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How Viet refugees rose: 'They work harder'
Vietnamese "boat people" raised their American children to work hard in school and go to college.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 72 min read


Blaming the test is racist: Expand gifted programs, free tutoring
New York City's selective high schools are engines of upward mobility for immigrants -- and others willing to do the work.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 223 min read


Test-blind UC admits students who can't do algebra or write a sentence
Test-blind college admissions has failed at the University of California. The Regents should restore SAT/ACT scores.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 72 min read


Master's degrees are high cost, high risk: Will loan limits help?
Capping graduate-school loans could lower tuition -- and make would-be students more cost-conscious.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 12 min read


Is 'disparate impact' dead?
A federal "disparate impact" guidance could persuade employers to stop requiring college degrees when they're not necessary.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 262 min read


Know before you go (with federal aid) to high-risk, low-earnings colleges
FAFSA will warn students who apply for aid to attend colleges where graduates earn less than workers with only a high school degree.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 12, 20252 min read


Feds will fund job training for all, but will short-term programs pay off?
Federal Pell grants will find job credentials for low-income Americans, but many job programs have weak results.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 29, 20252 min read


One step forward, one step back: Why ed reform donors are frustrated
Education reformers -- and donors -- have lost heart because it's so hard to create and scale long-term change

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 23, 20252 min read


Disgruntled graduates: 36% say college was 'a waste of time and money'
College graduates are questioning the workforce value of their degrees: Half of Gen Z grads see college as a "waste of time and money."

Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20252 min read


Meritocracy 2.0: Can we celebrate weird geniuses and jocks?
Can we create a merit-based society that's more than a rat race?

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 21, 20252 min read


UK will teach diverse, non-Western science
Britain's Labour Party plans to make science teaching less Western-centric and relax standards so lessons are more "enjoyable."

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 3, 20251 min read


Glittering prizes: Can non-elite college grads become masters of the universe?
It's college application time again. Ambitious 12th-graders are polishing their essays, wondering if mentioning their grandmother's claim...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 9, 20242 min read


Well-behaved, motivated newcomers may raise classmates' achievement
U.S.-born students learn more when their classmates are immigrants, says a new study.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 16, 20242 min read


Blue-collar voters want schools to listen to parents, offer career paths
Democrats need a "radically pragmatic" education and jobs agenda to earn working-class votes, writes Bruno V. Manno on The Liberal...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 30, 20241 min read


From Walmart Academy to a bachelor's degree in business
With credit for workplace training and Walmart’s tuition-assistance program, Bonnie Boop earned an online business degree, reports NPR's...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 12, 20241 min read


College or Chipotle? High school graduates need more choices
America invests more than $500 billion of taxpayer money in colleges each year, writes Ryan Craig, in an Education Next forum. That...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 10, 20242 min read


The new Irish: Hispanics are upwardly mobile Americans
Hispanic immigrants are a lot like Irish immigrants who came to American in the 1800s, writes Noah Smith. They are working-class folks...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 7, 20242 min read


Parenting alone: What happened to marriage?
Growing up in a two-parent family is an enormous advantage, writes Melissa Kearney in The Two-Parent Privilege. It's the norm for...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 8, 20232 min read


Apprenticeship-to-degree model launches debt-free careers
How do you get a job at Goldman Sachs? In the U.S., it usually takes a degree from an elite college to get in the door. In Britain,...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 20, 20232 min read


Leaving college for a factory job gave me dignity, security and opportunity
The U.S. Supreme Court is about to rule on whether President Joe Biden has the authority to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans by...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 29, 20232 min read
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