When a pupil passes through sensors at the school entrance, the chip sends an SMS message to parents.

BBC: Brazilian schools microchip T-shirts to cut truancy

With property taxes rising across the country, we took a look at per-pupil spending in public schools and weighed it against student performance--college entrance exam scores (SAT or ACT, depending on which is more common in the state), exam participation rates and graduation rates.

FORBES: Best And Worst School Districts For The Buck