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Lots of kids left behind: Why achievement gaps grew
Achievement gaps are large and growing across the country, writes Chad Aldeman on The 74. It's not the pandemic: Scores have been falling...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 28, 20242 min read
15 comments


In defense of remedial math classes
Students who are almost ready for college math do best by taking college-level classes with support in basic skills, researchers agree....
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 9, 20242 min read
2 comments


$250K for 'woke' training: Reading, math scores fall even lower
Training teachers to "disrupt whiteness" isn't helping children learn at a Bay Area school, reports Jill Tucker in the San Francisco...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 5, 20242 min read
5 comments


Young students are better in phonics, worse in math
"Covid toddlers" -- kids who were two years old in March 2020 -- were more likely to be unprepared for kindergarten in fall 2023 reports...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20241 min read
4 comments


'School math' is boring: Students want 'real math'
"Math is important, but we’re being taught the wrong kind of math," say high school students in a YouthTruth survey. While 57 percent...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 11, 20242 min read
8 comments


Culturally relevant math: If Cardi B owns $500K in handbags ...
Math achievement is very low for black students. Can "culturally relevant" math problems -- such as analyzing a hip-hop star's purse...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 29, 20232 min read
1 comment


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


Practice makes better
How do get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! It's the same for math, writes Holly Korbey on Edutopia. “They are considered dirty words, but...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 1, 20231 min read
3 comments


Advanced math puts all achievers on path to equity, excellence
All high achievers should be placed in challenging math classes that prepare them to take algebra in eighth grade, write Brenda Berg and...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 14, 20231 min read
0 comments

'Data literacy' will widen STEM gaps
I was willing to swear a solemn vow to not major in math or science in college, I told my teacher. All I asked was to get out of trig....
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 5, 20232 min read
13 comments


Math disaster in college: Would-be STEM majors can't add 1/2 + 1/3
After a year of remote algebra, "Diego" struggled with advanced algebra. Despite a week at George Mason University's Math Boot Camp, the...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 6, 20232 min read
54 comments


Students aren't bouncing back in math
Math skills fell during "remote education" and many students aren't bouncing back, reports an education reporting collaborative in a...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 6, 20232 min read
4 comments


More students are in 'big, big trouble' in reading, math, and they're not catching up
Students are learning again, but most are not catching up for learning lost during the pandemic, conclude three new reports comparing...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 28, 20232 min read
3 comments


Traumatizing math students
There's no evidence that "trauma-deformed pedagogy" (oops, "informed") helps students learn more, writes Max Eden, an American Enterprise...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 27, 20233 min read
12 comments

What works in teaching English (discussion) may not work in teaching math
The most effective use of class time depends on the subject, concludes a study conducted in high-poverty English high schools, reports...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 26, 20231 min read
4 comments

$1.7 trillion in college debt is 'mostly unrepayable'
Even if President Biden is able to figure some student loans, most of the $1.7 trillion in college debt will not be repaid -- ever, write...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 19, 20231 min read
14 comments


'Big ideas' aren't always good ideas
Impatience is the besetting sin of progressive education. Progressives want to skip the boring, old fundamentals -- phonics,...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 14, 20232 min read
3 comments


Equity! Equity! What about the math?
There's a lot of talk about "equity" in the latest draft of California's proposed math framework. In addition to a guarantee of...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 7, 20232 min read
4 comments


Summer school is open, but will students who need it most show up?
This will be the last year of Covid-funded summer school before the pandemic relief money runs out, writes Jo Napolitano on The 74. Some...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 24, 20232 min read
0 comments


A 'lost generation' of learning: Scores fall, gaps widen for 13-year-olds
America's 13-year-olds are moving backwards educationally, according to a new report on long term trends by the National Assessment of...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 22, 20231 min read
4 comments
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