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Anderson Cooper looks at a new version of the psychology study called the 'Marshmallow Test' and how it can measure a person's grit.

Across this country today, thousands-perhaps tens of thousands-of stressed-out teenagers have just completed an age-old rite of passage: they took their SATs. For about 1.6 million high school students, it remains a critical step to getting into college. But now, that test that so many of detested-that test is getting an overhaul. Jane Martinez Dowling is with KIPP Academy, a charter school system.

Nearly every parent on earth operates on the assumption that character matters a lot to the life outcomes of their children. Nearly every government antipoverty program operates on the assumption that it doesn't.

The White House recognized eleven individuals from across the country as "White House Champions of Change for College Opportunity" including a KIPP New Jersey alumna, A'Dorian Murray-Thomas.

The district asked KIPP, an established charter network, to take charge starting with last school year. Turning around a failing school in a poor, high-crime neighborhood is notoriously hard, but initial data provided by KIPP suggest that relaunching the site as Life Academy, for kindergarten through fourth grade, is paying off. "Before there used to be chaos," said Caleb, a fourth-grader. "Teachers didn't push us to persevere. Now they do."

While we operate in different fields - Dimagi is experienced in the world of global healthcare, and KIPP in that of public education in the United States - both organizations are committed to doing what it takes to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. That commitment has meant being willing to work beyond the traditional boundaries defined by our fields.

He started fifth grade at KIPP Academy in Lynn, Massachusetts. KIPP starts the school year before summer is over and also has longer school days than our neighborhood school. I was comforted to know that 15 percent of the students there require special education services so at least Elijah wasn't alone in his need for extra supports. The very first thing they did at KIPP was to test his reading level. According to the results, my Elijah was at a first grade reading level.

Low-income students are far less likely than their more affluent peers to finish college, so KIPP, a charter-school network with sites in New York City, runs a three-week "summer bridge" program to give its high-school graduates such as Vincencial a better shot.