In my final college semester, I had the privilege of being a full-time student teacher at a Catholic middle school, teaching seventh and eigth grade history and theology. It was the highlight of my life. The students were curious, polite, and thoughtful, caring to one another and welcoming to me.
Between 1990 and 2013, the share of students nationally who enrolled in algebra or a similar advanced math course in eighth grade more than doubled to 46 percent. Since 2013, however, the trend has reversed, with just 36 percent of eighth graders enrolled in algebra as of 2022.
In the 2022–23 school year, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were chronically absent—a rate almost 10 percentage points higher than pre-pandemic.
With new curriculum, instructional approaches, and staffing models, Houston’s Mike Miles is implementing the most significant overhaul of a public-school system in modern history.
The teaching profession may be in for a rough year ahead, but even without the looming layoffs as federal emergency funds come to an end, school districts are not focusing enough on keeping their best talent. And teachers themselves seem bearish on their profession.
Knee-jerk reaction against public subsidies for religious education is unwise. That’s because allowing religious families to choose sectarian schools for their children could very well be a saving grace for our society. And you don’t have to be among the faithful to believe so.
Charter schools are in for a slog. It doesn’t matter who wins in November. Joe Biden is not a fan.
Inquiry-based learning in STEM classrooms, long a contentious topic, has been making news since the introduction of the controversial California Math Framework. This student-led approach aims to foster engagement by sparking curiosity and critical thinking.
Starting in 2010, Congress invested more than $1 billion to assist states with their literacy improvement efforts through the Striving Rea
Seventeen states have mandated financial literacy courses since 2020, bring the total up to twenty-five. —The Economist School choice policies are proving controversial in conservative, rural communities.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Marguerite Roza, the director of the Edunomics La
This year’s Wonkathon is over, and the results are in! 2024’s Wisest Wonks: “Everything, everywhere, all at once” solutions to chronic absenteeism, by Kelly James and Brad Bernatek Second place:
Watching the debate last night, all I could think about was my time spent on the playground with my toddler. Her wobbly legs ever close to tumbling down the ladder and causing me constant low-grade anxiety. I felt the same watching Biden fumble through answers, stare into space, and exhibit all the hallmarks of an aging man in cognitive decline.
Amid intense polarization and concerns for America's youth, Carnegie Corporation of New York’s
Last month, Louisiana issued a series of common-sense recommendations titled, simply and winningly, “Let Teachers Teach.” The report hasn’t received nearly enough attention. It deserves to be studied closely in every state and school district if we’re serious about improving teacher job satisfaction, effectiveness, and raising student achievement.
Peter Liljedahl opens his wildly popular book on mathematics instruction, Building Thinking Classrooms, with a bold gambit.
You remember the six-foot rule. How could you forget?
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the importance of digital literacy can hardly be overstated. But what can schools do to help students acquire these skills? And how does access to computer courses impact students’ futures?
Oklahoma’s supreme court blocked what would have been the nation’s first religious, charter school. —New York Times A record number of children required special education services last year, and schools are scrambling to hire staff to meet that need.
In many states and districts, post-pandemic learning recovery began with literacy. Not only had students fallen behind in reading, but a new body of research pointed to deep flaws in the way reading had been taught for decades. Now, policymakers and education leaders are beginning a pivot to math, where drops in scores on both the PISA and NAEP exams have been far more acute.
Classical education has surged in popularity, with 264 new schools cropping up since 2019, a host
Ten years ago, when Florida launched the nation’s second education savings account program, a beautiful thing happened. Friedrich Hayek would have called it “spontaneous order.” Parents, within days, began forming a multitude of Facebook groups where they traded advice on how to access the accounts, how to use them, and what learning options were available in their area.
Tennessee lawmakers adopted a new school funding formula in 2022, moving from a staffing-based to a per-pupil-based model with the intent of directing more state dollars to students who need them most.
Kudos to the Strada Education Foundation for its brand new State Opportunity Index, designed to gauge how well post-secondary education in each state prepares graduates to join the workforce and earn a living wage.
Cheers A fundamental change is sweeping American education wherein public tax dollars fund private, home-, and micro schools. —New York Times Jeers
A solid program for advanced education should focus on both acceleration and enrichment. —Education Week In the aggregate, “gifted” individuals tend to live lives just like everyone else.
“The Big Bang Theory” premiered September 2007. My husband has a nuclear engineering degree from MIT. Our younger son, then four, was a budding scientist. (Sample conversation: Him: Can’t come out of the bath. Working on surface tension and light refraction. Me: You mean splashing?)
