Joanne Jacobs
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 14
- 3 min
The magic of reading: Teach first, joy later
In The Superstar, part of her Sold a Story podcasts, APM reporter Emily Hanford explains how a romantic view of how children learn to...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 7
- 2 min
Los Angeles schools will follow reading science, says Carvalho
"If we are going to follow the science, then we should really embrace all science, including the science of reading," said Alberto M....
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 7
- 2 min
Teaching reading should not be political
"So the anti-public school, pro-book banning crowd has latched onto the “science of reading” movement…shocked," tweets Ryan Davis...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 31
- 1 min
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 25
- 2 min
Tell parents truth: Enough with the happy talk
Tell parents the unpleasant truth about learning loss, writes Andrew Rotherham in a story on the state NAEP scores in the The 74. "The...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 25
- 3 min
Nation's Report Card shows 'appalling' fall in math, reading
Fourth- and eighth-graders' math and reading proficiency fell across the country after two years of disruption, reports the National...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 18
- 2 min
Finally, schools are following the 'science of reading'
Phonics is back in classrooms and it's helping young children learn to read, writes Bella DiMarco, a FutureEd policy analyst, in the New...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 2
- 2 min
Louisiana eyes requiring summer school for struggling readers
Louisiana students not reading at grade level in K-4 would be required to attend summer school -- or repeat a grade -- under a proposal...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 29
- 3 min
Who decides what books belong in the school library? Can we talk about it?
You probably can't find Hustler in the school library -- or Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal, write Jay Greene and Robert Pondiscio in...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 23
- 2 min
Once they can decode, the next step is knowledge
The mainstream media has declared a victor in the "reading wars," writes Robert Pondiscio. Both TIME and The New Yorker had stories last...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 19
- 2 min
Closing schools was a 'wrecking ball'
"The pandemic was a wrecking ball for U.S. public education," concludes the Center for Reinventing Public Education in The State of the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 14
- 2 min
Teach the children well -- without wasting time on hokum
Mixing wishful thinking with actual teaching is failing children, writes Greg Ashman, a school principal in Australia, on Filling the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 9
- 3 min
Colleges drop remedial classes -- but many students are unprepared
California's community colleges will be ordered to stop offering no-credit remedial classes in nearly all cases, if Gov. Gavin Newsom...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 6
- 2 min
Black kids are a year farther behind in math: That matters, right?
Math scores for Black nine-year-olds dropped by 13 points compared to 2020, representing a year's worth of learning, reports the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 1
- 2 min
Down, down, down
The pandemic -- and the response to the pandemic -- was a disaster for students. We knew that, but now we really know that. Reading and...
Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 1
- 2 min
The smart get smarter
In the ten years before the pandemic, high achievers did better in math and reading while everyone else slid, writes Fordham's Michael...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 23
- 2 min
Is technology the future of early literacy?
Speech-recognition technology could analyze young children's reading, rate their pronunciation of each sound and word, track their...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 19
- 2 min
Following the reading science: It's not easy
If Mississippi can "follow the science" of reading, retrain teachers, provide teaching coaches and switch to effective curricula -- and...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 18
- 1 min
Already behind, students are asked to do less
Students fell behind in reading and math when schools closed, and they're not likely to catch up if teachers don't assign challenging...