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As absenteeism soars, schools want money for no-show students
Funding schools based on enrollment rather than attendance would be "more equitable," a superintendent told Rick Hess as they waited to...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 21, 20242 min read
13 comments


It takes a stable family
"Luxury beliefs" -- the idea that monogamy is outdated, drugs are harmless and success comes from luck rather than hard work -- are fine...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 10, 20242 min read
4 comments


Psych out: Why are we teaching kids to be hopeless and helpless?
"Anti-racists" are demoralizing black students, write Julian Adorney and Jake Mackey on Quillette. Teenage depression and suicide rates...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 30, 20242 min read
2 comments


Teachers are fed up with student misbehavior, classroom chaos
The "new normal" of student behavior -- a toxic mix of disrespect, disruption, violence and apathy -- is driving teachers to despair,...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 24, 20243 min read
0 comments


Does preschool help kids -- or harm them?
Expanding free preschool is a progressive priority. Early experiments in the 1960s and 1970s -- Perry Preschool program and the...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 20, 20242 min read
5 comments

To gain public trust, make college admissions less 'murky'
College admissions are "murky," and getting murkier, writes Peter Arcidiacono, a Duke economics professor, on Persuasion. "Test-optional"...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 9, 20241 min read
3 comments


AP tests are tough: Is the bar too high for disadvantaged students?
"The basic philosophy of the Advanced Placement Program is simply that all students are not created equal," said the program's director,...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 21, 20233 min read
6 comments


Rich kids, smart kids
Wealthy parents raise high-scoring children, according to new SAT and ACT data, reports Claire Cain Miller in the New York Times....
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 27, 20232 min read
20 comments


Parenting alone: What happened to marriage?
Growing up in a two-parent family is an enormous advantage, writes Melissa Kearney in The Two-Parent Privilege. It's the norm for...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 8, 20232 min read
7 comments


Yale changes admissions, avoids bias lawsuit
Elite colleges have "rolled out new application questions this fall to provide students with opportunities to discuss their racial...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 16, 20231 min read
11 comments


Love, marriage, honor roll: Culture closes 'excellence gaps'
Culture explains why Asian-American students do so well in school, writes Helen Raleigh, who's Asian American, in The Federalist. It's...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 13, 20232 min read
6 comments


How Detroit school is trying to get students to show up
Mentors, home visits, data analysis and movie visits for students and grocery gift cards for parents are among the strategies used to get...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 8, 20232 min read
1 comment


California pledges $4 billion for 'community schools' -- but do students learn more?
There were high hopes for Akron's I Promise School when it opened in 2018, writes Mike Antonucci on The 74. With lots of extra funding...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 18, 20232 min read
1 comment


Summer jobs boost school success
Working for the summer pays off for teenagers from low-income families, concludes a study of Boston's summer job program. Winning the job...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 16, 20232 min read
0 comments


Promises, promises: LeBron James' school struggles in Akron
Akron's I Promise School opened five years ago with high hopes and lots of extra funding from basketball star LeBron James' foundation....
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 1, 20231 min read
4 comments


Focus on who gets out of poverty, not who gets into Harvard
Obsessing over who gets into elite colleges and universities is an odd preoccupation for progressives, argues Francisco Toro on...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 25, 20232 min read
7 comments

Very rich lacrosse-playing 'legacies' have an Ivy edge
The very rich are different: They can get their kids into ultra-selective universities. Upper-middle-class won't do it. And it helps -- a...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 25, 20233 min read
1 comment


Chaos: I tried to teach for America, and I failed
"Too many teachers mistake the generally sound advice to not provide a stand off with a student during class with "don't assert authority...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 18, 20233 min read
3 comments


Inner-city schools aren't underfunded any more
Abbott Elementary, a popular ABC sitcom about teachers at an inner-city Philadelphia school, is "entertaining but not elucidating" about...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 12, 20232 min read
2 comments


Prep disadvantaged kids for Ivy futures
Elite colleges should create and fund middle and high schools to educate disadvantaged students, writes Roland Fryer, a Harvard economics...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 6, 20231 min read
3 comments
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