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Seattle is losing top students: 'We don't serve their needs'
Seattle is closing special schools for advanced students -- and losing students to private schools.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 262 min read
11 comments


DEI double take
Columbia researchers say they're losing federal grants for DEI language that they were required to add by the Biden administration.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 232 min read
5 comments


Five years to destroy public faith in schools
Public schools' response to the pandemic has caused permanent damage.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 103 min read
0 comments


Dear Colleague: Do what the Ed Department wants -- or else
The Education Department has used "guidance" letters to force states, colleges and districts to spend hundreds of millions of dollars.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 43 min read
7 comments


'Americans got tired of being ridiculed for values like equality, color-blindness, and responsibility,' and now it's backlash time
The anti-DEI backlash is fierce, because so many people were forced to suppress their real feelings.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 182 min read
19 comments


If the scores are bad, should we dump the test?
A majority of black, Hispanic and low-income fourth-graders have "below basic" reading skills. Does it matter?
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 113 min read
5 comments


Schools' gender, DEI policies pushed parents to the right
Parents have moved to the right, fed up by transgender and DEI policies.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 82 min read
2 comments


'I can't learn if I have no idea what to do'
When teachers teach, ask questions, let students practice and provide feedback, students learn more.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 52 min read
0 comments


California tells schools: Go easy on homework
A new California law urges school to set homework policies that ease stress and promote "equity."
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 31 min read
1 comment


'Multilevel classes' aren't equitable or excellent, say teachers
Mixing high-achieving, average and low-achieving students in the same class was a noble experiment, writes Ryan Normandin, a high school...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 11, 20242 min read
0 comments


Is DEI doomed?
University DEI programs are losing popularity on campus and off.
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 7, 20242 min read
1 comment


Democrats take over school board, but books stay 'banned'
When a Pennsylvania school board flipped from Republican to Democratic control, some policies changed -- but many did not.
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 1, 20242 min read
2 comments


Achievers need a chance to go faster, fly higher
"Differentiating instruction" in a class with a wide range of performance levels doesn't work for high achievers -- or anyone else.
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 30, 20241 min read
4 comments


Who's truly disadvantaged? Look at single parenting, not race or poverty
Growing up in a single-parent family is a huge disadvantage in life, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli in Forbes. If racial preferences...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 25, 20242 min read
2 comments


DEI at U of Michigan: 'rote incantations of a state religion'
University of Michigan's DEI program has created a "culture of grievance," not inclusion, say students and professors.
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 17, 20242 min read
2 comments


Want equity? Teach more math, not less
As a math teacher in the early 2000s, Adrian Mims saw few Black and Hispanic students succeeding in Brooklin (MA) High School's honors...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 10, 20242 min read
8 comments


Vo-tech is STEM prep: Needy kids can't get in to learn a trade
High-needs students have a hard time getting into vocational-tech schools in Massachusetts, reports the Boston Globe. Most of the highly...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 19, 20242 min read
16 comments


When 96% pass science, but only 16% meet standards on the test
San Diego 11th-grade students are passing classes, but failing proficiency tests.
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 14, 20241 min read
5 comments


Democrats care about equality, but not education, say voters
Black and Hispanic parents may switch from Biden to Trump. Democrats value equality but don't deliver on quality, they say.
Joanne Jacobs
May 18, 20242 min read
6 comments


Smart kids left alone: What schools are doing -- and not doing -- for 'advanced learners'
"Highly capable" students will lose advanced learning opportunities in Seattle Public Schools. To address "historical inequity," all...
Joanne Jacobs
May 2, 20242 min read
7 comments
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