Discriminations has a post called Change= Dumber Graduates. It is commentary on the social responsibility of higher education.
Aggregating Content is a 21st Century Skill links around the net on the question of what exactly we should be teaching our students now.
Socioeconomics matter. The article is on how privileged children excel, even in low performing schools. I think a lot of that is vocabulary, access to the formal register, and a support system for doing well in school.