There are not a lot of folks in the educational advocacy space who have taken on the sacred cow of the suburban school system. Some of it is because there bigger issues to resolve around urban schools, and part of it is because so many parents in well-resourced suburban schools have a vested interested in promoting and protecting the status… Read more →
Let’s add this to the mountain of evidence that suggests our nation’s suburban high schools are rewarding mediocrity. A new study by two researchers and reported here by USA Today indicates that teachers are increasingly handing out easy As to high school students who don’t deserve those high grades — and are learning less than they were two decades ago. The… Read more →
It’s heartening to learn that hundreds of thousands of college students in California might be offered a welcome detour from the dead-end route of remedial courses, which serves only to waste tuition money and discourage them from persevering in classes. A piece of legislation cleared an important hurdle in the California legislature this week. It would require all two-year colleges… Read more →
Factoring polynomials is sometimes the one obstacle that stands between a community college student and the chance of earning a degree. And it looks like California is trying to do something to change that. It’s no secret that when students get tracked into college remedial courses–typically math, but also English and writing courses–they get discouraged by having to pay for material… Read more →
Low-level racism is a national contagion, no matter how politely expressed these attitudes and behaviors may be. However, even the mildly afflicted are capable of causing catastrophes when they are police, school teachers, and public officials. Although it is likely true that only a very small faction of Americans are virulent racists, when those in power act on bland impulses… Read more →
I recently had my developmental (remedial) English students complete an essay assignment that required them to read and respond to an editorial in The New York Times entitled “The Counterfeit High School Diploma,” which focused on the unsurprising relationship between rising graduation rates and sinking academic achievement in our nation’s public schools. Because many of my students are recent high… Read more →
Problems with academic rigor in our nation’s public schools are well documented, and too often students enter college seriously unprepared for post-secondary coursework. In a misguided effort to foster self-esteem, our nation’s public schools have instead produced an epidemic of self-delusion that is leaving our colleges with the unenviable task of trying to help millions of students catch up on… Read more →
Are we being overly optimistic when it comes to how well our middle-class students are being prepared for college? Take, for instance, my home state of New Jersey. If you live in one of New Jersey’s many middle-class suburbs, you most likely take great pride in your public-school district, each one a reflection of distinctive township identities. Ninety-seven percent of… Read more →