Planning Ahead -- Some youth don't really have an idea of what they want to do until they get well into college—and even then, many are a bit fuzzy. But students at Linwood (N.J.) Middle School are already charting out their future, starting in sixth grade. The students all craft individualized student learning plans, which help chart their academic course throughout the rest of their time in the public school system. This doesn't mean, of course, that students can't alter that course as time goes on. But it does help ensure that children get a better handle on their own strengths and weaknesses, and lesson plans can be tweaked a bit to capitalize on how each student learns best. It's all part of an effort to increase test scores and student achievement, education experts say. "Principals like it because it's low cost," said Dick Flanary, a senior director with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "It doesn't require a huge outlay of money and resources to produce a change in the school culture." (New York Times)

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