Joanne Jacobs
AP tests are tough: Is the bar too high for disadvantaged students?
"The basic philosophy of the Advanced Placement Program is simply that all students are not created equal," said the program's director,...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 27
- 2 min
Rich kids, smart kids
Wealthy parents raise high-scoring children, according to new SAT and ACT data, reports Claire Cain Miller in the New York Times....
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 8
- 2 min
Parenting alone: What happened to marriage?
Growing up in a two-parent family is an enormous advantage, writes Melissa Kearney in The Two-Parent Privilege. It's the norm for...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 16
- 1 min
Yale changes admissions, avoids bias lawsuit
Elite colleges have "rolled out new application questions this fall to provide students with opportunities to discuss their racial...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 13
- 2 min
Love, marriage, honor roll: Culture closes 'excellence gaps'
Culture explains why Asian-American students do so well in school, writes Helen Raleigh, who's Asian American, in The Federalist. It's...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 8
- 2 min
How Detroit school is trying to get students to show up
Mentors, home visits, data analysis and movie visits for students and grocery gift cards for parents are among the strategies used to get...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 18
- 2 min
California pledges $4 billion for 'community schools' -- but do students learn more?
There were high hopes for Akron's I Promise School when it opened in 2018, writes Mike Antonucci on The 74. With lots of extra funding...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 16
- 2 min
Summer jobs boost school success
Working for the summer pays off for teenagers from low-income families, concludes a study of Boston's summer job program. Winning the job...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 1
- 1 min
Promises, promises: LeBron James' school struggles in Akron
Akron's I Promise School opened five years ago with high hopes and lots of extra funding from basketball star LeBron James' foundation....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 25
- 2 min
Focus on who gets out of poverty, not who gets into Harvard
Obsessing over who gets into elite colleges and universities is an odd preoccupation for progressives, argues Francisco Toro on...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 25
- 3 min
Very rich lacrosse-playing 'legacies' have an Ivy edge
The very rich are different: They can get their kids into ultra-selective universities. Upper-middle-class won't do it. And it helps -- a...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 18
- 3 min
Chaos: I tried to teach for America, and I failed
"Too many teachers mistake the generally sound advice to not provide a stand off with a student during class with "don't assert authority...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 12
- 2 min
Inner-city schools aren't underfunded any more
Abbott Elementary, a popular ABC sitcom about teachers at an inner-city Philadelphia school, is "entertaining but not elucidating" about...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 6
- 1 min
Prep disadvantaged kids for Ivy futures
Elite colleges should create and fund middle and high schools to educate disadvantaged students, writes Roland Fryer, a Harvard economics...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 5
- 3 min
Biden opposes 'privilege,' except when his granddaughter applied to Penn
Harvard's admissions break for children of alumni and donors "discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost" to...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 29
- 2 min
Leaving college for a factory job gave me dignity, security and opportunity
The U.S. Supreme Court is about to rule on whether President Joe Biden has the authority to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans by...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 26
- 2 min
Poor blacks get nothing from affirmative action
Affirmative action in college admissions has failed to help disadvantaged black students, writes Bertrand Cooper in The Atlantic. If the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 23
- 2 min
All children can learn -- but how much?
Not all education problems are solvable, if we just try hard enough or spend enough, argues Freddie DeBoer in a column on optimism bias. ...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 18
- 2 min
Against self-reliance
Hard work pays off. Even those born in poverty can build a better life. Self-reliance is better than dependence. Not so, argues Alissa...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 9
- 2 min
Columbia goes 'holistic,' dumps SAT/ACT requirement
Columbia University, know for its core curriculum in humanities, has become the first Ivy League school to drop SAT/ACT scores as an...
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