top of page


Schools that work: Juanito can read at Hoover Street Elementary
Let's learn from schools where disadvantaged children are becoming proficient readers.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 61 min read


Racial preferences by other names
"Socioeconomic" preferences often help low-income blacks, but low-income Asian Americans.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 22 min read


The new math has more on 'social justice,' less math
Money earned by people who were very, very good at math is being spent to promote anti-racist, justice-infused not-very-mathy math.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 262 min read


Open the door to new worlds: Poor kids have a right to Shakespeare, Bach, Plato
To offer a demanding, powerful curriculum to every child is not elitist. It is egalitarian.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 21 min read


'Dismantling oppression' meant destroying effective schools
"No excuses" charters were closing achievement gaps, until "equity" crusaders persuaded them to lower academic and behavioral expectations.

Joanne Jacobs
May 212 min read


How 'anti-racist' ideology hurt the students it was supposed to help
"No excuses" urban charters were closing achievement gaps, until they adopted "anti-racist" and "social justice" ideology, argues a charter founder fired for backing high expectations.

Joanne Jacobs
May 42 min read


Colleges can admit 'diverse' students without racial preferences
Universities can enhance diversity by giving an admissions break to disadvantaged students of all races. It's legal and it's good politics.

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 22 min read


If the scores are bad, should we dump the test?
A majority of black, Hispanic and low-income fourth-graders have "below basic" reading skills. Does it matter?

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 113 min read


Mississippi vs. Masssachusetts: Which state has the best schools?
When states are judged by how well students overcome disadvantages, Mississippi is a winner and high-scoring Massachusetts is mediocre.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 16, 20241 min read


Who's truly disadvantaged? Look at single parenting, not race or poverty
Growing up in a single-parent family is a huge disadvantage in life, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli in Forbes. If racial preferences...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 25, 20242 min read


'Free college' isn't enough to raise success rates for low-income students
"Free" tuition has boosted two-year graduation rates in Tennessee, but low-income students need more help to complete a degree.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 19, 20242 min read


Want equity? Teach more math, not less
As a math teacher in the early 2000s, Adrian Mims saw few Black and Hispanic students succeeding in Brooklin (MA) High School's honors...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 10, 20242 min read


How schools can help poor kids beat the odds: Consistency, collaboration, priorities
Schools that help disadvantaged students achieve focus on consistently good teaching, a strong, shared curriculum and lots of collaboration.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 1, 20242 min read


Most challenging schools are charters educating low-income students
Urban charters in high-poverty areas have become the most challenging high schools in the country, as measured by students taking...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 25, 20242 min read


Vo-tech is STEM prep: Needy kids can't get in to learn a trade
High-needs students have a hard time getting into vocational-tech schools in Massachusetts, reports the Boston Globe. Most of the highly...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 19, 20242 min read


Tests may be 'optional,' but not if you want to get in to an elite college
Yale is not “being honest about the reality of our admissions process” because the university is “denying 98 percent of the students who...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 6, 20241 min read


Dartmouth will require SAT/ACT scores to help low-income students
Dartmouth will require applicants to submit standardized test scores such as the SAT or ACT, ending a long "pandemic pause," reports...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 6, 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...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20242 min read


Teachers are fed up with student misbehavior, classroom chaos
The "new normal" of student behavior -- a toxic mix of disrespect, disruption, violence and apathy -- is driving teachers to despair,...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 24, 20243 min read


Does preschool help kids -- or harm them?
Expanding free preschool is a progressive priority. Early experiments in the 1960s and 1970s -- Perry Preschool program and the...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 20, 20242 min read
bottom of page


