Author: BelieveAgain

In “Straight Talk with Rick and Jal,” Harvard University’s Jal Mehta and I examine the reforms and enthusiasms that permeate education. In a field full of buzzwords, our goal is simple: Tell the truth, in plain English, about what’s being proposed and what it means for students, teachers, and parents. We may be wrong and we will frequently disagree, but we’ll try to be candid and ensure that you don’t need a Ph.D. in eduspeak to understand us. Today’s topic is the state of federal education research.—RickRick: The federal education research operation has been shredded. In February, the Trump administration…

To the Editor:The Education Week opinion essay, “Musk and Trump Are at War With Public Education,” (March 12, 2025) by Arne Duncan and John King has taken on even greater relevance as U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has begun the process to plan for the dismantling the Department of Education.In their essay, Duncan and King touch on several reasons that public education and the Department of Education are critical to our nation, including the economic benefits for both individual citizens and the country. I would add that a portion of our national gross domestic product is made possible because…

Grades are a well-established part of the K-12 education system that, in most school districts, play a decisive role in students’ academic standing. But what goes into the single letter or number that a grade represents? Just how malleable is a grade after it’s been issued? And what effect does grading work have on students’ performance? In December 2024, the EdWeek Research Center conducted a national survey of 759 K-12 teachers to glean answers to these and related questions. Here’s what the results showed. There’s a lot of hype these days around “grade grubbing” by students and parents. And while…

The Trump administration wants the nation’s schools to certify that they’re not using “illegal DEI practices” by April 24 in order to continue receiving federal education funds.In a letter sent April 3, the administration gave state education chiefs 10 days to sign a certification saying they’re complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination in federally funded programs.But the certification makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education considers the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion—which it doesn’t specifically define—to be a potential violation of the anti-discrimination law. It argues that the act of treating…

A federal appeals court has granted the Trump administration’s request to keep millions of dollars in teacher-training grants frozen while a legal challenge to the abrupt February termination of the grants proceeds in a lower court.The order from a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va., represents the latest legal victory for the president as his administration fights federal district court orders that have held up a number of his executive actions and broad spending cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.The appeals court’s order is a response to a…

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia on Thursday sued the Trump administration over its decision to essentially halt hundreds of millions of federal dollars schools have already committed to spend—and often pledged to outside vendors through contracts.In a March 28 letter, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced she was immediately rescinding extensions her agency had granted allowing states and districts additional time to spend the last sliver of their federal emergency pandemic aid. The extensions had generally pushed the Jan. 30, 2025, deadline for spending all funds to March 28, 2026. But with no warning, schools in more than 40…

In recent weeks, Education Week Opinion has received scores of submissions from individuals in the K-12 field reacting to the current state of education in the United States and, in particular, the actions of the Trump administration. As the federal government appears poised to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the time seemed appropriate to share a sample of those essays from educators, researchers, and advocates. Education Week Opinion reached out to select authors seeking permission to excerpt from their original submissions with the goal of sharing a broad range of viewpoints.Excerpts have been edited for clarity and length. Responses…

More than two months after the federal government terminated dozens of grants for programs aiming to grow the educator workforce, some recipients of those funds still don’t know whether they’ll ever see their money again, and what they’ll do if they don’t.Two separate lawsuits have challenged the Trump administration’s February decision to terminate close to 140 Department of Education grants for teacher colleges, school districts, and education-focused nonprofits. In both cases, federal judges have offered temporary relief to the plaintiffs by ordering reinstatement of their federal money.But both legal challenges are limited in scope, which means court orders in either…

Some Democratic-led states and cities are pushing back on a Trump administration threat to cut education funding over diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, creating a standoff that could test how far the White House is willing to go to press its demands on the nation’s schools.State leaders in Minnesota and New York said they will not comply with an Education Department order to gather signatures from local school systems certifying compliance with civil rights laws, including the rejection of what the federal government calls “illegal DEI practices.” Chicago’s mayor promised to sue over any cuts. California and Vermont told schools…

The prominent conservative group, Moms for Liberty, launched its own “university” in January and now claims more than 7,000 people have participated in its educational events. The Moms for Liberty University, or M4LU, which is not an accredited university, says its mission is to “inform, equip, and empower parents with knowledge, understanding, and practical tools,” according to its site.The program is meant to be a place where parents can take an in-depth look at education issues. “Moms for Liberty was growing at a rapid pace, and our parents have been asking questions, trying to understand a lot of the issues…