Students at VCU and other institutions of higher education in Virginia often end up buying textbooks they never use, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students and other young adults.

Nearly 75 percent of Virginia Commonwealth University students are unsure of their student loan debt payments upon graduation, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students.

The number of home-schoolers in Virginia has increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade, to more than 32,000 children. If they were a school district, it would be the ninth-largest in the state – with almost as many students as the Norfolk Public Schools.

Here are statistics for the number of home-schoolers statewide and in each school division of Virginia.

These graphics show how home schooling has exploded in Virginia.

A report and data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that African American and Hispanic students are vastly underrepresented among students identified as gifted by the state’s public schools.

Virginia’s only middle and high school for advanced students is challenging the way traditional gifted education is taught.

Here is the data used in this news article. You can access the data as a series of Web pages or view it below.

Here is the report that the Virginia Department of Education completed in May 2010 about racial disparities in students identified for gifted education programs.

Lottery winners aren’t the only ones with any luck: The Virginia Lottery saw record ticket sales in the past year, as the economy continued its recovery and several big-name retailers began selling tickets.

Sales of Virginia Lottery tickets have risen steadily — and last year, they jumped by 9 percent.

Since 1999, the Virginia Lottery has generated more than $5 billion for public education.

Here is a map of the 25 outlets that sold the most Virginia Lottery tickets in fiscal year 2012.

Five teams of students from three Northern Virginia schools will compete for more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes in the finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest student rocket competition, on May 11.

With a new law mandating that school administrators be evaluated every year, a national organization has started training school leaders in Virginia to improve school climate, teacher effectiveness and student outcomes.

After Dallas Public Schools initiated a successful program getting about 93,000 students to read about 1 million books, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced a partnership with Richmond Public Schools to encourage second-graders to read.

Beginning in July 2014, each school board in Virginia must include in its student code of conduct a prohibition against bullying, including cyberbullying. Moreover, school divisions must educate teachers and other employees about bullying and “the need to create a bully-free environment.

Interested and anxious parents and rambunctious and excited students packed the Cultural Arts Center last weekend to share a common interest: home schooling.

High school students from Chesterfield, Henrico and Prince William counties and from the cities of Franklin and Martinsville will advance to the FIRST World Robotics Championship after winning a regional competition this past weekend.

Virginia schools must provide extra help to students in kindergarten and first and second grades who do poorly on diagnostic reading tests, under legislation that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law in recent weeks.

Gov. Bob McDonnell got what he asked for: a state-run school board to take over failing schools.

Students will not be the only ones who may dread showing their grades to parents. Starting in 2014, each Virginia public school will get a letter grade ranging from A to F.

School bus drivers and schoolchildren from across Virginia gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday for the second annual “Love the Bus” rally.

A constitutional amendment allowing the state to take over a failing school narrowly survived the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee and is now before the full Senate.

CNS reporter Paige Baxter will live-blog a Senate Education and Health Committee on a bill to allow home-schoolers to play sports and participate in other extracurricular activities in local public schools.

House Republicans celebrated the success of their education reforms in the first half of the General Assembly session at a press conference Monday.

Home-schooled students in Virginia could participate in public school sports under the so-called “Tebow bill” that has been passed by the House and will be considered by a Senate committee this week.

Legislation that would grant a provisional teaching license to Teach for America participants is moving toward passage in the General Assembly.

he House has passed a bill to eliminate the school board selection commissions in localities such as Southampton County and to have the county supervisors appoint the school board instead.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is delighted but school superintendents are miffed that the House passed legislation Monday to give each public school a letter grade – A through F – based on its performance.

A bill making it easier to fire bad teachers, part of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s K-12 education reform agenda, won unanimous approval Monday from the state Senate.

Gov. Bob McDonnell praised the House after delegates on Monday passed legislation that would provide a simpler way to understand a school’s performance and the state’s accreditation system.

The House and Senate are headed in different directions when it comes to repealing Virginia’s “King’s Dominion law,” which generally prevents public schools from opening before Labor Day.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is helping promote Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to rate Virginia’s schools on an A-through-F grading scale. Bush joined McDonnell in a conference call on Friday to praise the Virginia chief executive’s K-12 education reform agenda.

Nearly 100 college students gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for affordable, quality education.

VCU students urged state legislators Wednesday to invest in higher education during Rams Day on the Hill, an annual lobbying event at Capitol Square.

Students receiving degrees from Virginia’s public colleges and universities may struggle to find employment, after a House subcommittee killed legislation that would have given small businesses a $2,500 tax credit for hiring such graduates.

Six bills – two in the Senate and four in the House – seek to change Virginia law so that undocumented immigrants meeting certain criteria would be able to pay in-state college tuition.

Lawmakers from across Virginia are pushing a half-dozen bills this legislative session to let public schools start classes before Labor Day.

Virginia Tech professor Patricia Dove was honored Thursday as a one of Virginia’s Outstanding Scientists of 2013.

This Saturday will be a day dedicated to community service across the United States, with 16 events in the Richmond area. The National Day of Service precedes the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and the presidential inauguration.

Eight out of 10 college students in Virginia are against allowing guns on campus, according to a statewide survey conducted by the advocacy group Virginia 21.

Members of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s School and Campus Safety Task Force vowed Monday that their recommendations on keeping Virginia’s schools safe would be based on fact and not emotion.

While higher education advocates have focused on getting more state funding in recent years, this year, higher education advocates have added retirement benefits to their list of legislative priorities.

As the General Assembly convened for its 2013 session, Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Tazewell, said his top priorities are to increase funding for K-12 education in southwestern Virginia and authorize local governments to levy a severance tax on coal.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s goals for his last year in office drew mixed reactions among legislators representing the Williamsburg area.

If VCU students want a direct voice on the Richmond City Council, they might look east for inspiration – to Williamsburg. In 2010, students from the College of William and Mary elected one of their own to the Williamsburg City Council.

Calling it a “historic opportunity,” mental health advocates are awaiting a judge’s approval of a settlement agreement that would improve the lives of thousands of Virginia’s intellectually disabled citizens.

A Mechanicsville family faces uncertainty because of shortcomings in Virginia’s mental health care system. As they age, the parents of 22-year-old Justin Palmore worry what will happen to him – and whether he will be forced into an institution.

Under a new law, state officials will publish online the employment rates and average salaries for graduates from each institution of higher education in Virginia. Prospective students and their parents will be able to see the statistics for each program and type of degree at each school.