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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20242 min read
Teens are doing less homework, earning higher grades
Teenagers are working less and earning higher grades. Everybody's "phoning it in."
5 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 17, 20242 min read
Honey, we lost the parents
Democrats have lost their edge with parents of school-aged children.
6 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 5, 20242 min read
U.S. math scores show 'devastating' decline
U.S. students are doing much worse in math, while some other countries are improving.
7 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 23, 20242 min read
Making money matter: More kids in special ed doesn't improve reading
Schools got $190 billion in emergency funding during the epidemic, write Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown's Edunomics Lab, and...
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 9, 20242 min read
Tutoring is booming: Parents are paying to give their kids an edge
Many more parents are paying for in-person or online tutoring.
2 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 21, 20241 min read
Covid stress hurt memory, 'flexible thinking' for kids and teachers, says study
Students -- and teachers -- lost reasoning, memory and executive-function skills during the pandemic. Stress? Long Covid? Screens?
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Joanne Jacobs
Sep 19, 20242 min read
After the pandemic, more students are diagnosed with special needs
Special education numbers are up.
1 comment
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 12, 20242 min read
Bullying, violence are up: 1 in 10 teens are afraid to go to school, says CDC
Teens aren't quite as sad or suicidal as they were in 2021, reports the CDC, but violence, bullying and school avoidance are up.
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Joanne Jacobs
Aug 8, 20242 min read
Biden's education grade: 'D' for 'doesn't care about achievement'
President Biden's education agenda deserves a D.
3 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 6, 20241 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...
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Joanne Jacobs
Aug 5, 20242 min read
Summer school helps, if students show up
Urban charter students made significant gains in reading and math in a summer program that combined instruction and enrichment, reports...
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Joanne Jacobs
Jul 26, 20242 min read
Harris thrills teachers' union, sticks to progressive orthodoxy
"God knows, we don't pay you enough," Kamala Harris told teachers at the American Federation of Teachers convention in Houston. That went...
2 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 24, 20241 min read
Post-Covid kids are unfocused, poorly behaved and -- surprise! -- learning less
Student behavior hasn't recovered from the pandemic, says a federal survey of public schools.
1 comment
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 24, 20242 min read
'Covid kids' aren't catching up: 8th graders are 1 year behind pre-pandemic levels
This year's eighth graders were in fourth grade when their schools shut down. As they head to high school, the average student is nine...
3 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 2, 20242 min read
'We are talking 4- and 5-year-olds who are throwing chairs, biting, hitting ... '
Covid toddlers are now in school, and teachers say many are not doing very well, report Claire Cain Miller and Sarah Mervosh in the New...
3 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 27, 20243 min read
$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...
3 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 11, 20242 min read
School's out early: Some students get much less class time than others
Some students get less class time -- and usually learn less.
4 comments
Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20242 min read
Can't be bothered: Kids are absent from everything, not just school
Chronic absenteeism is way up, writes Robert Pondiscio, but kids aren't just absent from school. A disturbing number of young people are...
3 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20241 min read
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...
4 comments
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20242 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...
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