Joanne Jacobs
'Hungry Caterpillar' is banned as school purges pre-2008 books
Books published before 2008 have been removed from school library shelves in a school district near Toronto, Canada, reports Nicole...
top of page
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 28
- 2 min
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 14
- 2 min
Shakespeare's smut: 'Out, out, gosh-darned spot'
There's no need to edit the dirty jokes out of Shakespeare's plays to comply with Florida's new law, according to the state Education...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 7
- 2 min
'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...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 26
- 1 min
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 13
- 1 min
Doing more of what wasn't working won't help kids catch up
"If we really want to narrow gaps and make up for pandemic-related learning loss, we need to change what and how we teach -- especially...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 3
- 1 min
Good news in Tennessee
Tennessee's focus on tutoring and summer school is paying off, report Marta W. Aldrich and Kae Petrin on Chalkbeat. Scores are up for the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 3
- 2 min
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
There are three terrifying things about the long-term federal test data on 13-year-olds' achievement, writes Vladimir Kogan, an Ohio...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 27
- 2 min
Why Johnny can't read in Oregon
Oregon schools, which once outdid national averages, produced "jaw-dropping declines in student outcomes" during the pandemic, and now...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 27
- 2 min
Mississippi rules in reading
Mississippi students used to rank dead last in learning, writes Phil Bryant, the former governor of the state, on Real Clear Education....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 24
- 2 min
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 22
- 1 min
CREDO: Some charters are achievement 'gap busters'
Black, Hispanic and low-income students gain the most in reading and math compared to similar students at district schools, concludes a...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 22
- 1 min
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 20
- 2 min
'It's heartbreaking to realize I never taught my students to read'
Hoping to share her love of reading, Bridget Scanlan became an "intervention" teacher working with struggling readers and special-ed...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 20
- 2 min
38% of ed schools get 'F' in prepping teachers to teach reading
Thirty-eight percent of teacher-education programs are failing to prepare future teachers to teach reading using the most effective...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 12
- 2 min
Beyond basics: Schools must teach 'virtues and habits' of free people
"Back to basics" education isn't enough, writes Gillian Richards on The American Conservative. "Some conservatives have responded to...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 7
- 3 min
Charters are outperforming traditional public schools
Charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools, according to a new study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 4
- 2 min
What books are best for children?
Which books should kids be reading, asks Robert Pondiscio. He talked to Casey Churchill, who runs Liberty Common School, a Colorado Core...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 30
- 2 min
It's summer school or else for would-be fourth graders in Tennessee
Thousands of Tennessee children will be going to summer school -- or repeating third grade, reports Chalkbeat's Marta W. Aldrich. Sixty...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 23
- 1 min
Test reading and civics at the same time
Only 6 percent of eighth-graders can read Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech and identify two ideas from the Constitution or...
bottom of page