top of page


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
Jan 2, 20243 min read
6 comments


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 14, 20232 min read
2 comments


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, 20232 min read
3 comments


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
Dec 5, 20231 min read
13 comments


'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 29, 20232 min read
7 comments

Disarming grades
"Handwringing" about grade inflation is "inflated," suggests Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post. She offers a piece by Jack Schneider...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 16, 20232 min read
5 comments


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....
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 26, 20232 min read
10 comments


'A' is for 'awesome,' 'awful' and 'average'
"The most popular high school grade in America" is "A," writes Tim Donahue, who teaches high school English at Greenwich Country Day...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 25, 20232 min read
7 comments


The broke-woke-stroke convergence: Why professors lower standards
College professors are "inflating grades and watering down their courses," write Mark Horowitz, Anthony L. Haynor and Kenneth Kickham in...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 31, 20231 min read
5 comments


Up, up and away: More A's, lower test scores
High school grades went up in all subjects from 2010-2022, reports ACT. Achievement did not. Grade inflation was the highest in math:...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 31, 20231 min read
2 comments


We can't 'replace academic mastery with critical thinking about nothing in particular'
The American education system has turned away from academics and lost its way, says David Steiner, executive director of the Institute...
Joanne Jacobs
May 17, 20231 min read
2 comments


Is your honor-roll student at grade level? Maybe not
“87% of Sacramento County parents think their kids do math at grade level,” reads one billboard. “28% of kids actually do." The goal of...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 17, 20231 min read
3 comments


Grades and grad rates rise, and that's not good news
Grades are up! Graduation rates are rising! But that's not good news. Test scores are down, across the country, writes Hechinger's Jill...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 3, 20232 min read
7 comments


Happy talk isn't helpful: Tell parents the truth about their kids' learning
Keri Rodrigues, co-founder and president of the National Parents Union, complained on Twitter about the special-education team "who...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 6, 20232 min read
1 comment
bottom of page