High School
AP Classes Explained
How Many to Take, Which Ones Matter, and What Colleges Really Want. A technical analysis of the Advanced Placement system and its role in college admissions.
Education Articles
Expert guides and insights to help you navigate school choices, college admissions, financial aid, and your child's education journey.
Kindergarten
California
A comprehensive guide to California
Charter Schools
Charter School Lottery Explained: Everything You Need to Know
A comprehensive guide to understanding how charter school lotteries work, from preference categories and unified enrollment systems to waitlists and strategic approaches.
Charter Schools
Charter Schools
A comprehensive guide for parents considering charter schools, covering how they work, admissions, funding, and tips for evaluation.
Charter Schools
Charter Schools and Special Education
What parents of children with IEPs need to know about charter schools, including legal rights, essential questions to ask, warning signs, and recourse when problems arise.
College Admissions
Choosing a College Major
What parents need to know about undecided students and career-connected degrees in an AI-shaped job market.
Preschool
Choosing a Preschool When Everything Feels Like It Matters
The research on what actually matters in early childhood education—and how to find it during a 30-minute tour.
Magnet Schools
Do Magnet Schools Provide Transportation?
Understanding magnet school transportation policies, challenges, and what families need to know about getting students to specialized programs.
Financial Aid
FAFSA 2026-2027: Complete Parent
Major changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reshape federal aid—here
High School
High School Graduation Requirements by State: What Your Teen Actually Needs to Graduate
From 13 credits in Wyoming to 26 in Texas, the requirements for a high school diploma vary dramatically across the country. Understanding your state
Magnet Schools
How Magnet School Lotteries Work
A comprehensive guide to magnet school lottery systems, explaining how random selection works, weighted preferences, waitlist dynamics, and strategies for managing the process.
Charter Schools
How to Apply to Charter Schools: The Complete Parent Guide
A national map of a process that often feels like a maze, plus the parts you can actually control.
Elementary School
How to Choose the Right Elementary School
Finding the right elementary school means looking beyond test scores to understand how a school
Kindergarten
How to Choose the Right Kindergarten: 25 Essential Questions to Ask During School Visits
A warm, research-informed field guide for school tours. Learn what questions to ask, what to look for, and how to evaluate whether a kindergarten is right for your child.
School Choice
How to Find the Right School for Your Child
A practical guide for parents on evaluating schools, understanding ratings, and finding the best educational fit for their child.
Graduate School
How to Pay for Graduate School: The Complete Funding Guide
A comprehensive analysis of fellowships, assistantships, employer benefits, federal loans, and strategic approaches to minimizing graduate school debt.
Special Education
IEPs vs. 504 Plans: What Every Elementary School Parent Needs to Understand
A definitive guide to the two federal frameworks that provide support for children with learning differences—how they work, what they provide, and how parents can navigate each system effectively.
Charter Schools
Is a Charter School Right for Your Child?
The question isn
Kindergarten
Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
A complete readiness checklist covering the seven key domains of kindergarten readiness, with specific milestones, activities to build skills, and red flags that warrant professional attention.
Preschool
Is Preschool Worth It?
What six decades of research actually tells us about early childhood education—the benefits, the limits, and what it means for your family.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten Age Cutoff Dates by State
The complete 2025 guide for parents covering kindergarten entrance age requirements for all 50 states, including recent policy changes, early admission processes, and practical guidance for families.
Graduate School
Law School LSAT vs. GRE: Which Test to Take and How Schools Really Evaluate Them
More law schools than ever accept the GRE, but applicant behavior tells a more complicated story. Here
Magnet Schools
Magnet School Requirements Explained: Lottery Only vs. GPA, Attendance, Testing, and Auditions
A comprehensive guide to understanding the spectrum of magnet school admissions—from open-access lottery systems to highly competitive criteria-based and audition programs.
Magnet Schools
Magnet Schools: What They Are, How They Work, and How to Apply
A comprehensive guide to magnet schools covering their history, program types, how they differ from charter and private schools, and the application process.
School Types
Magnet vs Charter vs Neighborhood School
A comprehensive comparison of magnet schools, charter schools, and neighborhood schools, covering governance, admissions, transportation, academics, and what matters for your family.
Graduate School
Medical School Admissions: The Truth Behind MCAT and GPA
Why the numbers matter, why they don
Preschool
Montessori vs. Traditional Preschool: Which Is Right for Your Child?
The research is promising but complicated. What actually matters is finding the right fit for your particular child.
School Types
Public vs. Private School
A comprehensive guide for parents comparing public and private schools, covering costs, performance, class size, special needs, and how to make the right choice.
Financial Aid
Scholarships, Now Running on Software
The emerging stack behind college and graduate funding—how discovery, eligibility, verification, and review are being transformed by technology.
Kindergarten
Should You Delay Kindergarten?
What research says about academic redshirting—and what it means for your child. A comprehensive look at the evidence behind holding children back a year before kindergarten.
Elementary School
Signs Your Elementary Schooler Is Being Bullied (And What to Actually Do About It)
Bullying can start quietly, years before the word ever shows up in a school handbook. Here is what the research says, what parents tend to miss, and how to respond in ways that protect your child.
Financial Aid
The $1.8 Trillion Machine: How Student Loan Infrastructure Is Being Rebuilt
Federal policy overhauls, servicer meltdowns, and fintech disruption are forcing a fundamental rethinking of how Americans finance higher education.
Financial Aid
The Architecture of College Funding: How Technology Is Reshaping Educational Grants
From FAFSA modernization to AI-powered scholarship matching, the infrastructure of financial aid is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades.
College Admissions
The College Application System: A Technical Guide to the Modern Admissions Timeline
How strategic timing, algorithmic matching, and data-driven decisions have transformed the path from high school junior to college freshman.
Vocational Education
The Comeback of Vocational Schools
How Gen Z is embracing vocational schools and skilled trades as an alternative to college, amid a growing labor shortage and changing attitudes about career paths.
Middle School
The Complete Guide to Helping Your Child Transition to Middle School
Understanding the neuroscience, psychology, and practical strategies behind one of childhood
Magnet Schools
The Complete Parent
Understanding the application process, lottery systems, and what it takes to get into magnet schools across the United States.
Vocational Education
The Diploma and the Torque Wrench
How career and technical education is transforming American high schools, giving students real-world skills and clarity about their futures.
College Admissions
The Examined Life at Seventeen: Self-Knowledge, Authenticity, and the Art of the College Essay
A guide to writing authentic college application essays that reveal genuine self-knowledge in an age of AI.
Preschool
The First Classroom
What really matters when choosing a preschool—and how to find it. A comprehensive guide for parents on evaluating early childhood programs.
Kindergarten
The Long Goodbye
What parents need to know about kindergarten separation anxiety—in children and in themselves. Understanding the psychology behind drop-off struggles and strategies that actually help.
Charter Schools
The Numbers Behind the Promise
Before you enroll your child in a charter school, here
Financial Aid
The Price of Admission
For millions of American families, the path to college has become a labyrinth of forms, formulas, and financial gambles. A guide to navigating the maze.
School Choice
The Rise of School Choice
A comprehensive guide to school choice in America, explaining charter schools, magnet programs, vouchers, and what the research says about their effectiveness.
Children
The Stillness Epidemic
An in-depth look at declining physical activity among American children, the health consequences, and what parents and schools can do about it.
Magnet Schools
Understanding Magnet Schools
A comprehensive guide for parents on magnet schools, explaining how they work, the types available, admission processes, and how to find the right fit.
High School
Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA: What Colleges Actually Care About
Why your 4.3 weighted GPA might mean less than you think—and why a 3.8 with the right courses could mean more. A guide for families navigating GPA calculations and college admissions.
Preschool
What Actually Matters in Preschool
Research shows that the quality of teacher-child relationships matters more than educational philosophy. Here
Preschool
What Does a Good Preschool Actually Look Like?
The search for the right early learning environment is more nuanced than checklists suggest—and more forgiving than anxious parents might fear.
School Types
What Is a STEM School?
A guide for parents on STEM schools, explaining what they are, how they work, and how to determine if one is right for your child.
Kindergarten
What Kindergarten Really Requires
Your child probably doesn
Charter Schools
What to Do If Your Child Doesn
A practical guide for navigating rejection, exploring alternatives, and finding the right path forward for your child.
Charter Schools
What to Really Ask When You Walk Through Those Charter School Doors
A parent
Future of Education
What to Teach When AI Does the Work
A guide for parents on preparing children for a future where AI handles routine tasks, focusing on critical thinking, creativity, and human skills.
Middle School
When the Cruelty Follows Them Home
What parents need to know about cyberbullying in middle school and how to help when the harassment never seems to stop.
Charter Schools
When the Promise Fades: Warning Signs Every Parent Should Recognize Before Choosing a Charter School
A research-informed guide to spotting red flags—not to discourage choice, but to make it wiser.
Mental Health
When Worry Becomes Something More
Understanding the warning signs of teen mental health struggles—and what parents can actually do about them. A guide for families navigating adolescent anxiety and depression.
Preschool
When Your Preschooler Needs More Help
Navigating the path from early concerns to an IEP—and learning to advocate for your child along the way.
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