This week, Education Dive took a look at how the nation's top football schools stack up in the classroom, ranking the top BCS schools based on cost of attendance, graduation rates, post-graduation salary and APR rates.

And in for-profit news, research from the Brookings Institute shows that, when including veterans benefits from the Department of Defense, almost 200 for-profit colleges are 100% federally funded. Another new report from the Council for Aid to Education also suggests that for-profit institutions prepare students as well as their nonprofit counterparts — which is sure to be cause for debate as the study's limitations are considered.

Meanwhile in K-12, Finland's highly successful education system remains a hot topic of conversation as debate continues around how and whether the U.S. will adopt some its most transferrable elements.

Be sure to check out our look at the Niagara Falls superintendent Mark Laurrie's focus on staff diversity and more in this week's most-read posts from Education Dive!

• What if college football rankings were based on academics?: With the nation shifting its emphasis to defining college value through tangible academic outcomes, we took a look at how the nation’s best football schools measure up in the classroom.
• What are the ingredients to Finland's elementary school success?: William Doyle, a 2015-16 Fulbright Scholar and faculty member at the University of Eastern Finland, shares insights from “Master Teacher of Finland” Heikki Happonen.
• Nearly 200 for-profit colleges almost 100% federally funded: A new study suggests the number of for-profit institutions drawing a majority of their revenue from student loan disbursements is decreasing, but a total view of federal funds to these schools yields a shocking statistic.
• New Niagara Falls City School District superintendent makes staff diversity key priority: Mark Laurrie took over last summer, and one of his first commitments was to prioritize minority recruitment among teachers and staff.
• Report: Some for-profit students outperform peers from traditional institutions: A recent survey of students from the two types of schools reveals surprising data about preparation and skills sets in their respective academic programs.

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