AdLit News Headlines

It’s time to reimagine what high school can provide to students and to embrace a modernized set of pathways and graduation expectations. A range of efforts are underway in states and communities across the country to transform high schools. Here are three promising strategies that are emerging from that work.

A children’s book series on military history holds a clue.

In conversation with Julie Scelfo, a parent and activist concerned by children’s social media use.

Surveys find access to algebra is only one problem in schools where teaching quality is ‘less optimal’.

Adolescent passions shape our future selves, and can be every bit as powerful – and perilous – as adult relationships.

WHO Europe reported a drop in family and peer support for adolescents, especially girls, amid rising school pressure, urging governments to improve social environments and reduce stress.

For Native American Heritage Month, Dr. Reese discussed with PEN America how she first came across stereotypes, how to change and shape the discourse, and why it is important to get it right in children’s literature.

These coauthored narratives offer readers the opportunity to experience a novel from multiple perspectives, expanding worldbuilding, character development, and plot lines, proving that there are always two (or sometimes three or four) sides to every story.

Educator’s view: ‘I am a college student’ are powerful words for a young person. Early college validates high expectations and sets a bar for success.

Lucy Calkins was an education superstar. Now she’s cast as the reason a generation of students struggles to read. Can she reclaim her good name?

As students struggle with paying attention and managing stress, demand is soaring for a new—and often pricy—kind of support.

A ballot measure would do away with the requirement that high schoolers pass a test to graduate. Opponents say it could water down academics for struggling students.

Opinion: The money public schools spend on battles over book bans, LBGTQ+ rights or teaching about race could be better spent on healthy meals or STEM and arts programs.

Despite well-documented benefits of reading, the focus on testing has pushed many to bypass the unique advantages of full-length books. However, reintroducing full-length texts may unlock the rewards of sustained reading.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we spoke with the creators of six children’s books out this year highlighting different aspects of Indigenous culture and life in their works.

Teachers can support students in reading novels by front-loading the contextual information they need to make sense of the story.

Science fairs offer a platform for students to study any topic they are interested in and present their findings to an audience. They are a fantastic opportunity for high school students to explore their scientific interests and showcase their ideas. Participating in a science fair involves advanced planning and staying up-to-date with their deadlines is essential. Here are some science fairs that offer students a chance to showcase their scientific talents.

A record number of books were banned in districts across the country during the 2023-2024 school year, according to a free speech organization.

After weeks of being shut down in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, public schools in Asheville, North Carolina, are reopening.

Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly supported ballot question 2, removing one of the state’s few high school graduation requirements.

These strategies can help foster respect, empathy, and social engagement across grade levels and subject areas.

Curricula can help students build healthy habits, such as putting smartphones away before bed and using trackers or activities that promote good sleep, experts say.

Many civics and history teachers are keeping current events out of their lessons this fall.

There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step.

Teens say activities and classes they’re taking have influenced how they will cast their first ever vote.

For youngest readers, stories of small children accompanying caregivers to the polls and of animal elections help introduce this civic duty. Titles for slightly older kids show characters taking a more active role by paricipating in the process themselves at a local level and seeing the impacts. Books for teens explore the complicated issues around voting. And a good sampling of nonfiction titles for all ages help readers better understand the past, present, and future of the process.

As we explore ways to empower students and foster engagement in literacy instruction, it is essential to consider how innovative tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can play a pivotal role. AI offers educators new opportunities to personalize learning experiences, promote student choice, and streamline the creation of a diverse range of activities.

The role of social studies teachers in civic learning is obvious, but all educators can contribute to building a more responsible citizenry.

In the 1990s, family and consumer sciences (FCS) — an evolution of what used to be known as home economics — was used to expand the personal and occupational skills of students. Today, it’s the whole gamut of life skills.

Plunging literacy rates in the wake of the pandemic are drawing more attention to the lack of adolescent reading proficiency. National tests from 2022 showed grim declines in eighth graders’ reading skills. However, experts have long known that many older students lack a strong foundation in reading skills such as phonics, grammar and vocabulary. 

A veteran teacher shows how generative AI tools help her provide nearly 150 students with instant feedback on their writing.

Many older elementary and middle school students still struggle with foundational reading skills.

A new national analysis tracked 400,000 high schoolers.

Grade-tracking apps are giving kids anxiety.

Research shows little benefit from phonics instruction in Grades 2 through 12. However, more recent studies show that students who fall below a decoding threshold fail to benefit from other kinds of reading instruction. This exploration of the evidence suggests that these students are likely to need support in the reading and spelling of multisyllabic words and words with common morphological elements. Explicit instruction with a focus on the decoding, spelling, and meaning of such words would make a lot of sense.

The education system on the whole needs to start building confidence in the sciences at the same time students are gaining competence in STEM subjects.

In 2010, with the help of per-pupil funding from the state, the nonprofit opened The Excel Center, a tuition-free high school tailored for adults. The charter school offered flexible schedules, free on-site child care, transportation assistance and a life coach. Thirteen years later, research by my team at the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities shows that The Excel Center is a success.

Guiding students to develop ‘scientist voices’ helps them feel more connected to and engaged with science curriculum.

A high school student walks through what it was like to go through elementary and middle school with undiagnosed dyscalculia, and offers tips for educators looking to help students like her.

‘Educability’ is more to the point, computer scientist argues.

36 states have since followed Tennessee’s lead and offer some version of free tuition to residents

The student’s parents say his punishment was “arbitrary and capricious” and that claims of cheating constituted “threats, intimidation and coercion.”

In today’s episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about how rare it is for love stories to be narrated by Black boys and the complexity of young men’s interior lives, especially around topics like body image and sex.

They offer a case study in adopting an integrated, collaborative model that’s a departure from teaching English learners in small groups.

Eden Alonso-Rivera of Grandville, Mich. is the high school winner of NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge. Her winning entry, “A Relationship Behind Bars,” is about her father’s incarceration.

The brains of kids who are teaching peers go into overdrive—boosting retention and understanding. Here’s how to leverage this effect in your classroom.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers show several social and emotional competencies decrease during the middle school years and rebound in high school.

Black girls were far more likely than Black boys to have ‘a negative math identity’ and to not see how the subject connects with their future.

There were more school shootings in 2022 — 46 — than in any year since at least 1999. Beyond the dead and wounded, children who witness the violence or cower behind locked doors to hide from it can be profoundly traumatized.

Students in rural communities graduate from high school above the national average. But when it comes to applying to college or getting their degree, those students’ rates of attendance and completion are well below their peers in urban and suburban areas. A New Mexico initiative is helping to narrow that gap.

This article is the first in a series that will explore AI, particularly the topics of how it can foster student agency, cultivate a love of reading that celebrates cultural diversity, and support multilingual learners in literacy instruction.

While some states and districts rethink advanced math classes, the Calculus Project sees that coursework as critical to the success of Black, Hispanic and low-income students.

Sometimes, the best thing a parent can do is nothing at all.

The organization filed a federal civil rights complaint against 34 public school districts and charter networks earlier this month over the low literacy rates in Missouri schools. The complaint, aimed at schools in St. Louis city and county, follows years of troubling data showing stark disparities between Black and white students’ reading scores.

In a world where over half a billion children lack basic reading and math skills, one company is spearheading a bold solution. EIDU, founded in 2015, has developed an innovative open-source digital platform that delivers personalized learning content and assessments to students in low and middle-income countries.

‘Reading Rainbow’ theme breaks out at ceremony honoring Black luminaries — including trailblazers in sports, arts, politics, and more.

Partnerships are helping us do a better job of supporting all our students and staff.

To read a book in college, it helps to have read a book in high school.