A dozen of the best opinion pieces on education that we read in 2024

Every week in the Education Gadfly, we flag a handful of articles in our “What We’re Reading” section. Many of these are opinion pieces, usually from leading newspapers and magazines or high-profile Substacks. Here’s our list of our favorites for the year, presented in chronological order. (View last year’s here.)

• After dozens of selective colleges made the SAT and ACT optional for applicants, a growing number of experts are wondering if that switch was a mistake. —David Leonhardt, New York Times (January)
• Due to demographic changes and the democratization of expertise, AI could help rebuild the middle class, not destroy their jobs. —David Autor, Noēma (February)
• Pervasive mental health interventions could be doing more harm than good in American schools. —Abigail Shrier, The Free Press (February)
• Outdated research created a false promise that tutoring could achieve 2 standard deviations of academic gains in students. —Paul T. von Hippel, Education Next (March)
• The culture war distracts both parties from the practical, even mundane policies that could truly improve American education. —Nicholas Kristof, New York Times (March)
• The classical education movement has taken a conservative political turn. —Emma Green, The New Yorker (March)
• Children need a phone-free childhood, and there are steps we can take now to make that a reality. —Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic (March)
• Too much focus on political squabbles distracts us from what really matters in education: empowering teachers, challenging students, and boosting achievement. —Jay Mathews, Washington Post
• Where previous reformers saw their policies rolled back, Superintendent Mike Miles is hoping to implement long-lasting improvements in Houston ISD. —Robert Pondiscio, Education Next
• The Chicago Teachers Union has created a city-wide education system plagued by low achievement, chronic absenteeism, under-enrolled schools, and more. —George F. Will, Washington Post
• From the botched FAFSA rollout to the lack of accountability regarding federal education funds, Miguel Cardona has proven himself to be the worst Secretary of Education in U.S. history by consistently prioritizing politics over student learning. —Rick Hess, National Review
• Massachusetts’s graduation exam loses in referendum. This will cause high school diplomas to lose value—and result in colleges and hiring managers having less confidence in graduates. —Jessica Grose, New York Times