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Why 45% of 12th-graders are 'below basic' in math
Nearly half of 12th-graders do not have basic math skills. Many teachers aren't well trained in how to teach math.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 182 min read
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Effort matters: Kids have to do the work
Effort matters.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 33 min read
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Teachers are skeptical of 'equitable' grading: 'Students sink to lower expectations'
Teachers don't like grading "reforms" that lower expectations.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 202 min read
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Eat your spinach and do your homework: Rigor is unpopular
Everyone says they value a rigorous education -- but many don't want to do the work.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 143 min read
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California tells schools: Go easy on homework
A new California law urges school to set homework policies that ease stress and promote "equity."

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 31 min read
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Teens are doing less homework, earning higher grades
Teenagers are working less and earning higher grades. Everybody's "phoning it in."

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20242 min read
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Teaching books doesn't work if students won't (or can't) read
English teachers don't teach many novels because students won't do the reading on their own.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 18, 20243 min read
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No extra credit for Kleenex: 'Equitable grading' is honest -- not easy, says advocate
"Equitable grading" isn't a strategy to inflate grades and lower expectations, argues Joe Feldman, author of Grading for Equity and CEO...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 13, 20242 min read
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Homework load keeps getting lighter as grades go higher
Forty-four percent of 13-year-olds (eighth grade) did no homework in 2022, writes Tom Loveless. The numbers are very similar for...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 6, 20232 min read
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Set up to fail: In real life, you've got to show up and do the work
"Equitable grading" is supposed to be fairer to students who have trouble completing homework, getting to school on time and studying for...

Joanne Jacobs
May 11, 20233 min read
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Education fads will make learning decline worse
"As bad as the pandemic was for student learning," some education fads will make it worse, writes Greg Richmond, superintendent of...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 7, 20231 min read
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