Ms Barton puts the improvement in grades down to "hard work" and an improvement in teaching.

BBC: Schools celebrate league table success

Jessica Gogerty is a National Board Certified teacher, a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and a school improvement leader now serving at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

WHITEHOUSE: Engage and Connect

The 2012 report said Pingle School, which has more than 1, 200 pupils, required "significant improvement", adding while teaching was improving, it still had "weaknesses in too many lessons".

BBC: Pingle School Swadlincote head suspended

General Teaching Council for England figures show a slight improvement on last year, with 27.2% schools with no male teachers, down from 27.8%.

BBC: One in four primary schools still has no male teachers

Teaching unions say academy status does not automatically mean improvement.

BBC: writing

As places that aim to encourage self-improvement and development, schools should work toward teaching students why social norms -- like not wearing leggings as pants -- develop before they force students into following questionable dress code solutions.

CNN: The right way to wear leggings in school

And the greatest danger of all, given that most education and health spending goes on pay, may be that much of the extra money provided as a result of the comprehensive spending review ends up in the wallets of the teaching and medical professions, without much in the way of service improvement to show for it.

ECONOMIST: Health and education

Whelan got the idea to start teaching self-help classes, which she framed as the sociology of self-improvement.

FORBES: Why the New Generation Needs the Old Self-Help Classics

We call on all four- and two-year institutions to join in this effort and implement the policies and strategies called for in the AAU Initiative: widespread adoption of the best teaching practices, attention to educational outcomes, and establishment of incentive systems that recognize and reward contributions to educational improvement.

WHITEHOUSE: Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog