Joanne Jacobs
Let AI do it: High schoolers don't need to write essays any more
"Good-bye and good riddance" to teaching students to write essays, writes Daniel Herman in The Atlantic. Herman, who teaches English at a...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 28
- 2 min
More students are in 'big, big trouble' in reading, math, and they're not catching up
Students are learning again, but most are not catching up for learning lost during the pandemic, conclude three new reports comparing...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 13
- 1 min
Doing more of what wasn't working won't help kids catch up
"If we really want to narrow gaps and make up for pandemic-related learning loss, we need to change what and how we teach -- especially...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 3
- 2 min
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
- Jun 27
- 2 min
Mississippi rules in reading
Mississippi students used to rank dead last in learning, writes Phil Bryant, the former governor of the state, on Real Clear Education....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 24
- 2 min
Summer school is open, but will students who need it most show up?
This will be the last year of Covid-funded summer school before the pandemic relief money runs out, writes Jo Napolitano on The 74. Some...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 22
- 1 min
A 'lost generation' of learning: Scores fall, gaps widen for 13-year-olds
America's 13-year-olds are moving backwards educationally, according to a new report on long term trends by the National Assessment of...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 20
- 2 min
'It's heartbreaking to realize I never taught my students to read'
Hoping to share her love of reading, Bridget Scanlan became an "intervention" teacher working with struggling readers and special-ed...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 7
- 3 min
Charters are outperforming traditional public schools
Charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools, according to a new study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 30
- 2 min
It's summer school or else for would-be fourth graders in Tennessee
Thousands of Tennessee children will be going to summer school -- or repeating third grade, reports Chalkbeat's Marta W. Aldrich. Sixty...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 23
- 1 min
Test reading and civics at the same time
Only 6 percent of eighth-graders can read Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech and identify two ideas from the Constitution or...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 17
- 1 min
Presto chango! You're 'graduation ready'
New Jersey just doubled the percentage of students who are "graduation ready" in reading, writes Chrif Cerf, the former state...
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 26
- 2 min
Knowledge isn't just for Republicans
Teaching knowledge is not just for Republicans or conservatives, writes Natalie Wexler on Minding the Gap. Anyone who values equity...
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 17
- 1 min
When fourth graders can't read
Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers have many more students who read poorly because they missed out on decoding instruction when...
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 12
- 2 min
Beyond fat cats on mats: Knowledge closes the learning gap
Teaching phonics is a critical first step in teaching reading, but students need to build knowledge and vocabulary to get from fat cats...
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 12
- 2 min
Will 65% of Tennessee 3rd-graders repeat the year? Not likely
If Tennessee's read-or- repeat law had been in place last year, 65 percent of third graders would have been at-risk of retention for...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 20
- 2 min
Many students need tutoring, but few are getting it
Intensive tutoring is the best way to help students who suffered learning setbacks during the pandemic, but school districts are...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 15
- 1 min
'Parents can't solve a problem they don't know they have'
Many parents don't realize how badly their children are doing in school, reports AP's Bianca Vazquez Toness. Teachers don't like to...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 14
- 2 min
Why even kids who like to read hate English class
English teachers are teaching kids to hate reading, writes Pamela Paul, a New York Times op-ed columnist, in response to Nathan Heller's...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 13
- 2 min
When 3rd-graders can't read, should they repeat the grade?
Third graders who read more than a year below grade level will be passed on to fourth grade in Michigan, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen...
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