Joanne Jacobs
An 'F' for grading: Can expectations go any lower?
Grading may be stressful, writes George Leef on the Martin Center for Academic Renewal. It may deliver unwelcome news to students or...
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Joanne Jacobs
Aug 132 min read
Most grades don't match test scores: Is that a problem?
Most grades don't match students' test scores, according to the Equitable Grading Project.
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 61 min read
'Locking in' learning loss: Math grades didn't return to pre-pandemic normal
Grade inflation soared when learning went remote, writes Amber Northern. Lax requirements to turn in work, fewer graded assignments, and...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 103 min read
Up, up and away: 'Recalibration' is raising AP exam scores
Advanced Placement scores were released this week, and they're higher than ever. But not necessarily because students are learning more....
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 61 min read
Tests may be 'optional,' but not if you want to get in to an elite college
Yale is not “being honest about the reality of our admissions process” because the university is “denying 98 percent of the students who...
Joanne Jacobs
May 292 min read
Why top college students don't read or go to class: Resume polishing is #1
At Harvard and other elite universities, students spend more time and energy on resume-polishing extracurriculars than classwork.
Joanne Jacobs
May 202 min read
College students can't -- or won't -- read, say profs
Many college students don't do the work -- perhaps because they have trouble reading and understanding college-level texts.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 202 min read
Lowering expectations doesn't lead to 'equity'
It's easier to get A's and harder to get an education, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli. Expectations started falling and grades...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 192 min read
Drop the admissions essay, and bring back the SAT
It's time to dump college admissions essays, writes Matthew Levey on The 74. Test scores and good grades in challenging courses are...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 162 min read
Parents get pushy in Fort Worth: Why did every 1st-grader get the same grade?
Trenace Dorsey-Hollins asked why her daughter received "emerging" (the lowest level) on her first-grade report card for a skill she'd...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 132 min read
No extra credit for Kleenex: 'Equitable grading' is honest -- not easy, says advocate
"Equitable grading" isn't a strategy to inflate grades and lower expectations, argues Joe Feldman, author of Grading for Equity and CEO...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 62 min read
Dartmouth will require SAT/ACT scores to help low-income students
Dartmouth will require applicants to submit standardized test scores such as the SAT or ACT, ending a long "pandemic pause," reports...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 82 min read
SAT/ACT scores predict success, open doors for 'diverse' students
Want equity? Require college applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, writes David Leonhardt in the New York Times. The progressives' "war...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 23 min read
Activism gives bored, lonely students something to do
Students who've worked hard to get into prestigious colleges don't seem to have enough to do once they get there, writes Rick Hess,...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 14, 20232 min read
College fail: Are the Covid kids ready to learn?
"(Are you ready?) Yes, I'm ready . . . I don't even know how to hold your hand Just to make you understand But I'm ready (ready) to learn...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 5, 20232 min read
WVU gives students what they want: Good grades in easy classes
West Virginia University is cutting majors and firing professors to fulfill the utilitarian vision of its president, E. Gordon Gee,...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 5, 20231 min read
Yale, Harvard offer the gentlewoman's 'A'
Nearly 80 percent of grades at Yale are A's, reports Evan Gorelick in the Yale Daily News. That ranges from 52 percent in economics and...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 29, 20232 min read
'B-flation' misleads parents: 89% say their child is at grade level
Seventy-nine percent of parents say their child is receiving mostly B's or better, and 89 percent believe their child is at or above...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 16, 20232 min read
Disarming grades
"Handwringing" about grade inflation is "inflated," suggests Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post. She offers a piece by Jack Schneider...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 26, 20232 min read
America needs strivers
Rewarding mediocrity is a losing strategy for America, writes Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion 3.0, on Education Next. U.S....
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