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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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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 10, 20242 min read
Truancy is the 'new normal' -- and a growing business
Tracking down absent students and persuading their parents to get them to school every day is a booming business, writes Alex MacGillis...
4 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Dec 20, 20232 min read
Missing: 87,000 students
California's public schools have "lost" 87,000 students, according to an analysis by Thomas Dee, a Stanford professor, and AP. An...
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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...
2 comments


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...
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Joanne Jacobs
Nov 9, 20231 min read
'B' is for below grade level (and chronically absent)
"Rosie" averaged an 83 in core classes and tested more than two months above grade level in fifth grade in 2019. She was absent three...
12 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Oct 19, 20232 min read
Teens spend 4.8 hours a day on social media, says Gallup
U.S. teenagers average 4.8 hours a day on social media apps such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter),...
9 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Sep 27, 20232 min read
Homeschoolers are more diverse, less conservative
Many families that tried homeschooling during the pandemic are still at it. As a result, post-pandemic homeschoolers are "more racially...
4 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Sep 26, 20232 min read
4-day school weeks are spreading, but students learn less
More schools -- and not just in rural areas -- are adopting four-day weeks, reports AP's Heather Hollingsworth. Districts hope the change...
10 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Sep 15, 20232 min read
Back to 'normal' isn't enough: The Covid generation is at risk
It's time to bring back bipartisan education reform writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli. He's promoting A Generation at Risk, a "call to...
3 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Sep 8, 20231 min read
Missing persons: Will absentees show up this year?
Chronic absenteeism -- missing 18+ days of a 180-day school year -- is way up, writes Ed Navigator's Tim Daly. Twenty-five percent of...
6 comments


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


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...
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Joanne Jacobs
Aug 28, 20232 min read
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...
3 comments


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...
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Joanne Jacobs
Aug 15, 20231 min read
UK blames lenient pandemic grading for soaring college dropout rate
Earning A-levels was easier for British students during the pandemic. Passing college classes is harder. Worried by a 30 percent college...
2 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Aug 7, 20232 min read
'We took care of our kids' -- but they lost a year in reading, math
Juab School District in Utah focused on supporting students emotionally when schools reopened in fall of 2020. “We took care of our...
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