Joanne Jacobs
#1 school for rigor is charter on Mexican border
At IDEA McAllen College Prep, a charter school near the Mexican border, 77 percent of students come from low-income families and nearly...
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Joanne Jacobs
Apr 20, 20222 min read
‘Rigor’ is a Potemkin village
High school rigor is often a facade, writes Natalie Wexler on Forbes. It’s a “Potemkin village.” High school graduates in the class of...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 8, 20182 min read
Write to think, think to write
Students can do everything asked of them in school, yet fail to meet grade-level standards, charges TNTP’s new Opportunity Myth report....
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 25, 20182 min read
When high hopes meet low expectations
Most students “meet the demands of their assignments” more than two-thirds of the time, yet demonstrate mastery of grade-level standards...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 8, 20181 min read
Snobby private schools reject AP
Eight D.C.-area private schools are dropping Advanced Placement classes in favor of home-grown classes that will “allow for authentic...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 26, 20172 min read
Defining college down
In The Wizard of Oz goes to college, Checker Finn peeks behind the curtain to find that the magical, transformative power of “college for...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 22, 20171 min read
Dual-credit students do better in college
College students who took at least one college course in high school were more likely to earn a four-year degree than similar students...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 11, 20172 min read
AP for all: Who benefits?
Expanding access to AP classes is supposed to help disadvantaged students prepare for college, but pass rates are very low. Is expanding...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 1, 20172 min read
How BASIS does it
BASIS charters “captured four of the top five spots on U.S. News‘ annual ranking of America’s best high schools,” writes Kate Stringer on...
Joanne Jacobs
May 21, 20172 min read
‘An A in Harlem vs. an A in a majority-white school’
Teens Take Charge publicizes students’ views on school segregation in New York City. Photo: Brett Rawson When Yacine Fall went from a...
Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20172 min read
Dual enrollment: Do it right
Dual enrollment is worth doing — but do it right, argues Rob Jenkins, who’s been a dual enrollment student, parent and college dean....
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 22, 20171 min read
Foreign students: U.S. schools are easy
Two-thirds of foreign-exchange students say U.S. high schools are “much easier” than schools in their home countries, writes Tom Loveless...
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