top of page


Joanne Jacobs
1 day ago2 min read
Paying for failure: If at first you don't succeed, you get a try-again bonus
Failure algebra in Philadelphia, go to tutoring, retake the test and get a cash reward -- even if you fail again.
3 comments

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 171 min read
Charter network trains -- and pays -- parents to teach reading
A Denver charter network has trained parents to work as reading tutors.
0 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Feb 122 min read
What did we get for $190 billion in school aid? Very little
Pandemic learning loss averaged half a year for most students, but the neediest students lost more in reading and math.
1 comment


Joanne Jacobs
Dec 1, 20243 min read
AI tutoring: The smart get smarter
AI tutoring can help motivated, capable students learn faster, but is worse than a human tutor for most students.
1 comment


Joanne Jacobs
Oct 9, 20242 min read
AI can make human tutors more effective, but can it help kids directly?
AI tutoring has struggled to work, but a new study shows it can help human tutors be more effective.
0 comments


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
Aug 1, 20242 min read
Only the education-rich can afford laissez-faire schools
Monogamy is "outdated," Troubled author Rob Henderson's Yale classmate told him. She's been raised in a stable, two-parent family and...
9 comments


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
Mar 2, 20242 min read
AI tutoring is ready for prime time
Artificial intelligence is generating laughs -- but not much respect -- due to the implosion of Google's Gemini tool. (It's not just the...
3 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Feb 22, 20242 min read
What about math? Schools focus on reading, not so much on math
Many schools are training teachers, hiring tutors and changing curricula to improve reading instruction, writes Holly Korey on The 74....
20 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20231 min read
'Literacy liberators' are as effective as teachers in tutoring early readers
An Oakland parent group hired and trained tutors from the community to work with early readers, reports Linda Jacobson on The 74....
1 comment


Joanne Jacobs
Nov 29, 20232 min read
'B-flation' misleads parents: 89% say their child is at grade level
Seventy-nine percent of parents say their child is receiving mostly B's or better, and 89 percent believe their child is at or above...
7 comments

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 24, 20232 min read
AI tutors will help motivated students, but . . .
"Motivated learners" will be able to "substitute AI for human tutors and teachers," predict Sean Geraghty and Mike Goldstein, co-leaders...
2 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Nov 12, 20232 min read
Tutors for toddlers: Crazy parents will raise crazy kids
"The race to the Ivy League starts early," writes Asia Grace in the New York Post. Affluent parents are hiring tutors for their toddlers...
4 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Oct 17, 20232 min read
Why so many parents mistrust schools: They didn't teach our kids to read
"When schools fail to teach reading, it harms the public's trust in schools," writes Kendra Hurley in Slate. Her children's Brooklyn...
7 comments

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 21, 20232 min read
You want equity? Teach more -- not less
The foolish idea that teaching kids less math will advance "equity" has spread from California, which has adopted watered-down guidelines...
4 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Jul 11, 20231 min read
Why I won't hire a tutor for my daughter
Alina Adams' daughter didn't learn any Spanish in ninth-grade Spanish 1. Her New York City school couldn't find a permanent teacher, so...
3 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Jul 3, 20231 min read
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...
1 comment


Joanne Jacobs
Jun 28, 20232 min read
Set a bot to monitor a bot: Is the TA hallucinating?
Are two bots better than one? Georgia Tech is hoping its old-tech AI tutoring bot will keep its new-tech AI chatbot from "hallucinating,"...
0 comments


Joanne Jacobs
Jun 1, 20232 min read
Schools pair virtual teacher with in-person 'learning coach'
The geometry teacher is in Maryland. The students are in California. A small San Jose charter school is using virtual teachers and...
0 comments
bottom of page