Joanne Jacobs
$190 billion in federal relief raised achievement -- but not very much
The federal government gave schools $190 billion in emergency funding during and after the pandemic. The extra money helped students...
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Joanne Jacobs
Mar 222 min read
Four years after 'two weeks to flatten the curve' ...
Four years ago, schools across the country closed their doors. It was supposed to be for two weeks or three or . . . Most schools stayed...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 12 min read
Students are catching up in math, reading -- but gaps are wider
Reading and math scores are on their way up, reports the Education Recovery Scorecard. On average, students in grades three through eight...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 101 min read
NY high school becomes storm shelter for migrants
Students at Brooklyn's James Madison High School "were kicked out of the classroom" today "to make room for nearly 2,000 migrants" from a...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 10, 20231 min read
'There's got to be a pony in there'
Public schools face a long, tough road to recover from school closures and pandemic chaos, writes Fordham's Dale Chu. Post-pandemic...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 1, 20231 min read
Study: School closures 'largely explain' the youth mental health crisis
"School closures largely explain the deterioration of youth mental health" during the first wave of the pandemic, concludes a study in...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 28, 20232 min read
Cover-up in California: State botched remote learning, tried to silence critics
After Oakland schools closed in March, 2020, eight-year-old Cayla J. had two remote classes. Then, according to her mother, the teacher...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 13, 20231 min read
Education's 'long Covid' -- students aren't catching up
Don't call it "learning loss," they said. It's just "unfinished learning." Kids will catch up quickly. They'll be fine. First through...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 14, 20231 min read
Less schooling, less learning
“The Longer Students Were Out of School, the Less They Learned,” concludes Harry Anthony Patrinos, an education economist for the World...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 13, 20231 min read
Fewer students means fewer schools
"Faced with millions in budget shortfalls and declining enrollment," Seattle Public Schools is looking at closing schools and laying off...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 26, 20231 min read
If strike closes LA schools, it could be 'nail in the coffin'
A threatened strike by Los Angeles Unified's service workers -- custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special-education aides --...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 11, 20232 min read
Quarantines were a disastrous disruption for students
"Remote learning was terrible for many students," writes John Bailey, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, on The 74....
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 14, 20222 min read
Third graders are way behind in reading and catching up very slowly
Third graders are way behind in reading, reports Hechinger's Jill Barshay. These students, who were in kindergarten when their schools...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 5, 20223 min read
Why they left district schools -- and aren't coming back
Seven parents tell Washington Post Magazine why they left district-run public schools for private school or homeschooling. "Since 2019,...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 18, 20222 min read
Kids stream more, read less
The rise in screen time -- not just school closures -- is a factor in the decline in achievement, suggests Tim Daly, who runs the...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 10, 20222 min read
Most want more focus on academics, less on gender, sex
The red wave turned out to be a purple haze. Moderates outperformed extremists. Democracy did not end. Trumpery lost its luster. An...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 5, 20222 min read
Pandemic amnesty: Is it time?
My resolution for 2021, renewed for 2022, was to be kind and calm. There is enough nastiness and enough hysteria out there without me...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 31, 20221 min read
Alabama (!) leads nation in minimizing learning loss
Alabama led the nation in maintaining math and reading achievement during the pandemic, reports Trisha Powell Crain of AL.com. That is,...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 31, 20223 min read
'Shades of badness' in math, reading scores
The longer urban schools stayed closed the worse their fourth-graders are doing in math, concludes an analysis of National Assessment of...
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