I'm launching a new project on how A.I. is changing writing instruction. Professors and high school teachers -- we need your help! Please fill out this brief survey: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/u...
My new story, a deep dive on what it can mean to protest in America today. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u...
A perfect storm of technology, cultural conditions and educational choices seem to be producing a generation of kids who are not readers. Read to the end (like our kids should be doing!) for some slivers of hope. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
GIFT LINK to the whole story. Many surprising details and lots to debate ! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
The decline in English-class book reading is very real. We did a deep dive, and found many teens are assigned just 1 or 2 books per year. Instead, kids are reading excerpts on a screen, like this one, 859 words of "Beloved."
“A major benefit of a whole class reading a whole novel together is the muscle it builds for citizenship and debating big ideas, Dr. White argued.
“Maybe most important is the common project… of engaging other young people in a conversation about a book that is open to multiple interpretations.”
The is my number one frustration as a parent. My highly-capable 8th grader has never been required to read a book in class ever. And when I’ve asked about it the answer is that every kid is at a different proficiency.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
[GIFT LINK] Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class. by @danagoldstein.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
This has downstream effects for professors. I am all for prioritizing certain readings in courses, but we need students to engage with challenging texts over time.
The article raises *many* explanations beyond the core: cost of printed books, copyright issues, the desire to have kids reading on screens, wanting the curriculum to mimic excerpt-based tests, and desire to add diversity in authors assigned.
Thanks to @danagoldstein.bsky.social for this article.
It is very clear about a multiplicity of reasons why many U.S. students aren't reading full books in K-12.
#GiftLink #GiftArticle
Would love to learn more about this! dana.goldstein@nytimes.com
A few months ago, I started to hear from history teachers that the curriculum materials they’d used for years were being pulled from the market, or they were not being allowed to use them because of political pressures. My investigation of this trend published today: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/u...
Were you or your kids assigned full books to read in high school English — novels, nonfiction or plays from beginning to end — or mostly shorter excerpts? We are digging into this very controversial maybe-trend and need your help:
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...
Read @danagoldstein.bsky.social “The administration is using the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which was established to protect racial and ethnic minority groups, to try to end programs meant to help some of those same students.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...
Federal judge halts Trump effort to withdraw federal funding from schools and colleges with "illegal D.E.I." Judge says the effort violated administrative procedure and threatened free speech. White House likely to appeal. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...
join us right now for a discussion on what's happening in K-12 education politics www.aei.org/events/whats...
Tomorrow, 3 pm, a discussion on what's going on in K-12 education politics, between me and Rick Hess of AEI. Please join us virtually. www.aei.org/events/whats...
The private-school-choice movement is on the verge of a victory that has eluded it: Pushing school vouchers into all 50 states, even the liberal ones. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
Excellent piece by @danagoldstein.bsky.social about how both parties have walked away from efforts to improve student learning. We're caught in culture wars set in schools, but much less focused on whether kids can read and whether they graduate from high school. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...
must-read for parents to understand how college prices are set -- and why, if you ask for more aid, you just might get it! scarcity is a myth -- most colleges have trouble filling their seats www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/b...
will also die on this hill
GOT HAIM TIX
Essential reading for anyone who cares about education, for parents, and all citizens. I began using deep research AI over the past several months. It is challenging and reshaping my vision of what literacy and literate culture will be in our lifetimes. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Once a movement held at bay, the push to give taxpayer-funded vouchers to virtually any parent with a school-age child has secured wins in every major red state, Texas the latest and biggest. Now activists have their eyes on blue states, and Congress hopes to oblige. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
President Trump just signed an order attempting to dismantle the Department of Education. Can he do that? What is likely to happen next -- and what does the agency actually do day-to-day? My explainer: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it. Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement: Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds are at the lowest level in decades. Six-in-ten fourth graders and nearly three-quarters of eighth graders are not proficient in math. Seven-in-ten fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading, while 40% of fourth grade students don’t even meet basic reading levels. Standardized test scores have remained flat for decades. U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 OECD member countries in math. President Donald J. Trump and his administration believe we can, and must, be better. Instead of maintaining the status quo that is failing American students, the Trump Administration’s bold plan will return education where it belongs — with individual states, which are best positioned to administer effective programs and services that benefit their own unique populations and needs. Instead of a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork, the Trump Administration believes states should be empowered to expand educational freedom and opportunity for all families. Why would we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result?
Two noteworthy things about the White House press release ahead of today's announcement regarding ED:
(1) It's all about K-12, while most federal money goes to higher ed.
(2) Most of the links are to NCES reports...and NCES is now down to about three employees.
www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...
An important story by the great Alan Blinder, stepping back to look at the historic role of the American research university, and the sector's failure to address its critics and tell its own story www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
The latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the Brown Medicine doctor deported Friday night despite a valid visa. DHS says she had attended the Hezbollah leader's funeral. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...
Latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the kidney transplant specialist and Brown U professor detained and deported in potential defiance of a court order.
Foreign doctors are crucial in her field, as there is a shortage of Americans: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
