In 2006, some 65 percent of the nation's public high school students were enrolled in a school with an exit exam requirement.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education

AROUND THE U.S.A.

READING, MATH ASSESSED

More than 700,000 students nationwide participated in the 2007 assessment in reading and math. For detailed results of the Nation's Report Card, visit www.nationsreportcard.gov.

SOURCE: Department of Education, The Achiever, November 2007

LANGUAGE

FAR MORE STUDENTS STUDYING CHINESE

The number of elementary and secondary school students studying Chinese could be as much as 10 times higher than it was seven years ago, according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

When the council surveyed K-12 enrollment in foreign language classes in 2000, there were about 5,000 students of Chinese. The council is collecting data now for another survey, but early figures suggest the number of students now studying Chinese is between 30,000 and 50,000.

Nationwide, there are Chinese programs in more than 550 elementary, junior and senior high schools — a 100 percent increase in two years, according to The Asia Society, an educational group.

SOURCE: USA Today

COLLEGE TUITION

GRANDPARENTS CHIP IN

With college tuition climbing faster than the inflation rate, putting together enough funding to cover the bill is increasingly becoming a multigenerational family effort. In a recent College Savings Foundation survey of about 450 parents, 24 percent said that grandparents are helping save for the grandchildren's education. The College Savings Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization.

SOURCE: McClatchy-Tribune News Service