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Photo Credit: Godot13Private schools are booming in poor countries. Governments should either help them or get out of their way.Read the rest of the story at The Economist.

Photo Credit: Walter Limby Mark ThomaAn issue that’s likely to arise in the debates leading up to the next presidential election is preschool education. Among the questions involved: Should preschool programs be available to all children no matter their socioeconomic status? Should America invest in programs such as Head Start or Perry Preschool so that all children can attend? Does any evidence show these programs work?Read the rest of the story at CBS MoneyWatch.

Investments in educational training, media and services, also known as edtech, grew to $367.4 million across 24 deals in the second quarter of 2015, a record for venture dollars flowing to the sector in a single quarter, according to Dow Jones VentureSource data, Lora Kolodny reports for VentureWire. Tory Patterson, an investor and board member of edtech companies, including LearnZillion,Newsela and MasteryConnect, says that startups in this field have a chance to unseat incumbents in a massive, for-profit business because of the introduction of broadband Internet, mobile and social technology in schools.Read the rest of the story at The Wall Street Journal Venture Capital Dispatch.

Photo credit: David Hawgoodby Dr. Francis CollinsWhen children enter the first grade, their brains are primed for learning experiences, significantly more so, in fact, than adult brains. For instance, scientists have documented that musical training during grade school produces a signature set of benefits for the brain and for behavior—benefits that can last a lifetime, whether or not people continue to play music.Now, researchers at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, have some good news for teenagers who missed out on learning to play musical instruments as young kids. Even when musical training isn’t started until high school, it produces meaningful changes in how the brain processes sound. And those changes have positive benefits not only for a teen’s musical abilities, but also for skills related to reading and writing.Read the rest of the story on the National Institutes of Health Director’s Blog.

by Kate TaylorFormer Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been out of office for a year and a half, but his influence over New York schools is practically as strong as ever.Read the rest of the story at The New York Times. 

Photo Credit: S B F Ryanby Tara E. BuckSouthern New Hampshire University president argues true disruption comes in the form of online, competency-based providers who deftly meet modern students’ — and industry’s — needs.Read the rest of the story on EdTech.

Photo Credit: Medill DCby Nick AndersonEducation Secretary Arne Duncan delivered this week a dual message on accountability in higher education. He said the Obama administration aims to crack down on schools that fail to deliver what they promise to students, but he lamented that politics and bureaucracy in the system of oversight often stymies efforts to get tough on dismal school performance.Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.

by Branwen Jeffreys, Education EditorIn Gothenburg’s main square I watch as a crowd of rowdy, happy teenagers pile out of the back of a flatbed truck and set off coloured smoke bombs.All dressed up with jaunty caps, and prom dresses they are celebrating the end of their school days with a parade.But they are part of a generation which many now fear has been let down by the education system in Sweden.Read the rest of the story at BBC News.

Photo Credit: TaxCredits.netby Karin Price Mueller/Credit.com Both options have serious downsides, but there’s a third option.Read the rest of the story at Money.