators and policymakers representing both the K-12 and higher education communities gathered on June 8-9, 2006 to discuss such "accelerated-learning…