STEAM Ahead: Merging Arts and Science Education

Hoping to stem a high school dropout crisis, one Texas superintendent is luring many students back to school by giving them a taste of college coursework. Special correspondent John Merrow reports as part of our American Graduate series.

Clarity, specificity and humor are among the best tools for making kids grasp even simple questions like "What is a flame?" Science correspondent Miles O'Brien talks to actor Alan Alda and scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson about the need to explain science concepts to the public.

A recent battle involving University of Virginia's president is highlighting the increasing pressures facing public universities. Jeffrey Brown discusses the national context with Gordon Gee of Ohio State University, George Cohen of University of Virginia Law School and Anne Neal of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

In the latest installment of our American Graduate series, correspondent Tom Bearden reports on the strict disciplinary policies in place in Texas schools. Misbehavior that in another era might have resulted in a trip to the principal's office now leads to fines, citations, even criminal records in some cases in Texas.

The state of Texas has used the tactic of citing students for behavior violations and truancy as part of a zero-tolerance movement since the mid-1990's.

A number of studies over the years have linked a child's exposure to the criminal justice system with increased odds of dropping out of school. The NewsHour recently traveled to Texas, a state that is sending thousands of kids to court every year.

Special correspondent John Tulenko reports on the struggle inside community colleges trying to help students at all learning levels.

Hundreds of empty school desks crowded the National Mall Wednesday as part of an awareness campaign that estimates 857 students drop out of high school every hour of a school day.

The home of the University of Michigan is in its quiet summer mode in June, as most students have gone home or off to internships. But as the 2012 presidential campaign begins to gear up a question hangs in the air here: Whither the college vote in 2012?