Sarah Schwartz

4 days ago | edweek.org | Sarah Schwartz

Civics education, long a source of tense political debates about the content of the curriculum, has become even more of a minefield for teachers and schools in recent months. Through an executive order, President Donald Trump is trying to end what he sees as “radical indoctrination” and promote “patriotic” education, defined in part as a celebration of America’s “greatness.”Texas and Oklahoma have recently seen fierce debate over proposals to include Bible stories in social studies lessons.

2 weeks ago | edweek.org | Sarah Schwartz

The Trump administration has terminated hundreds of federal grants awarded to advance STEM education in K-12 schools and at universities—a move that educators and experts say will eliminate important sources of science teacher training, learning opportunities for students, and research into best instructional practices. These cuts come as part of a broader package of grant cancellations at the National Science Foundation, an agency that is a major funder of science and engineering research.

3 weeks ago | edweek.org | Sarah Schwartz

For many, the “science of reading” has become synonymous with phonics instruction. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have said the movement to align reading instruction with what the research says is bringing schools “back to basics,” focusing on teaching kids how to decode words. In surveys, some educators define the term similarly.

3 weeks ago | edweek.org | Sarah Schwartz

For some high school students, statistics and other data science courses have unseated calculus as the de facto option for pursuing advanced math, in part due to targeted state efforts to expand pathways to higher-level coursework. But critics of this trend have asked whether students who opt for statistics will miss out on important math skills for college and career if they don’t take calculus.

3 weeks ago | edweek.org | Sarah Schwartz

The nation’s report card will skip a few subjects, following sweeping cuts to the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm last month. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, the only nationally comparable test given periodically to U.S. students, will shrink in scope over the next eight years, representatives from the National Assessment Governing Board announced in a board meeting on Monday. NAGB sets policy for NAEP.