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Are children learning? Politicians don't seem to care
Education isn't on the national agenda: Politicians argue about library books and locker rooms, but not about raising achievement.

Joanne Jacobs
May 132 min read
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Tutoring is booming: Parents are paying to give their kids an edge
Many more parents are paying for in-person or online tutoring.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 9, 20242 min read
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200-day school year boosts reading scores -- and attendance
Adding 20 days to the school year improved reading scores at two Richmond elementary schools.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 9, 20242 min read
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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
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'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....

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20231 min read
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'There's got to be a pony in there'
Public schools face a long, tough road to recover from school closures and pandemic chaos, writes Fordham's Dale Chu. Post-pandemic...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 10, 20231 min read
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Chatbot 'Ed' will tell LA parents how their kids are doing in school
An interactive, multilingual chatbot named "Ed" will tell parents about their child's grades, test results and attendance" and serve as a...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 11, 20231 min read
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Absent teachers: Why learning is still disrupted
A rise in teacher absenteeism is disrupting learning, concludes TNTP, Talent Framework: Designing the Workforce of Tomorrow to Support...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 4, 20231 min read
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Trouble with teachers: Why there's no post-Covid rebound
A crisis in classroom teaching quality is forcing school systems to "abandon once-ambitious student recovery plans," concludes a report...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 26, 20232 min read
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Education's 'long Covid' -- students aren't catching up
Don't call it "learning loss," they said. It's just "unfinished learning." Kids will catch up quickly. They'll be fine. First through...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 13, 20231 min read
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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, 20231 min read
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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
Jul 3, 20232 min read
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'Covid kids' won't catch up by the end of 12th grade, unless . . .
It's a "terrible truth," writes Margaret Raymond on The 74. "Most of the programs school districts have implemented to address COVID...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 25, 20232 min read
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Gone girls and boys
District-run public schools lost nine percent of enrollment between spring 2021 and spring 2022, concludes School Disrupted by Tyton...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 19, 20222 min read
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Virtual tutoring won't work if students don't use it
On-demand virtual tutoring has the potential to help students catch up in school, concludes a recent study of California students in...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 9, 20222 min read
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