WHAT WE’RE READING
“New data showing a stagnating percentage of parents redshirting their would-be kindergartners surprised even the researchers who analyzed the data.... So, why aren’t more parents redshirting their children? Multiple factors may be at play. Evolving age requirements for kindergarten entry, tougher district restrictions around redshirting, and costs of childcare could be keeping kindergarten redshirting from escalating.” —Elizabeth Heubeck, EdWeek
—
Like many districts across the country, Atlanta Public Schools will shut down several schools in the coming years to right-size facility use amid declining enrollment and tight budgets. Linda Jacobson reports on efforts to convert some of the city’s schools into affordable housing, giving teachers first choice when apartments become available. —The 74
—
Hiring is down and unemployment among young adults is up due to persistent economic uncertainty and a labor supply-and-demand problem that pre-dates recent rapid advancement in AI. In The Atlantic, Harvard economist David Deming tells Rogé Karma that “the number of graduates competing for jobs has increased at the same time that the skill level of the average graduate has fallen. ‘This is the same thing that happened with high school 50, 60 years ago…A high-school diploma used to confer huge advantages, but then it became so ubiquitous that the advantages went away.’” Karma notes that “the percentage of young people with a bachelor’s degree has risen by about a third since 2008, and most of that increase has stemmed from expanded enrollment at less selective universities.” And in The New York Times, Noam Scheiber traces how the “college for all” push created a generation of disaffected, underemployed young people.
—
Jenny Anderson shares the story of one tech-forward middle school math teacher who, after years of lost learning time “futzing over lost chargers and bad links,” decided to ditch Chromebooks in his classroom. He realized the screens “offered students cover, a way to appear engaged without any actual sustained effort,” and found himself more aware and responsive to student needs without the screens. —The Atlantic
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
-
Sharp analysis of the week’s biggest K–12 debates
-
Curated commentary from across the ed-policy world
-
Lively discussion—including reader reactions and pushback
