Joanne Jacobs
Poor kids can learn to read too
Overall, family poverty and reading problems go together. But some school districts are beating the odds.
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Joanne Jacobs
- Sep 9
- 2 min
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
- Aug 21
- 1 min
Sprinkling the fairy dust that helps children fly
My visiting eight-month-old granddaughter crawl-flopped past the teething toys to chew on the metal leg of the coffee table. "Try the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Aug 1
- 2 min
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Monogamy is "outdated," Troubled author Rob Henderson's Yale classmate told him.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...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 9
- 2 min
Why boys don't read very much: They want manly courage -- not teen angst
Boys might read more if they were introduced to classic books with male heroes.
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 5
- 2 min
It's cultural literacy, not Bible lessons, say Texas educators
Texas will add Bible stories and religious history to its K-5 reading curriculum.
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 7
- 1 min
Magic worlds
The Rabbit Hole, a children's literature museum in Kansas City, sounds like a wonderful place. Children can explore "scenes from beloved...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 6
- 2 min
Tennessee board: Don't wait till 3rd grade to retain poor readers
Help struggling readers starting in kindergarten, says Tennessee's school board in a resolution. If they need more time to...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 23
- 2 min
Odysseus so white
English teachers at Oakland's College Preparatory School, one of the most expensive private schools in California, have "let go" of...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 19
- 2 min
Why Joe College can't read
College students have trouble reading anything long or complex, complains Adam Kotsko, in Slate. He's taught humanities classes in small...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 16
- 2 min
Parents get pushy in Fort Worth: Why did every 1st-grader get the same grade?
Trenace Dorsey-Hollins asked why her daughter received "emerging" (the lowest level) on her first-grade report card for a skill she'd...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 5
- 2 min
$250K for 'woke' training: Reading, math scores fall even lower
Training teachers to "disrupt whiteness" isn't helping children learn at a Bay Area school, reports Jill Tucker in the San Francisco...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 17
- 2 min
Beyond decoding: Teaching knowledge, vocabulary builds comprehension
In Portage, Michigan, fourth graders are reading about hurricanes -- including words such as "atmosphere" -- in their English Language...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 15, 2023
- 2 min
Parents trust their child's reading teacher, but should they?
More than 90 percent of parents think their child's elementary school and teacher are doing a "good" or "excellent" job of teaching...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 8, 2023
- 1 min
Training teachers in 'science of reading' improves reading
Low-performing California schools improved third-graders' reading by training teachers in how children learn to read, according to a new...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 20, 2023
- 2 min
Missing dyslexia
Schools are failing to diagnose dyslexia, which makes it hard for as many as 20 percent of students to master reading, writes Sarah Carr...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 20, 2023
- 2 min
Only 1.2% to repeat 3rd grade due to Tennessee 'reading gate'
Sixty percent of Tennessee third graders faced the prospect of repeating the grade, but only 1.2 percent failed to get past the "reading...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 1, 2023
- 3 min
How to kill the bad-teaching monster: Don't forget the garlic
To kill a vampire permanently dead, you'll need to hammer a wooden stake in its heart, shoot it with a silver bullet melted down from a...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 18, 2023
- 2 min
Repeating a grade can help elementary students succeed
Holding kids back if they're way behind in reading is very controversial, but new research shows that repeating a grade in elementary...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 17, 2023
- 1 min
You can't give 'Hop on Pop' to a 7th-grader
Middle schoolers who read at the first, second and third-grade level won't read "baby books" and can't read grade-level books, says...
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