In June 2023, the Supreme Court held that the admissions systems at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Harvard University were racially discriminatory, effectively ending affirmative action. Are race-neutral admissions policies at selective K-12 schools next? Bob Kim considers two circuit court cases -- "Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax…

Equity initiatives and critical race theory (CRT) have recently emerged as an urgent agenda for K-12 schools. Jung-ah Choi argues that CRT is a useful framework but that teaching CRT principles to young children may have deleterious effects. In particular, it could undermine two bedrock notions: educational equality and meritocracy. It is not…

Book banning and censorship is appearing again in states and school districts. The history of book banning goes back as far as recorded time. Columnist Jonathan E. Collins discusses the U.S. court system's history support of the First Amendment and against censorship. He outlines the implications of the most recent book banning incidents and the…

Project-based learning (PBL) is gaining momentum as a rich and multifaceted instructional approach that is motivating and engaging. Miranda S. Fitzgerald and Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar argue that PBL provides a particularly rich context for fostering students' literacy motivation and engagement. One reason for this is that characteristic…

Misalignment between the mandates and structures of formal schooling and the developmental needs of boys, particularly in the humanities, is receiving increased levels of public and scholarly attention. The problems may be especially acute for low-income and minoritized children. But little guidance for identifying and implementing best and…

Those asked to make valid decisions with data don't have the technical knowledge to understand nuance around data quality, assessment aims, and statistical limitations that influence how they should interpret the data. This reality is what Greg Thompson, Leslie Rutkowski, and David Rutkowski call the validity paradox. Educators can surmount this…

In rural school districts across the country, four-day school weeks have proliferated. Currently adopted in 1,600 schools in 600 school districts, 90% of which are rural, four-day school week policies have prospered largely without a robust body of evidence to support their expansion. J. Cameron Anglum presents an overview of four-day school week…

Leadership is often conceptualized and taught through famous, world-changing individuals; however, leadership spans levels of influence, from small-group projects to global initiatives. While student leaders are present at every level, existing leadership research and programs center adults. Within this article, Lisa DaVia Rubenstein, Sydney…

Efforts to improve education outcomes often involve lengthening the school day or the school year in hopes that spending more time in school will boost student learning. Yet, as Frederick Hess explains, U.S. students spend as much or more total time in school as their peers in other industrialized nations. What matters more than the amount of time…

Interest in improving civic education is growing, but there's no clear definition of what civic education should be. To understand what kinds of skills civics education should promote in students, Jack Schneider, Eric Soto-Shed, and Karalyn McGovern surveyed 100 experts and 500 ordinary citizens, asking them to name the tasks that skilled citizens…

Families are critical partners in addressing chronic absenteeism. Drawing from research, authors Thomas J. Capretta, Jingyang (Max) Zhang, and Barbara J. Boone present four throughlines and six strategies for schools to improve attendance by building trust and partnering with families. In view of chronic absenteeism's association with negative…

The forces against school integration are relentless. Societal and marketplace decisions create segregated schools even in racially integrated areas in the suburbs. Jonathan E. Collins suggests creating a federal designation for public schools called the Black-serving institution (BSI), similar to historically Black colleges and universities.…

Former NFL football star Deion Sanders set off controversy when he announced he was leaving his post as head football coach at Mississippi's Jackson State University, a historically Black college or university (HBCU), to go to University of Colorado. Jonathan E. Collins discusses how the concept of HBCUs could be taken up by public schools that…

Students' valuing of academic content impacts their engagement in learning and plays a pivotal role in shaping their future academic and career choices. Fortunately, practicing educators can integrate many readily applicable strategies into teaching to enhance students' valuing of academic content. Drawing from expectancy-value theory, Eric M.…

To better understand the current challenges surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in K-12 schools, a team of researchers (Raffaella Borasi, David E. Miller, Patricia Vaughan-Brogan, Karen DeAngelis, Yu Jung Han, and Sharon Mason) interviewed 36 western New York school leaders in late 2023. Their concerns moved beyond potential…