Podcasts about educational progress

The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known colloquially as the nation's report card, shows that reading scores dropped an average of two progress points for both 4th and 8th graders.But two states that are bucking this trend? Mississippi and Louisiana.How did two of the country's poorest states turn their literacy scores around in a matter of a few years? What can other states learn from those stories?Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Read the full transcript here. How bad are things in US education? Why does it seem that educational progress has stagnated? What parts of the US education system should be reformed? Is it better to group students by skill level or by age? How useful are standardized tests? Why is there so commonly a disconnect between what cognitive science tells us about how people learn and the practices that are actually implemented in classrooms? How much do we know about what it's like in schools today? What did the No Child Left Behind act get wrong? What should educational incentive structures look like? Is individual student progress constrained more by interest or intelligence? In the grand scheme of things, how big of a problem is classroom management? What happened in the FAA hiring scandal? Did it increase the risks associated with flying? How could the FAA have better achieved its own ends?Jack Despain Zhou, also known online as Tracing Woodgrains, is the cofounder of the Center for Educational Progress, a nonprofit focused on reorienting education around a culture of excellence. Elsewhere, he is known for his coverage of institutional crises and online history, particularly the FAA's hiring scandal and Wikipedia abuse, and for cultural and political commentary from an ex-Mormon centrist perspective. He previously helped produce Blocked and Reported, a podcast about internet nonsense. He can be found on Substack as Tracing Woodgrains or on Twitter as @tracewoodgrains.Further readingProject Follow Through Sponsor ✨This episode is sponsored by Animal Charity Evaluators.StaffSpencer Greenberg — Host / DirectorJosh Castle — ProducerRyan Kessler — Audio EngineerUri Bram — FactotumWeAmplify — TranscriptionistsMusicBroke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliatesClearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift[Read more]

 If you read the latest edition of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation's Report Card”, things are not going well in our nation's public schools.  Clearly, the long tail effects of the COVID pandemic are at play here. One respected educational researcher, Dan Goldhaber, did not want to sugarcoat the … Read More Read More

We invited Sen. Kristin Roers to this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the debate over term limits reforms making their way through the Legislature in Bismarck, but before we turned to that topic, I asked Roers about recent comments made by state Rep. Brandon Prichard about her former colleage Rep. Josh Christy. Christy passed away during the current legislative session. He served in Fargo-area District 27 alongside Roers. When the District 27 Republicans approved the appointment of Rep. T.J. Brown to replace Christy, Prichard, through his group Citizens Alliance of North Dakota, took credit for the move, claiming falsely that Brown had won a "special election" and celebrating his replacing Christy, who was a moderate. "I just found it disgusting," Roers said, accusing Prichard of "trying to take credit" for something "he had absoultely nothing to do with." Roers said that she has spoken with Rep. Brown, who indicated that Prichard and his group had nothing to do with his appointment. As for term limits, there are several proposals before the Legislature. House Concurrent Resolutoin 3034, Senate Concurrent Resolution 2028, and Senate Concurrent Resoluton 4008 would each amend the state constitution to change the voter-initiated term limits to 12 years, or three terms, instead of 8 years, or two terms. Roers, though, says she introduced an amendment to SCR4008, specifically, which would go a bit further. Her amendment would allow lawmakers to serve for a total of four terms, or 16 years, regardless of which chamber they're in. She argued that this was closer to what voters approved, which allows a person to serve for as many as eight years in each chamber. The Roers amendment simply allows those 16 years already allowed to be served entirely in a single chamber. She also included some language making it so that lawmakers, such as Brown, who are appointed to partial terms, or who are elected to a two-year term after redistricting, can still serve four full terms. Also on this episode, Dr. Aimee Copas, executive director of the North Dakota Council of Education Leaders, talks about the property tax debate, the school choice debate, and recently-released test results showing that North Dakota students are testing at some of the highest levels in the world. Recent NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) testing had North Dakota students with scores that "put us on part with some of the best scores globally." She also warned that North Dakota lawmakers aren't preparing for dramatic budget cuts that could result from President Donald Trump's dramatic and chaotic push to slash federal spending. "You're not seeing that conversation at all right now," she said. This episode is presented by Bakken Backers. Bakken Backers is a coalition of businesses, leaders, workers, and citizens who support energy production from the Bakken formation and its many benefits for North Dakota. Learn more at BackTheBakken.org.  If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

Drew Perkins talks with Jack Despain Zhou about his project to establish a new think tank called Center for Educational Progress. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Can you use Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) during the information-gathering phase of an improvement project? Yes! Join John Dues and host Andrew Stotz as they discuss how John's team used PDSA to learn more about chronic absenteeism, their surprising findings, and what they'll do next. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.8 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussion with John Dues, who is part of the new generation of educators striving to apply Dr. Deming's principles to unleash student joy in learning. The topic for today is powerful learning with the PDSA cycle. John, take it away.   0:00:25.5 John Dues: Yeah, Andrew. It's good to be back. For the past two episodes or so, we've been working towards defining the problem of our chronic absenteeism issue, of course, we have a problem with chronic absenteeism, but we're trying to narrow that down and get a more specific problem statement. Last time we talked about how our improvement team, basically, had come to the conclusion after a few weeks of study that we didn't have enough information to write that specific, precise problem statement. So what we decided to do, and we started looking at this last time, was we started to gather additional information through a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. So that's what we'll focus on today, is this first PDSA cycle, and I think it's good to know that you can use PDSAs to run an experiment to test a new idea, but you can also run a PDSA to gather more information. Those are both very worthwhile uses of the PDSA cycle. So I go to share my screen just so I have that model up so that people who can see it, for those that are viewing. Can you see that now?   0:01:33.8 Andrew Stotz: Coming up. Okay, we can see it.   0:01:36.6 John Dues: All right, great. So you remember, we've been working through this four-step process for those who are hopping in for the first time or as a review for those that have been following along. So we have these four steps: set the challenge or direction, grasp the current condition, establish your next target condition, and then an experiment to overcome obstacles. And remember, we've been working through this team, that's a combination of people working in the system, people who have the authority to actually change the system, and then the System of Profound Knowledge coach. So I think that's a pretty powerful combination of people, and that's our team here working on this chronic absenteeism problem. You also remember that we have this long-range goal that this challenge that is to improve our chronic absenteeism from right around 50% to down closer to 5%, and I don't know if you remember this, but a number of episodes ago, I showed you the data we had over time, and we just had three years of data. Since that time I showed you that first run chart, I've actually gone back and added chronic absenteeism rates for our schools going all the way back to the 2016 - '17 year, and I think it's worth it to just take another quick look at those rates over time in a process behavior chart.   0:03:00.2 Andrew Stotz: Exciting.   0:03:01.5 John Dues: So, yeah. This is our chart. So we add more days so why not display it in this way. So what this chart is, is again a process behavior chart, we have school years going back to the 2016-'17 school year, and then through last school year. And we have the blue dots displaying the chronic absenteeism rate for each of those school years across our school system, and then the green is... The green line is that central line, it's the average of all years, the red lines are those natural process limits that sort of tell us where we can expect our data to fall given that this is a predictable system. So you can see right off the bat, something that's pretty obvious is that the first four years of data are below that central line, and then the last four years of data are above that central line. And of course, it's not too hard to sort of recognize that the pandemic happened towards the end of the 2019-'20 school year, and then sort of... We were all remote heading into that 2021 school year, and then for a number of years after we were in remote or hybrid, and so you can see very clearly that while there was chronic absenteeism in our system prior to the pandemic, after the pandemic, it exploded and it has not subsided.   0:04:28.7 John Dues: So in a typical year prior to the pandemic, we were somewhere around that 25, about a quarter of the kids give or take, depending on the year, of the kids were chronically absent, and then after the pandemic, we can see it sort of... Or at the begining of the pandemic, explodes up and then has settled around this, right about 50% average.   0:04:51.1 Andrew Stotz: And the fact that it's remained at this much higher level of, let's say 50-55% tells you that there's like... It has had somewhat of a permanent impact, whereas some people may think that the COVID situation caused a spike in chronic absenteeism up to 70% or whatever that number was, and then it came back to normal. But it's far away from normal.   0:05:26.4 John Dues: Yeah, and I haven't done a deep analysis. But in addition to the chronic absenteeism, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is like the gold standard, the report card for the nation, a nationally known test given every couple of years, that data shows that the 4th and 8th graders that take that test across the country in ELA and math, the scores are down coming out of the pandemic as well and have not rebounded. So I think that data is important. I'm not necessarily saying one way or the other, what we should have done, but what I am saying is like when we make decisions like shutting down schools, it's not just a decision that has an impact in the moment, there are ramifications on an ongoing basis. And we should sort of take that calculus into consideration when we're deciding what to do in a situation like that.   0:06:20.0 Andrew Stotz: And this also shows that you're taking on a pretty serious challenge because...   0:06:23.8 John Dues: Very serious. Yeah.   0:06:25.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, it's serious for the students, but it's also serious in the sense that it's been lingering at this very high level of chronic absenteeism, so, okay.   0:06:37.0 John Dues: Yeah.   0:06:37.5 Andrew Stotz: Shocking.   0:06:38.1 John Dues: Yeah, it is pretty shocking.   0:06:38.7 Andrew Stotz: That's not happening in Asia.   0:06:40.6 John Dues: No, and it's... I think a number of places in the United States, the learning chronic absenteeism has bounced back, but in the places where you expect where there's, especially high concentrations of poverty and things like that. It's sort of remained a serious issue even depending how you mark the end of the pandemic, two or three years after the primary part of the pandemic anyway. The height of the pandemic, if you will. So, ongoing challenges for sure. So what I said was that the team was going to run this initial PDSA cycle to gather more information, of course, there were some initial thoughts on why kids were missing so much school. We've talked about these transportation, different expectations that have been set for when to stay home, family and instability, those types of things. But again, we want to further test those assumptions early on in the project. So the key question that we were looking at is, for this first PDSA cycle, at least was will the combination of a what we call an empathy interview, which is just like where we sit down with a student or the family and try to better understand what's going on, and then daily attendance tracking was the other part of this, will that lead to a modest increase in the students average daily attendance rate during the period of the intervention.   0:08:11.9 John Dues: So even though we weren't necessarily testing a change idea, there was this sort of like... We framed it as a modest intervention in terms of sitting down with the kids and then doing this daily tracking and showing them the data. And a key part of this plan phase is we had all of our team members predict what they thought would happen with the four students that we chose to have those interviews with and track the daily attendance of during Cycle 1. So we had everybody really think through, "Okay, what do we think will happen when we put this plan in place?" And that's going to be really important because when we actually run the test, we want to compare the predictions to what actually happens, and that's where a lot of the learning happens from a PDSA cycle.   0:09:02.9 Andrew Stotz: And just for the listeners or viewers out there, why is it important to do that? Some people would say just do it and find out what the result is.   0:09:12.3 John Dues: Well, if you don't take a stance basically before the intervention happens or before the plan is put in place, then there's no learning that can really happen because whatever happens happens. But you didn't sort of say, "Here's what I think's going happen." And a lot of times, we quantify that prediction, and then what you can see is the difference between those two things is not only the learning, but it's also an indication of how well you understand your system. So what I mean is, if we put an intervention in place and I say, "Okay, I think this is going to have a 15% increased impact on whatever it is, a test score or attendance in this case," and then it has no impact, then I don't have an understanding really of what's going to work to fix whatever I'm trying to fix. But if the prediction bears out and it's pretty close to what actually happens, then that means, oh, I have a pretty good grasp on what's going on in my system. Yeah, kind of makes you put a stake in the ground, and it makes you mentally when you're doing it, it makes you think.   0:10:19.0 John Dues: Look further ahead and say, "Okay, if I do this, do I actually think this is going to be effective?" And you can also see the team's thinking. Some people might think this is going to be very effective, and some people may think it's not. Some people might think it'll work with some students, but not other students, and it gives you that picture black and white before you actually run the test.   0:10:37.8 Andrew Stotz: And in academic studies, it's really important to identify your end point that you're testing for. Otherwise, you run the risk of switching your end point as you get through your research because you're grounded initially.   0:10:53.2 John Dues: Right, exactly. Right, yep, absolutely. So in this plan, what we did was, this... We had parent conferences coming up, so we just said, that's a natural time to sit down with these four students that we chose at parent conferences. So at the end of November, we did that, we reviewed the data, we sat with the family to discuss some of the causes of the attendance challenges. We explained the plan to track attendance for 15 days coming back from Thanksgiving break. And then part of the plan was collecting that quantitative data, like the actual attendance rates each day for each kid, but then it was qualitative too, because we were asking the family on the front end, what was the sort of overall cause of the problem. And then we were asking the actual student every day like, "Oh, on this particular day, why were you absent, or why were you late, why did you miss school?" And we were tracking that across 15 days, so it's a relatively short time period, 'cause we don't want to go off on some grand experiment and then find out three months from now that our intervention wasn't effective.   0:12:02.5 John Dues: So that was the plan. And then the next step in the PDSA cycle is the do and that's just like it sounds. So we ran the experiment for 15 days and then started gathering that data. So what we found was that in two of the cases, transportation challenges were in fact the primary issue, in the third case, it was sort of transportation, but that was exacerbated by a family that was homeless during this period, and then in the fourth cause, or in the fourth case, there was actually some sort of anxiety issues with coming to school. So you can see three very different causes just across four students. So again, if you don't have that picture, then it's very hard to sort of design the right type of interventions 'cause you don't really know what's going on. You have assumptions, right? So I don't think it's rocket science, but the team learn that there are so many layers to this attendance challenge, and even for a single student, there's often multiple factors rather than some single explanatory variable. And so you have to sort of uncover that, and I think the key thing was that holding these empathy interviews, just these four interviews allowed us to challenge some of our initial assumptions. Like maybe a family doesn't value attendance, that didn't seem to be the case, at least with any of these four students who are facing some serious challenges on the home front.   0:13:48.6 John Dues: But it wasn't like families didn't value school or having their kids attending school, there're just major obstacles. And so digging deeper allowed us to explore these various causes with the families. Another thing that was interesting is that as we talked with the team about... As the data came in and what they were doing, we also learned that we need a better, more systematic process for intervening with chronically absent students, that's everything from reviewing the data, identifying those chronically absent students early on in the school year, for those that we're required to do something like file truancy for those processes and then monitoring attendance, there's various requirements public schools have on that front. Every school is... They have a system in place, and they have a team in place, and they have a process in place for these different things, but they're all doing it differently, and so there's not a standardized process across our system. And another thing is, some parents didn't even realize that they may have a general idea that the attendance isn't great, but don't... Most parents don't actually realize what is the actual attendance rate of their child, how far off is it from what's considered exceptional or at least okay attendance.   0:15:17.6 John Dues: Almost nobody has that. Those numbers at the ready. Another thing that has happened as we studied the data was that there was a really wide variation in terms of the difference in student daily attendance between the period of the intervention and end of the school year up to that point. So there's basically a lot of learning going on with just a very simple four student experiment. So even though the predictions weren't perfect, and one thing with the predictions is, this is Cycle 1, so what should happen over time as we gain knowledge about our system, is that the predictions get closer and closer to what actually happens because we're learning with every PDSA cycle that we're running basically. So the last part is, then you act, so we've done the plan, we've done the do, the study, and the act, and the way I frame this is that you have three As that you can choose from in the Act segment. You can adopt that change that you've tested, you're going to adapt that into the next cycle, or you can say this is not working at all and you can abandon it and just do something else.   0:16:34.2 John Dues: Yeah, those are the three options. So what we've actually decided to do, what happens in a lot of early tests, is we're going to adapt Cycle 1 into Cycle 2, and in fact, Cycle 2 has actually already started. But the aim of Cycle 2 now is we're going to increase the extent to which we're involving students and families in the data collection process, and we're going to hold what we call like a... We call this a 5 Whys Empathy interview with each student that we've identified, and then use that to create a plan for a PDSA that's specific to that one student, basically. So it's going to be very hyper-focused and so we're going to collect this data for two weeks, we recognize that doing this intensive of a process with the entire school or the entire group of students that are chronic absent probably isn't possible, but what we're doing is learning so much from this, that seemed like we're going to take another step to learn more and work with the individual student to set up the next round of interventions.   0:17:49.4 Andrew Stotz: And what are you guys expecting for an outcome? You know, talking about prediction? I don't know. Should we think about where are you going to be in one year or two years, three years?   0:18:00.7 John Dues: Oh no. It's very closely tied with the PDSA. So if it's a two-week PDSA, then we're actually saying, what is that the average daily attendance going to be for that two-week period?   0:18:11.7 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Yep.   0:18:14.3 John Dues: I mean. It's very tightly closed. Yeah.   0:18:14.8 Andrew Stotz: What I'm saying though, let's just take the attendance levels that we've seen in the chart, let's just talk about annual and let's say, "Okay, one year from now, two years from now."   0:18:23.7 John Dues: Oh yeah. That's right. Oh I see.   0:18:26.7 Andrew Stotz: Are you... Is it right to make a prediction about where you think you would be or is that not the right way to do it?   0:18:32.0 John Dues: I think it's too early in the process to make... I see what you're saying now you're talking about the actual... That overall system measurement. Yeah, I think it's too early to make a prediction on that, if you were holding a gun to my head and making me put money down, my prediction would be right in line with what it is this year, basically. I would think it... Because it's a stable system. Those last four years, all bounce around 50-55%, like you said. So my bet would be on 50-55%. Because...   0:19:11.2 Andrew Stotz: And what would... How would things change for you or the school? Let's just imagine hypothetically... I'm going to push back a little bit here and just get some thinking, but from a hypothetical perspective, let's say a new school opened up and their number one focus was chronic absenteeism, and they decided that the most important thing for them is to solve that problem. And they had been doing it for a while in other locations, and now they've come in, now you're competing with them. They're an option for some people, and they're just the place for others, and let's just say that they have optimized for chronic absenteeism and it's down to 10% at their school. Does that change how you think about what you're doing? Again, it's hypothetical, but I'm just curious. How does that...   0:20:01.3 John Dues: No. Not me, because this is what our system produces right now, so... Yeah, I think I would say I don't have enough information to make a prediction about what the ultimate outcome measure will be.   0:20:19.4 Andrew Stotz: And I guess you could say this is what our system produces in this area based upon what we see as important, right? Like this is...   0:20:32.4 John Dues: Yeah. That's fair.   0:20:33.2 Andrew Stotz: And there may be another area that you think is very important in that those numbers in that area may be very, very different from that, but another... Go ahead.   0:20:43.7 John Dues: Yeah, well, I was going to say, so in this attendance team, there's... The empathy interview is going on with these four students, and then in the Act phase, we also said we're launching an effort to make the intervention process more consistent across all of our schools. And we're starting by understanding the process that's in place right now, but this team is not the only team pulling levers that ultimately could impact attendance. I think they're pulling important levers, but there are other improvement teams across the school system, for example, I think I mentioned this maybe a few episodes ago, transportation. Transportation did come up like we thought it would in three of the four interviews. So, and we have mentioned how poor the bussing has been in Columbus for the last several school years, but especially last year and this year. And so we're working to see can we do something significantly different next year on the transportation front.   0:22:00.1 John Dues: And I think if we can pull that lever, that also... But that would be a change to the system, like a very significant change. Now, if that went through, I would be much more confident about making a prediction about improvement on the attendance front next year, so.   0:22:17.9 Andrew Stotz: If I look...   0:22:19.2 John Dues: It's not going to solve our problems though. Yep.   0:22:21.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. If I look at my roasting business for coffee, if I replace my pretty much manual roasting machine with a fully automated high-tech one, it's going to have a massive improvement in variability. Invariability is going to reduce way beyond what our current system can produce and it will happen in a day, right? When that happens, it'll happen in a day.   0:22:47.4 John Dues: Yeah.   0:22:52.9 Andrew Stotz: And being late for class is a big bag-a-boo of teachers here in Thailand, particularly at universities where I go to, and it's a problem and nobody likes it and students come in late and all that. But I solved that problem with just the twist of my finger, one twist of my fingers, and I solved it. What was that twist? I locked the door. And then as the students were outside waiting to come inside, I would eventually go out and I'd say, "Look, it's important to me that you're on time. I'm going to lock this door. If you can't make it... You got to figure out how to make it." I know you got two hours of traffic and you're coming in from abroad, or you're coming in from outside of the city, I know that your parents don't have the money to pay for a car for you and you got to take the subway or you've got... I know. Everybody's got their circumstances, but you're making an effort to get here, I want you to get here on time.   0:23:52.4 Andrew Stotz: The next class that I have, everybody's on time. So one of the questions I have, and this is, again, push back is, some people may look at this and go, "Oh. Come on. All this work. Why don't we just massively prioritize and focus." Let's just say that... Let's just say, I don't know what the answer is, but let's just say that the principle of the school, all the teachers and all the students gather out in the front area at the time that you're supposed to be at school, and there's a band playing. Everybody's cheering. We're getting ready. Whatever that thing is. I remember a boss I had that used to have a stand-up meeting every single morning, and you didn't miss it. And so for some people who are listening, they may think, "Oh, come on, John, you're going through all this stuff and it's not going to improve. Why aren't you just taking more aggressive action right now."   0:24:48.9 John Dues: Well, I didn't say I was going to improve it, I just said I wasn't going to make a prediction.   0:24:51.9 Andrew Stotz: Yes. Yes. Sorry. I didn't mean...   0:24:53.8 John Dues: So yeah. What would I say? I think when you have... So the person that is in charge of this project, for example, I don't know that anybody's ever gotten better results while a principal of a school in Ohio with the challenges that he faced. So this is not people that aren't driven to get extraordinary results. This is a multi-faceted problem that is incredibly tough to improve, and when I have the view point of sitting down with the students and hearing what is... Keep the obstacles are... It is just a very hard thing, and I'd say one of the reasons we're pulling that transportation lever early, or at least attempting to is because that's such a big part. Again, that's not going to solve everything. But like I said, if we were able to pull that lever and it's a big if because we get no funding for transportation. All the funding flows through the school district, so that's a massive obstacle. Millions of dollars that we aren't allocated to do this service, someone else is. So right now we don't have control over it, and so those are the types of obstacles, we can't just buy buses, for example. Because...   0:26:36.1 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And it's like you got 50 problems that you're trying to...   0:26:41.7 John Dues: 50 problems.   0:26:41.7 Andrew Stotz: And 50 more constraints that you're operating within.   0:26:45.9 John Dues: Yeah. And so we were attacking it from multiple angles, so we were attacking it on the attendance front with kids, at the State House with funding, with trying to see if we can set up our own transportation system even without that funding. So there's many, many levers being attempted, but they are not quick and easy, simple, so.   0:27:12.8 Andrew Stotz: And for a listener who's listening to this, who may not be the CEO of a company, let's say who's got resources he can allocate or she can allocate, they also may be in a situation like, "This is all I can impact. I can impact this area, but I have to be realistic about what resources I have."   0:27:33.6 John Dues: Yeah, and I think one of the things we're doing too, we don't have rose colored glasses on, we're saying, even if we did fix this transportation system, and that's a big if again. That doesn't mean that the chronic absenteeism problem is going to be solved. Maybe it's significantly better, maybe it goes down to 30%, 35%, if we had a good transportation system, but that still means... And even before transportation was such an issue, even before the pandemic, these rates were still... The quarter of the kids who are so chronically absent, that's way too high, that's way too high. So we recognize that, but these are very, very thorny problems to try to improve.   0:28:15.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, and also you're trying to make lasting change too, so.   0:28:18.6 John Dues: Lasting change. Yeah.   0:28:19.6 Andrew Stotz: Yep.   0:28:19.7 John Dues: Yep. Yeah.   0:28:22.1 Andrew Stotz: Okay. Great. So I'm going to wrap it up there. And thanks...   0:28:23.3 John Dues: Yeah. Absolutely.   0:28:24.6 Andrew Stotz: And thank you for, on behalf of the Deming Institute, and I want to encourage all the listeners out there to follow what John's doing and what he's talking about, and of course, go to Deming.org to continue your journey. You can get his book, Win-Win, W. Edwards Deming, The System of Profound Knowledge and the Science of Improving Schools on amazon.com. And this is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming, people are entitled to joy in work.

Welcome to a new week of Pencil Busting, Class! We begin where we left off last week, with the "Nation's Report Card", NAEP. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a standardized test for students across the country in 4th and 8th grade. So why are we talking about yet another standardized test? Because it's part of the National Institute of Education Sciences that President Trump gutted last week. Don't worry, the test will continue. But the people who interpret the data and make it accessible to the public will be replaced with loyalists. What could *possibly* go wrong? BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic Media. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows. Join the conversation by calling or texting us at 608-557-8577 to leave a message!

"We are in an undeclared state of emergency in US education." Welcome Tommy Shultz, the CEO for American Federation for Children. The AFC is the largest school choice advocacy group in the USA. Their mission is to bring better educational opportunities to mainly low income families by changing laws and becoming political aggressive so these children can escape the generational poverty and crime they are doomed into. The country currently employs a severely outdated educational system with pedagogies do not support educating children equally. Children born in less privileged counties or zip codes are right away put into a public school system with no resources or attention to individual needs. School choice, aka the AFC, are educating parents and creating more pathways where they can access state allocated money to help them offer children homeschooling, private school, private tutoring, relocating to a different school, commuter options ect. ⁠Forbes⁠ just commented in 2025 that, "The gloom overshadowing K-12 schools begins with declining test scores." We just saw the National Assessment of Educational Progress release, "Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics." Tune into this powerful conversation! We hope it encourages parents to turn their attention towards AFC's efforts, school choice in your state and to become active in this conversation.

Visit the Fordham Institute Website, www.FordhamInstitute.org Visit the NAEP Website, www.NCES.ED.Gov/NationsReportCard About The Author Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Executive Editor of Education Next, and research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. An award-winning writer, he is the author of The Diverse Schools Dilemma, editor of the book Education for Upward Mobility, and co-editor of How to Educate an American and Follow the Science to School. An expert on charter schools, school accountability, evidence-based practices, and trends in test scores and other student outcomes, Petrilli has published opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, and his Education Gadfly column and podcast at Fordham, and appears frequently on television and radio. Petrilli helped to create the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement and the Policy Innovators in Education Network, and serves on the board of the Association of American Educators Foundation. He lives with his family in Bethesda, Maryland.

Professor Nicholas Giordano, from Campus Reform and Suffolk Community College (NY), joins us to talk about the Department of Education doling out over $200M to universities to inject DEI into counseling courses. Point Of View: Students cannot read or write at grade level, know little about American history, and are unable to pass a basic citizenship exam, yet the Department of Education has prioritized spending over $200 million taxpayer dollars, since 2021, to fund counseling programs for antiracism, microaggressions, white privilege, and whiteness at 48 universities. In fact, the Department of Education has spent over a billion dollars in grants to fund DEI initiatives throughout our education system, from kindergarten through college. The Department of Education is not the only culprit. The Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform has reported how the National Science Foundation has increased its granted funded DEI projects to higher education institutions increased from .29% in 2021 to 27% in 2024. Other agencies have also funneled money to our higher education institutions to promote the DEI industrial complex. This isn’t an investment in our students’ future, it is a racket to fund a far-left political agenda. As a parent and a professor, I would prefer (and demand) that our tax dollars go to a real education that prioritizes academic excellence, critical thinking, and a genuine understanding of history and civics, rather than ideological indoctrination.When my semester began a week ago, only a handful of students were able to pass a citizenship exam. Just days ago, I asked my class, "What is the primary purpose of government," only to be met with silence and blank stares. This is the devastating reality of our education system. It should come as no surprise that 60% of students entering two-year colleges and 40% of those entering four-year institutions have to take at least one remedial course for content they should have learned and mastered in high school. So, they may not be able to read, write, or do math at the college level, but if they are attending Michigan State University, at least students can earn credit for MSU’s racial constructs and racism in healthcare program. Given last week’s news from the National Assessment for Educational Progress that America has once again hit historic lows in student proficiency, it is time for the Trump administration and Congress to take bold action. Campus Reform is reporting that the Trump administration has begun drafting an executive order that will begin to pare down the Department of Education and encourage Congress to pass legislation that eliminates the Department of Education. Critics argue that the closure of the Department of Education will lead to a student body unable to read and write. I hate to break it to them, but that’s the current reality, and comes as the Department of Education’s budget has increased over 200% since 1990. Congress must also reevaluate the use of grant funding to our higher education institutions. Federal tax dollars should not be used to indoctrinate students or compel our higher education institutions to develop tools to silence and censor Americans. Instead, every grant provided to higher education should be based on improving student outcomes that can be measured. Any institution that prioritizes activism over academics should lose any federal funding they receive until they get back to the core mission of academia. Taxpayers should not subsidize any political party, ideology, or agenda. The time for half-measures is over, and if we are serious about fixing our broken education system, we can no longer tolerate the waste, fraud, and abuse, that has left an entire generation thoroughly unprepared for the real world. More info on Campus Reform here: https://www.campusreform.org/ (https://www.campusreform.org/profile/5457422) (@PasReport) Check out his podcast "The PAS Report Podcast" here: https://pasreport.com/biography-nicholas-giordano-political-commentator/ NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsTalkSTL Livestream 24/7: bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(6:05am) MORNING NEWS DUMP Several St. Louis County department leaders don't want you to vote on changing the County Charter in April. Six of them filed a lawsuit to block Proposition B. Stephen Miller comments on the USAID financial fiasco. Missouri now has its own web version of DOGE. Trump takes action to prevent men from participating in women's sports, girls' sports, or being able to access their locker rooms. BIG win for women. Promises made, promises kept. The Left scrambled to put together protests in all 50 states yesterday because...you know...their shenanigans are being exposed every day. Netanyahu comments on Trump's ideas about the future of Gaza. Wrong suspect locked up in St. Louis! Chris Gatlin spent 17 months in jail for a crime that an artificial intelligence program said he committed, only to be freed after the prosecutor learned there was no real evidence! Story here: https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/jailed-over-police-ai-program-then-freed-17-months-after-victim-raised-doubts/ Blues host the Florida Panthers tonight at Enterprise Center at 7pm. (6:20am) Trump signs EO to get men out of women's sports and locker rooms. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the signing and noted that the EO would signal "the end of a disgusting betrayal of women and girls.” Promises made...promises kept. Sanity restored...biology confirmed. Story here: https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/02/05/trump-signs-eo-protecting-womens-sports-n2185259 (6:35am) Professor Nicholas Giordano, from Campus Reform and Suffolk Community College (NY), joins us to talk about the Department of Education doling out over $200M to universities to inject DEI into counseling courses. Point Of View: Students cannot read or write at grade level, know little about American history, and are unable to pass a basic citizenship exam, yet the Department of Education has prioritized spending over $200 million taxpayer dollars, since 2021, to fund counseling programs for antiracism, microaggressions, white privilege, and whiteness at 48 universities. In fact, the Department of Education has spent over a billion dollars in grants to fund DEI initiatives throughout our education system, from kindergarten through college. The Department of Education is not the only culprit. The Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform has reported how the National Science Foundation has increased its granted funded DEI projects to higher education institutions increased from .29% in 2021 to 27% in 2024. Other agencies have also funneled money to our higher education institutions to promote the DEI industrial complex. This isn’t an investment in our students’ future, it is a racket to fund a far-left political agenda. As a parent and a professor, I would prefer (and demand) that our tax dollars go to a real education that prioritizes academic excellence, critical thinking, and a genuine understanding of history and civics, rather than ideological indoctrination.When my semester began a week ago, only a handful of students were able to pass a citizenship exam. Just days ago, I asked my class, "What is the primary purpose of government," only to be met with silence and blank stares. This is the devastating reality of our education system. It should come as no surprise that 60% of students entering two-year colleges and 40% of those entering four-year institutions have to take at least one remedial course for content they should have learned and mastered in high school. So, they may not be able to read, write, or do math at the college level, but if they are attending Michigan State University, at least students can earn credit for MSU’s racial constructs and racism in healthcare program. Given last week’s news from the National Assessment for Educational Progress that America has once again hit historic lows in student proficiency, it is time for the Trump administration and Congress to take bold action. Campus Reform is reporting that the Trump administration has begun drafting an executive order that will begin to pare down the Department of Education and encourage Congress to pass legislation that eliminates the Department of Education. Critics argue that the closure of the Department of Education will lead to a student body unable to read and write. I hate to break it to them, but that’s the current reality, and comes as the Department of Education’s budget has increased over 200% since 1990. Congress must also reevaluate the use of grant funding to our higher education institutions. Federal tax dollars should not be used to indoctrinate students or compel our higher education institutions to develop tools to silence and censor Americans. Instead, every grant provided to higher education should be based on improving student outcomes that can be measured. Any institution that prioritizes activism over academics should lose any federal funding they receive until they get back to the core mission of academia. Taxpayers should not subsidize any political party, ideology, or agenda. The time for half-measures is over, and if we are serious about fixing our broken education system, we can no longer tolerate the waste, fraud, and abuse, that has left an entire generation thoroughly unprepared for the real world. More info on Campus Reform here: https://www.campusreform.org/ (https://www.campusreform.org/profile/5457422) (@PasReport) Check out his podcast "The PAS Report Podcast" here: https://pasreport.com/biography-nicholas-giordano-political-commentator/ (6:50am) MORNING NEWS DUMP Several St. Louis County department leaders don't want you to vote on changing the County Charter in April. Six of them filed a lawsuit to block Proposition B. Stephen Miller comments on the USAID financial fiasco. Missouri now has its own web version of DOGE. Trump takes action to prevent men from participating in women's sports, girls' sports, or being able to access their locker rooms. BIG win for women. Promises made, promises kept. The Left scrambled to put together protests in all 50 states yesterday because...you know...their shenanigans are being exposed every day. Netanyahu comments on Trump's ideas about the future of Gaza. Wrong suspect locked up in St. Louis! Chris Gatlin spent 17 months in jail for a crime that an artificial intelligence program said he committed, only to be freed after the prosecutor learned there was no real evidence! Story here: https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/jailed-over-police-ai-program-then-freed-17-months-after-victim-raised-doubts/ Blues host the Florida Panthers tonight at Enterprise Center at 7pm. NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsTalkSTL Livestream 24/7: bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin R. West, the editor-in-chief of Education Next and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data.

DC Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker and Ward 5 State Board of Education Representative Robert Henderson connect over the tragic plan crash at DCA that occurred Wednesday, January 29, 2025. They also discuss recent National Assessment for Educational Progress scores for DC students showing significant growth. Representative Henderson welcomes thoughts and feedback at robert.henderson@dc.gov. Communications Director Melissa Littlepage gives an overview of highlights in this week's edition of the Ward 5 Weekly Newsletter. Read at ward5.us/news and subscribe at ward5.us/newsletter.

January 31, 2025 ~ According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Michigan students are struggling to keep up with their peers nationwide. Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie talk with West Michigan Policy Forum policy consultant Jase Bolger about why students are lacking reading skills, and Governor Whitmer's plans to boost funding.

The policies coming out of Washington, D.C. have the potential to affect Americans who have not even been born yet, whether for good or bad.    The latest National Report Card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress pains an abysmal picture of education across the U.S.   The report card is published every two years and assesses the average reading and math scores for fourth and eighth graders. The report showed significant declines for students when it was published in 2022, but the decline was somewhat expected in the wake of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the assessment completed in 2024 and published Wednesday show little to no improvement for student's math and reading proficiency.  In 2024, 39% percent of fourth grade students performed at or above the proficient math level that is set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This is 3% higher compared to 2022, but 2 percentage points lower than in 2019.  Eighth grade math scores are at 28% proficiency, which is about the same as 2022 scores, but eight points lower compared to 2019.  Reading scores showed an even greater decline than math.    In 2024, 31% of fourth grade students performed at or above the proficient level on the reading assessment. This is a 2 percentage point decline compared to 2022 and 4 percentage points lower than 2019, according to the report card.    And 30% of eighth grade students performed at or above the proficient level in 2024, which was not significantly different from 2022, but lower compared to 2019.   But not all the news coming out of the government is negative for our kids right now. Take the confirmation hearing of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.   Kennedy, who President Donald Trump has tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services, testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. He argued that the U.S. healthcare and food system needs to do a better job of keeping American's healthy, and this can begin by taking practical steps to remove processed foods from school lunch programs.    Or take the executive order Trump signed Tuesday to ban the use of federal dollars to fund or support irreversible transgender medical interventions for children.    On this week's edition of "Problematic Women," Madison Marino Doan, co-author of "Slacking: A Guide to Ivy League Miseducation," joins the show as we breakdown the ways the biggest pieces of news coming out of Washington could affect the next generation for years to come.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4:20 pm: Senator Brady Brammer is running a bill that would ban Utah residents from registering vehicles in the state of Montana to avoid paying state sales taxes, and he joins the program to discuss his reasons for sponsoring the bill.4:38 pm: Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies joins the show to discuss how President Trump's mass deportation plan can bring relief to Americans.6:05 pm: Dr. Lance Izumi, Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute joins Rod and Greg to discuss the results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress report which shows U.S. students have still not recovered academically from impacts of the Covid pandemic.6:38 pm: Ramsey Touchberry, Congressional Reporter for the Washington Examiner, joins the program to discuss today's confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Did you know that there are scientists who study teamwork? Co-hosts Anne Chappelle, PhD, and David Faulkner, PhD, DABT, speak with Stephen Fiore, PhD, Director, Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, about the art and science of working in teams and what you can do to improve teamwork in your lab, department, etc.About the GuestStephen M. Fiore, PhD, is Director, Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, and Professor with the University of Central Florida's Cognitive Sciences Program in the Department of Philosophy and School of Modeling, Simulation, and Training. He maintains a multidisciplinary research interest that incorporates aspects of the cognitive, social, organizational, and computational sciences in the investigation of learning and performance in individuals and teams. His primary area of research is the interdisciplinary study of complex collaborative cognition and the understanding of how humans interact socially and with technology.Dr. Fiore is Immediate Past President of the International Network for the Science of Team Science, and Past President for the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research. In 2018, Dr. Fiore was nominated to DARPA's Information Sciences and Technology (ISAT) Study Group to help the Department of Defense examine future areas of technological development potentially influencing national security. He has been a visiting scholar for the study of shared and extended cognition at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in Lyon, France (2010), and an invited visitor to the internationally renowned interdisciplinary Santa Fe Institute (2013). He was a member of the expert panel for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which focused on collaborative problem-solving skills. He has contributed to working groups for the National Academies of Sciences in understanding and measuring "21st-Century Skills" and was a committee member of their "Science of Team Science" consensus study, as well as a member of the National Assessment of Educational Progress report on "Collaborative Problem Solving".Dr. Fiore has been awarded the University of Central Florida (UCF) prestigious Research Incentive Award four times to acknowledge his significant accomplishments, and he is recipient of UCF's Luminary Award (2019), as recognition for his work having a significant impact on the world, and UCF's Reach for the Stars Award (2014), as recognition for bringing international prominence to the university. As Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Fiore has helped to secure and manage approximately $35 million in research funding. He is co-author of a book on “Accelerating Expertise” (2013) and is a co-editor of volumes on Shared Cognition (2012), Macrocognition in Teams (2008), Distributed Training (2007), and Team Cognition (2004). Dr. Fiore has also co-authored over 200 scholarly publications in the area of learning, memory, and problem solving in individuals and groups.Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.

In 2022, 37% of 4th graders performed below basic reading levels, and 25% fell short in math—the worst results since 1990. Tonight, a look at alternatives to traditional public school, like "unschooling” and A.I. led education. In 2022, the National Assessment of Educational Progress looked at 4th graders and reported that 37% performed below basic reading levels and 25% performed below basic levels in math. That's the worst result since the assessments started in 1990. You might say the public school model, as it stands right now, is broken. So, what do you? Tonight, we explore interesting alternatives to traditional schooling like “unschooling” and artificial intelligence-based education. Thank you to our sponsors: Tax Network: https://tnusa.com/drphil  or call 1-800-958-1000 for a free consultation. Jase Case: https://Jase.com | Code: PHIL  

 New data released from Michigan's Department of Education reveals mixed student progress in 2024, with some grades scoring higher on standardized tests than last year and others performing their lowest in years. Math, English language arts and science scores were gathered through the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, for grades three through seven, while scores for older students came from PSAT and SAT results. Eleventh-graders had the worst overall decline, scoring lower than last year in all three subjects, with a drop of 3.6 percentage points in math.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_67cfbb6a-660f-11ef-92f3-4f55af16ff42.html

August 29, 2024 ~ Less than 40% of third-graders in Michigan passed the English language arts portion of the M-STEP, the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, the lowest score in 10 years. Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie talk with State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice about the results in math, social studies, and other subjects of the M-STEP, and how our state can address the struggles in reading.

Catch our conversation with Montana State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen as she discusses new opportunities for Montana teachers to utilize ESSER funds, provides an update on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and more. Tune in for crucial insights on the future of education in Montana!

Dear Heavenly Followers, We're back with another divine dispatch from The God Pod! In our latest episode, God and Jesus dive into a mix of divine humor and righteous rants, covering everything from Louisiana's latest classroom mandate to the broader implications of such moves. Here's your holy recap:

Advancing Louisiana's Education: Insights from BESE's Acting President In this episode of What's What BR, guest Ronnie Morris, the acting president of the BESE board, discusses the improvements in Louisiana's K-12 education system, highlighting the state's climb to number 40 in national rankings. Morris shares the strategic focus on literacy, the adoption of phonics, and the deployment of new technologies including AI to enhance education. The episode also covers the significance of addressing teacher shortages, student truancy, and the value of vocational pathways alongside college readiness, emphasizing innovative approaches like virtual hubs and paid internships for real-world experience. Morris advocates for increased collaboration, leveraging technology, and heightened focus on literacy to further improve Louisiana's educational landscape. 00:00 Welcome and Introduction to the Episode 00:33 Louisiana's Educational Progress and Rankings 02:05 The Impact of COVID-19 on Business and Education 03:50 Focusing on Literacy and Educational Improvements 06:04 Exploring the Role and Impact of the BESE Board 08:24 Addressing Teacher Shortages and Truancy 09:59 Innovative Educational Strategies and AI in Classrooms 13:59 Leveraging Technology for Education: The Virtual Hub 16:51 Enhancing Education Through Internships and Apprenticeships 19:05 The College Bound Dilemma: High Aspirations vs. Real Outcomes 19:57 Defining Career and College Readiness in Louisiana 20:46 Setting New Standards for Student Success 21:38 The Importance of Vocational Pathways 23:19 Addressing the Stigma Around Vocational Education 26:07 The Future of Education: Embracing Technology and Real-World Experience 29:56 A Comprehensive Approach to Education Reform 35:51 Closing Thoughts: Investing in Our Future

Today's episode is about Alaska's Charter Schools which were recently ranked #1 in the country. The lead author of the study is Dr. Paul Peterson of Harvard University. Paul E. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and Senior Editor of Education Next, a journal of opinion and research.He received his Ph. D. in political science from the University of Chicago. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education, he has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the German Marshall Foundation, and the Center for Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He is an author or editor of over 30 books, four of which have been identified as the best work in its field by the American Political Science Association.Peterson was a member of the independent review panel advising the Department of Education's evaluation of the No Child Left Behind law and a member of the Hoover Institution's Koret Task Force of K-12 Education at Stanford University. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center reported that Peterson's studies on school choice and vouchers have been among the country's most influential studies of education policy.LINK TO STUDY: "The Nation's Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"

Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Oklahoma had one of the top-performing charter sectors in the United States. “The Nation's Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Frank Edelblut, the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Alaska had the top-performing charter sector in the United States. "The Nation's Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Deena M. Bishop, the Commissioner of Education for the state of Alaska, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Alaska had the top-performing charter sector in the United States. "The Nation's Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

The 2023 Kentucky School Report Card and a recent report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress both showed more than half of Kentucky students are not proficient readers.

Jim Peyser, the former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which for the first time ranks states by their charter school performance, based on student performance in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, between 2009 and 2019. "The Nation's Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Before you take a much-needed break, join our team to discuss your progress thus far. Let us help you evaluate what is working and what might need a different game plan as you step into a new year. We will offer practical advice to help you decide your priorities and maintain your sanity as your routine shifts to celebrating.Show notes:https://demmelearning.com/blog/reevaluating-progress-show/This episode was previously created as a webinar and was not created with the audio listener in mind.

9 P.M. HourThe National Assessment of Educational Progress' latest results show that Massachusetts students' performance has been in decline since at least 2017. Last year, the Nation's Report Card found that 57 percent of fourth graders in MA were found not proficient in math and reading. Dan analyzed the potential contributing factors and what can be done to improve student success in MA.

Math and reading scores for America's 13-year-olds dropped to their lowest levels in decades, with math proficiency sinking by the largest margin ever recorded, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test considered to be the nation's report card. All of this in the wake of COVID-related disruptions which attenuated classroom learning … Read More Read More

A recent report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education has pointed out that chronic absenteeism and mental health problems are overwhelming American students. Another report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows math performance has dropped to what it was thirty years ago. Likewise, ACT scores are at a thirty year low. The National Center for Education Statistics also released data last year showing almost 75% of schools have seen an increase in chronic absenteeism. A Gallup Poll found that a fifth of students were mostly just concerned with mental health support at school and this is indicative of a bigger problem: making ideology and elusive concepts for uneducated people with no context seem as if they are the most important factors in an education. What is happening?Although there was an overall learning decrees prior to 2020, the proceeding three years made it far worse. The CDC shows that there was a 17% spike in dyslexia and speech disorders, and that this was a result of masks. Another study from the Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Lorraine Research Laboratory, and the University of Geneva, showed that students 5-7 were harmed by masks because they couldn't read facial expressions or lips, which lead to literacy rate declines too. This means that decades of progress was erased due to school closure alone and remote learning, coupled with already saboteur programs such as the No Child Left Behind and Common Core strategies. America's education system is so poor that even countries most Americans have never heard of, or were made famous by Borat, have higher literacy rates than the U.S. In fact, only 79% of U.S. adults can read and write, leaving 21% who hopefully aren't operating machinery or voting. Joking aside, there are plenty of illiterate people who are smart and plenty of literates who are pridefully, by choice, ignorant - literacy isn't the only marker of education but it is a main pillar. Other countries seem to have it figured out though, including Ukraine and Japan which both have literacy rates at close to 99+%, which shows their programs are working and it's not just their smaller populations. A great example of this problem is what a Virginia School District is aiming to do: give kids 50% grades for not even doing an assignment. Some give 25% for writing you name, meaning you could feasibly get a C for turning in your name on a blank sheet of paper. Under the Bush administration and others too it was lowering test standards, curve grading, open book tests, and despite this, kids still failed; and as George Carlin said, the IQ slipped another few points. But it made the teachers, schools, and government look good - for a while. Other schools are letting kids use CHAT GPT. And although some countries are better off than the U.S., global illiteracy is on their rise, despite centuries of positive progress. It's all been an experiment - Educate Back Better - and as all slave masters know, you don't want your slaves or peasants or servants to read or write.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5328407/advertisement

It's Wednesday, July 19th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark British Conservative Party suspends politician for opposing homosexuality Britain's Conservative Party  suspended a Christian political leader for opposing sexually perverted lifestyles. King Lawal is a member of the North Northamptonshire Unity Council. During so-called “Pride Month” in June, he tweeted this: “Pride is not a virtue, but a Sin. Those who have Pride should Repent of their sins and return to Jesus Christ. He can save you.” Within days, seven organizations cancelled Lawal. He may also face a police investigation. The Christian Legal Centre is now representing him. Lawal's tweet included a reference to Isaiah 3:9 which says, “They declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.” Brazil's Evangelical churches skyrocketed by 500% A new study by the University of Sao Paulo found the number of Evangelical churches in Brazil has grown by over 500%. The South American country had just over 7,000 Evangelical churches in 1990. The number grew to 100,000 in 2019. That's 17 new churches every day. The latest demographic data shows Brazil's Evangelical population doubled from 9% in 1990 to 22% in 2010. Researchers expect Evangelicals to become a majority in the now Catholic-majority nation. New over-the-counter contraceptive pill Last Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opill, the first over-the-counter contraceptive pill. Perrigo, a company based in Ireland, plans to ship the pills out starting next year with no age restrictions.  The approval comes during a time of legal battles over abortion. States are introducing more limits on abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.  Meanwhile, the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is facing legal challenges.  Tanking public school scores Public school test scores have been tanking recently according to new data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Average scores for 13-year-olds declined four points in reading and 9 points in mathematics compared with the 2019-2020 school year. The research also found children are less likely to spend their free time reading now. This year, 14% of students report reading for fun almost every day, down from 17% in 2020 and 27% in 2012. Higher-performing students were more likely to read for fun regularly. Worldview correction: Canadian Reformed Church rejects female pastors Yesterday, The Worldview reported and linked to a Christian Post article that indicated that the Canadian Reformed Church ordained women to church office. After receiving an email from a Worldview listener from within that denomination, we doublechecked the Canadian Reformed Church website and discovered that The Christian Post story was incorrect. In Article 3 of their Church Order, the Canadian Reformed Church denomination explains, “Only male members who have made profession of faith and may be considered to meet the conditions as set forth in Holy Scripture (e.g., in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) shall be eligible for office.” We apologize for the error.  Court: Kentucky can now protect kids from transgender drugs and surgeries A U.S. District Court lifted an injunction last Friday on a Kentucky law that protects children from transgender drugs and surgeries. The law is now fully enforceable in the state. Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron said, “Today's ruling is a win for parents and children. … Moving forward, my office will continue to defend Senate Bill 150 and stand up for the right of children to be children, free from the influences of leftist activists and radical gender ideology.” Proverbs 20:26 says, “A wise king sifts out the wicked, and brings the threshing wheel over them.” South African Worldview listener finds newscast hopeful Peter Goede in Pretoria, South Africa wrote, "Good day Adam. I listen to your broadcasts often, mostly when driving long hours in my bakkie or ‘pickup' as you Americans call it, as I'm visiting farmers for my work. I enjoy the news from a Christian perspective with added Scripture explaining the situation. Here in South Africa, the radio news becomes extremely depressing. “But with The Worldview in 5 Minutes, there is hope, reminding us always that God is in control. Therefore, I now tend to listen only to your newscast and Kevin Swanson's Generations Radio. Thank you for the work you are doing. May God bless you, and give Him the glory!" Send your email of feedback to Adam@TheWorldview.com. Father & son from Indiana share their thoughts about The Worldview Matthew Dreyer in Greencastle, Indiana explained how his family started listening to the newscast. MATTHEW: “Well, we started really primarily listening during the pandemic. It was kind of a way to keep ourselves sane. And just to listen as a family. We'd go out for hikes. We lived in New Mexico at the time. We were part of an audio Bible ministry out there, and I was home a lot. It meant a lot to us to be able to know that The Worldview was safe. And when there are more mature stories, there's a transcript we can read ahead on for the kids. “We would listen to it while we hiked. We would listen to it as a family. We talk about the persecuted church and what's going on there. We talk about what God's doing all over the world. And we appreciate the biblical perspective that you put on everything. So, we want to support you.” And his 15-year-old son, Elijah, shared his thoughts. ELIJAH: “I enjoy learning about the current news from a Christian perspective. It's really the only way I get my news.” 13 Worldview listeners gave $8,565 Thirteen Worldview listeners donated toward our $80,000 goal by Monday, July 31st to keep this unique Christian newscast on the air for another year. Our thanks to Adam in Caldwell, Idaho who gave $20, Dick and Karen in Largo, Florida who gave $25, Joe and Sheryl in Westmoreland, Tennessee who gave $50, Steve in Loveland, Colorado who gave $100, and Darcy in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada who pledged $10/month for 12 months for a total gift of $120. We thank God for Marlowe in Freetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada who gave $200, Thomas in Gresham, Oregon who gave $250, and Tony and Jennie in Palmdale, California who pledged $25/month for 12 months for a total gift of $300. And we were touched by the kindness of David in Austin, Texas, Matthew in Marysville, Ohio, John in Sebastopol, California, and Vivia in Florida City, Florida – each of whom gave $600 as well as Thomas in South Bend, Indiana who gave $2,100. As promised, Shannan in Alexandria, Minnesota matched each of those last five donations with an additional $3,000! If you are the final Worldview listener to give a one-time gift of $600 or pledge $50/month for 12 months, Shannan will match your donation as well up to $600. Those 13 new donations add up to $8,565. Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (Drum roll sound effect) $41,546.16 (Crowd cheering sound effect) In order to hit our $60,000 immediate goal by this Friday, July 21st, we need to raise $18,453.84. That would mean 15 more people to pledge $50/month and 30 more to pledge $25/month. Just go to TheWorldview.com and click on “Give” at the top right to give what the Lord is prompting you to donate.  Make sure to select the “Recurring” tab if that's your wish. Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, July 19th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called “the nation's report card,” reveal the dire state of American education. The pandemic hit students hard, but it also presents educators and policymakers with an opportunity to rethink our schools. To discuss that, I've brought my colleague Rick Hess back on Political Economy. Rick is […]

Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called “the nation's report card,” reveal the dire state of American education. The pandemic hit students hard, but it also presents educators and policymakers with an opportunity to rethink our schools. To discuss that, I've brought my colleague Rick Hess back on Political Economy.Rick is a Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies here at the American Enterprise Institute. He's also the author of several fantastic books, the latest of which is the recently released The Great School Rethink.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief forThursday, June 22nd, 2023. Gravity Jack: Gravity Jack is a full service digital agency specializing in the development of Virtual & Augmented Reality experiences, mobile apps, blockchain and Web3 projects. Founded in 2009 as the first American agency to offer augmented reality, they even patented it; Gravity Jack's digital experiences have been a source of innovation for small business, Fortune 500 Companies, and the US Military. Get your vision in motion at gravityjack.com https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/submarine-titantic-missing-submersible-tourists-latest-b2360568.html Rescue hopes for missing Titanic submarine hinge on new ‘banging’ sounds as 12 hours left– live There are now 12 hours of oxygen left in the missing Titan submersible as rescue efforts continue for the five passengers. A Canadian aircraft searching for the sub in the Atlantic Ocean detected intermittent “banging” noises from the vicinity of its last known location, the US Coast Guard said. Crew searching for the missing sub heard banging sounds every 30 minutes on Tuesday and again four hours later on Wednesday after additional sonar devices were deployed. However, the US Coast Guard clarified that they “don’t know the source of the noise”. Aboard the Titan is CEO and founder of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood. Mr Dawood’s sister, Sabrina Dawood told Sky News that the Dawood family is solely focused on the rescue of her brother and nephew and hope for their safe return. The watercraft submerged on Sunday morning from its support vessel to travel to the Titanic wreckage which sits at a depth of 12,500ft. About an hour and 45 minutes later, the Titan lost contact with its surface ship, the Polar Prince. The Titan is equipped with a four-day emergency oxygen supply. https://notthebee.com/article/texas-christian-university-offers-queer-art-of-drag-class Someone wanna tell me why Texas "Christian" University offers a "Queer Art of Drag" class? Hey TCU, I think it's time for a name change. Texas Christian University's Women and Gender Studies department offered a "Queer Art of Drag" class during the Spring 2023 semester. The course required students to give a performance as their own "drag persona." "Drag is an art form with a rich history of challenging dominant norms and systems of oppression; building queer community; and cultivating experiences of queer joy in a hostile world," the course website rads. "Critical drag explores drag performance as an outlet for social critique, and queer world making." The syllabus also says students must create a "drag vision board," give an "in-class lip-sync performance," and make a "storyboard" for a final performance. A "My Drag Worksheet" assignment required students to create a name, a "drag greeting," a "lip-sync portfolio," and "strike a pose" for their drag persona. Students were required to give their final presentation using their drag persona voice and submit a video performance for TCU's "Annual Night of Drag." Why do I suggest TCU change its name? Hmm, let's see… "A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God," Deuteronomy 22:5 (ESV). https://notthebee.com/article/huh-math-and-reading-scores-for-13-year-old-americans-are-the-lowest-theyve-been-in-decades-and-tanked-during-the-pandemic Math and reading scores for 13-year-old Americans are the lowest they've been in decades and tanked during the pandemic Remember how we shut down all the schools for a virus that didn't put most children in danger? The math and reading performance of 13-year-olds in the United States has hit the lowest level in decades, according to test scores released today from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold-standard federal exam. The last time math performance was this low for 13-year-olds was in 1990. In reading, 2004. Maybe we should have been listening to the experts who predicted "brain drain" and developmental consequences that would set America, and the world at large, back decades in education by shutting down schools for two years. A large body of research shows that most American children experienced academic struggles during the pandemic. It has also been clear that low-income students of color were most heavily affected by school closures and remote learning, which in some districts lasted more than a year. I heard many experts discussing this from 2020-2022, but most people probably didn't, because the Experts™ censored their peers from warning us. And yet the truth remains that some people did actually warn us that closing schools wasn't merely a 2-year setback, but a decision that would affect multiple generations to come. The 13-year-olds who took this version of the NAEP exam last fall were 10 years old — and in fourth or fifth grade — when the pandemic began. Many were old enough to participate in remote learning without minute-to-minute adult assistance, as younger children often needed. But the ages of 10 to 13 are also a crucial period for mastering foundational skills, from multiplication to recognizing a character's feelings in a short narrative passage. "The bottom line — these results show that there are troubling gaps in the basic skills of these students," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which gives the NAEP exam. "This is a huge-scale challenge that faces the nation." But it's okay, because proficiency is racist anyway. Civilization might not work without competent, educated people, but we'll feel nice when we're all equal in squalor. We can be the "quit" in equity! The percentage of 13-year-olds who reported reading for fun has also declined. Last fall, 31 percent said they "never or hardly ever" read for fun, compared to 22 percent in 2012. Have you looked at the woke books they give these kids? No wonder it's not fun! Anyway, we might not have to wait long for the end to come, because while we talk about race and gender instead of teaching math, other countries like China are preparing their kids for engineering and war… https://www.theepochtimes.com/proposed-hate-speech-law-in-michigan-threatens-first-amendment-rights-conservatives-warn_5329978.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=travis_in_flint&src_src=partner&src_cmp=travis_in_flint Proposed ‘Hate Speech’ Law in Michigan Threatens First Amendment Rights, Conservatives Warn A bill moving through the Democrat-controlled Michigan State Legislature would make it easier for prosecutors to bring felonious “hate crime” charges against dissident speech. The possible implications for preachers, school administrators, teachers, parents, politicians, and citizen activists have alarmed conservatives concerned about the effect the bill may have on free speech. The proposed legislation, HB 4474, would amend the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act of 1988 in order to consider it a hate crime if a person is accused of causing “severe mental anguish” to another individual by means of perceived verbal intimidation or harassment. The amendment defines the words intimidate or harass as a “willful course of conduct, involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested…” “Words are malleable,” Attorney David Kallman of the Great Lakes Justice Center (GLJC), a non-profit legal organization dedicated to preserving liberty in America, told The Epoch Times. “They can be redefined by whoever is in power. “Under the proposed statute, ‘intimidate and harass’ can mean whatever the victim, or the authorities, want them to mean. The focus is on how the victim feels rather than on a clearly defined criminal act. This is a ridiculously vague and subjective standard,” he said. “The absence of intent makes no difference under this law. You are still guilty of the crime because the victim felt uncomfortable. “The bill will lead to the prosecution of conservatives, pastors, and parents attending a school board meeting for simply expressing their opposition to the liberal agenda,” Kallman said. A convicted violator could receive a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill does provide the court with the option of an alternative sentence. The text reads in part, “An alternative sentence may include an order requiring the offender to complete a period of community service intended to enhance the offender’s understanding of the impact of the offense upon the victim and wider community. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, testified that Michigan has the fifth-highest number of hate crimes committed per capita in the United States, with many more incidents not reported. She stated that HB 4474, and similar early judicial intervention measures, can help prevent initial non-violent hate crimes from escalating into murder. “You can literally save lives,” Nessel, a lesbian, told the committee. Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kim Worthy, a Democrat, called the existing Ethnic Intimidation Law “woefully inadequate.” She testified that HB 4474 was a “useful tool” that would make it “easier to prosecute real hate crimes” and send a message that they are “absolutely intolerable in this state.” “We have to protect our victims of hate crimes,” Worthy said. https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-disney-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-officer-leaving-the-company?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwbrand Top Disney Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Officer Leaving The Company Disney’s top Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officer will be leaving the entertainment giant to “pursue other endeavors” as the company continues to face headwinds from conservative customers over its promotion of LGBT themes and battles with Florida Republicans, according to a memo obtained by Variety. An internal memo sent to employees this week announced that Latondra Newton, the company’s chief DEI officer and senior vice president, would be moving on from the company, Variety reported Tuesday. Newton will reportedly be moving to a board at a different corporation after six years at Disney. “I’m writing to share the news that Latondra Newton has decided to leave The Walt Disney Company to pursue other endeavors,” the internal memo obtained by Variety read. “Working alongside all of you and so many others, she has inspired countless cast members and employees to bring about lasting change and to help create a world where we can all feel safe and we all belong.” Julie Merges, currently a human resources executive at the company, will be the interim top DEI officer while a hiring search is conducted. At Disney, Newton worked “with various business segments and leaders across the enterprise to build on Disney’s commitment to produce entertainment that reflects a global audience and sustains a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone,” according to the company. Newton signed on to a letter from top Disney executives taking aim at “racial disparities” following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis resolving to pursue “real change.” Under Newton, Disney also began its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program which focused on “representation” for a host of different groups including increasing “gender diversity,” “Black Representation,” “Female empowerment,” “Diverse Families,” “LGBTQIA+ Representation,” and “Middle Eastern Representation.” In recent years, Disney has come under fire from some customers over its insertion of LGBT themes into children’s content, including the inclusion of a gay kiss into the 2022 “Lightyear” film which flopped at the box office. The company also voiced opposition to a Florida law intended to shield kids from being taught gender ideology and sexual topics in the classroom. The company has also faced backlash online after video emerged of a man in a dress welcoming small children into a Disneyland boutique full of princess costumes.

On today's Daily Signal Top News, we break down:   Former Special Counsel John Durham testifies before Congress. Justice Samuel fires back at the news site ProPublica after it published an article raising concerns over issues related to recusal and gift disclosures. The National Assessment of Educational Progress says math and reading scores are down […]

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief forThursday, June 22nd, 2023. Gravity Jack: Gravity Jack is a full service digital agency specializing in the development of Virtual & Augmented Reality experiences, mobile apps, blockchain and Web3 projects. Founded in 2009 as the first American agency to offer augmented reality, they even patented it; Gravity Jack's digital experiences have been a source of innovation for small business, Fortune 500 Companies, and the US Military. Get your vision in motion at gravityjack.com https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/submarine-titantic-missing-submersible-tourists-latest-b2360568.html Rescue hopes for missing Titanic submarine hinge on new ‘banging’ sounds as 12 hours left– live There are now 12 hours of oxygen left in the missing Titan submersible as rescue efforts continue for the five passengers. A Canadian aircraft searching for the sub in the Atlantic Ocean detected intermittent “banging” noises from the vicinity of its last known location, the US Coast Guard said. Crew searching for the missing sub heard banging sounds every 30 minutes on Tuesday and again four hours later on Wednesday after additional sonar devices were deployed. However, the US Coast Guard clarified that they “don’t know the source of the noise”. Aboard the Titan is CEO and founder of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood. Mr Dawood’s sister, Sabrina Dawood told Sky News that the Dawood family is solely focused on the rescue of her brother and nephew and hope for their safe return. The watercraft submerged on Sunday morning from its support vessel to travel to the Titanic wreckage which sits at a depth of 12,500ft. About an hour and 45 minutes later, the Titan lost contact with its surface ship, the Polar Prince. The Titan is equipped with a four-day emergency oxygen supply. https://notthebee.com/article/texas-christian-university-offers-queer-art-of-drag-class Someone wanna tell me why Texas "Christian" University offers a "Queer Art of Drag" class? Hey TCU, I think it's time for a name change. Texas Christian University's Women and Gender Studies department offered a "Queer Art of Drag" class during the Spring 2023 semester. The course required students to give a performance as their own "drag persona." "Drag is an art form with a rich history of challenging dominant norms and systems of oppression; building queer community; and cultivating experiences of queer joy in a hostile world," the course website rads. "Critical drag explores drag performance as an outlet for social critique, and queer world making." The syllabus also says students must create a "drag vision board," give an "in-class lip-sync performance," and make a "storyboard" for a final performance. A "My Drag Worksheet" assignment required students to create a name, a "drag greeting," a "lip-sync portfolio," and "strike a pose" for their drag persona. Students were required to give their final presentation using their drag persona voice and submit a video performance for TCU's "Annual Night of Drag." Why do I suggest TCU change its name? Hmm, let's see… "A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God," Deuteronomy 22:5 (ESV). https://notthebee.com/article/huh-math-and-reading-scores-for-13-year-old-americans-are-the-lowest-theyve-been-in-decades-and-tanked-during-the-pandemic Math and reading scores for 13-year-old Americans are the lowest they've been in decades and tanked during the pandemic Remember how we shut down all the schools for a virus that didn't put most children in danger? The math and reading performance of 13-year-olds in the United States has hit the lowest level in decades, according to test scores released today from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold-standard federal exam. The last time math performance was this low for 13-year-olds was in 1990. In reading, 2004. Maybe we should have been listening to the experts who predicted "brain drain" and developmental consequences that would set America, and the world at large, back decades in education by shutting down schools for two years. A large body of research shows that most American children experienced academic struggles during the pandemic. It has also been clear that low-income students of color were most heavily affected by school closures and remote learning, which in some districts lasted more than a year. I heard many experts discussing this from 2020-2022, but most people probably didn't, because the Experts™ censored their peers from warning us. And yet the truth remains that some people did actually warn us that closing schools wasn't merely a 2-year setback, but a decision that would affect multiple generations to come. The 13-year-olds who took this version of the NAEP exam last fall were 10 years old — and in fourth or fifth grade — when the pandemic began. Many were old enough to participate in remote learning without minute-to-minute adult assistance, as younger children often needed. But the ages of 10 to 13 are also a crucial period for mastering foundational skills, from multiplication to recognizing a character's feelings in a short narrative passage. "The bottom line — these results show that there are troubling gaps in the basic skills of these students," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which gives the NAEP exam. "This is a huge-scale challenge that faces the nation." But it's okay, because proficiency is racist anyway. Civilization might not work without competent, educated people, but we'll feel nice when we're all equal in squalor. We can be the "quit" in equity! The percentage of 13-year-olds who reported reading for fun has also declined. Last fall, 31 percent said they "never or hardly ever" read for fun, compared to 22 percent in 2012. Have you looked at the woke books they give these kids? No wonder it's not fun! Anyway, we might not have to wait long for the end to come, because while we talk about race and gender instead of teaching math, other countries like China are preparing their kids for engineering and war… https://www.theepochtimes.com/proposed-hate-speech-law-in-michigan-threatens-first-amendment-rights-conservatives-warn_5329978.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=travis_in_flint&src_src=partner&src_cmp=travis_in_flint Proposed ‘Hate Speech’ Law in Michigan Threatens First Amendment Rights, Conservatives Warn A bill moving through the Democrat-controlled Michigan State Legislature would make it easier for prosecutors to bring felonious “hate crime” charges against dissident speech. The possible implications for preachers, school administrators, teachers, parents, politicians, and citizen activists have alarmed conservatives concerned about the effect the bill may have on free speech. The proposed legislation, HB 4474, would amend the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act of 1988 in order to consider it a hate crime if a person is accused of causing “severe mental anguish” to another individual by means of perceived verbal intimidation or harassment. The amendment defines the words intimidate or harass as a “willful course of conduct, involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested…” “Words are malleable,” Attorney David Kallman of the Great Lakes Justice Center (GLJC), a non-profit legal organization dedicated to preserving liberty in America, told The Epoch Times. “They can be redefined by whoever is in power. “Under the proposed statute, ‘intimidate and harass’ can mean whatever the victim, or the authorities, want them to mean. The focus is on how the victim feels rather than on a clearly defined criminal act. This is a ridiculously vague and subjective standard,” he said. “The absence of intent makes no difference under this law. You are still guilty of the crime because the victim felt uncomfortable. “The bill will lead to the prosecution of conservatives, pastors, and parents attending a school board meeting for simply expressing their opposition to the liberal agenda,” Kallman said. A convicted violator could receive a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill does provide the court with the option of an alternative sentence. The text reads in part, “An alternative sentence may include an order requiring the offender to complete a period of community service intended to enhance the offender’s understanding of the impact of the offense upon the victim and wider community. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, testified that Michigan has the fifth-highest number of hate crimes committed per capita in the United States, with many more incidents not reported. She stated that HB 4474, and similar early judicial intervention measures, can help prevent initial non-violent hate crimes from escalating into murder. “You can literally save lives,” Nessel, a lesbian, told the committee. Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kim Worthy, a Democrat, called the existing Ethnic Intimidation Law “woefully inadequate.” She testified that HB 4474 was a “useful tool” that would make it “easier to prosecute real hate crimes” and send a message that they are “absolutely intolerable in this state.” “We have to protect our victims of hate crimes,” Worthy said. https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-disney-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-officer-leaving-the-company?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwbrand Top Disney Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Officer Leaving The Company Disney’s top Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officer will be leaving the entertainment giant to “pursue other endeavors” as the company continues to face headwinds from conservative customers over its promotion of LGBT themes and battles with Florida Republicans, according to a memo obtained by Variety. An internal memo sent to employees this week announced that Latondra Newton, the company’s chief DEI officer and senior vice president, would be moving on from the company, Variety reported Tuesday. Newton will reportedly be moving to a board at a different corporation after six years at Disney. “I’m writing to share the news that Latondra Newton has decided to leave The Walt Disney Company to pursue other endeavors,” the internal memo obtained by Variety read. “Working alongside all of you and so many others, she has inspired countless cast members and employees to bring about lasting change and to help create a world where we can all feel safe and we all belong.” Julie Merges, currently a human resources executive at the company, will be the interim top DEI officer while a hiring search is conducted. At Disney, Newton worked “with various business segments and leaders across the enterprise to build on Disney’s commitment to produce entertainment that reflects a global audience and sustains a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone,” according to the company. Newton signed on to a letter from top Disney executives taking aim at “racial disparities” following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis resolving to pursue “real change.” Under Newton, Disney also began its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program which focused on “representation” for a host of different groups including increasing “gender diversity,” “Black Representation,” “Female empowerment,” “Diverse Families,” “LGBTQIA+ Representation,” and “Middle Eastern Representation.” In recent years, Disney has come under fire from some customers over its insertion of LGBT themes into children’s content, including the inclusion of a gay kiss into the 2022 “Lightyear” film which flopped at the box office. The company also voiced opposition to a Florida law intended to shield kids from being taught gender ideology and sexual topics in the classroom. The company has also faced backlash online after video emerged of a man in a dress welcoming small children into a Disneyland boutique full of princess costumes.

On today's Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Former Special Counsel John Durham testifies before Congress.Justice Samuel fires back at the news site ProPublica after it published an article raising concerns over issues related to recusal and gift disclosures. The National Assessment of Educational Progress says math and reading scores are down for 13-year-olds. Hunter Biden reportedly reaches an agreement with the mother of his daughter regarding child support payments.There are rumors in Washington D.C. that Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., is going to launch a campaign for president as a third party candidate. Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2023/06/21/durham-agents-were-emotional-apologized-over-fbi-conduct-in-trump-russia-probe/Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive operation searched for a submersible that went missing while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. ABC's Lindsay Watts has the latest on GOP candidates responding to Hunter Bidens plea deal. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is facing scrutiny for an undisclosed luxury fishing trip with a prominent conservative donor over a decade ago. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the average math scores for 13-year-olds fell nine points from the 2019-2020 academic year to the current one.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, May 26th, 2023. https://www.dailywire.com/news/college-enrollment-keeps-sliding-even-three-years-after-lockdowns College Enrollment Keeps Sliding Even Three Years After Lockdowns Enrollment for most forms of postsecondary education in the United States continued to decline three years after nationwide lockdowns forced many students to temporarily continue their degrees online, according to a new analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse. Public four-year institutions saw a 0.8% enrollment decline as of spring 2023, a somewhat less severe decrease than the 1.2% decline recorded in 2022 but more pronounced than the 0.3% decline in 2021 and the 0.2% decline in 2020. Private four-year nonprofit institutions meanwhile witnessed a 1.0% decrease in 2023, compared to the 1.2% decrease in 2022, the 0.4% decrease in 2021, and the 0.6% decrease in 2020. There are currently 7.1 million students enrolled in public four-year colleges and 3.9 million students enrolled in private four-year nonprofit colleges, marking drops from 7.3 million and 4.0 million enrolled students, respectively, from spring 2019, the last year which was not affected by the lockdowns. “Undergraduates at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions are still declining but at slower rates,” the analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse summarized. “Total postsecondary enrollment remains well below pre-pandemic levels.” Community college enrollment nevertheless increased 0.5% as of spring 2023, a phenomenon driven by “dual enrolled high school students and freshmen,” while the number of students pursuing graduate or professional degrees plummeted 2.2% from last year. The postsecondary education marketplace has been critically disrupted by the lockdowns and the advent of virtual instruction, realities which increasingly prompted students to question the time and funds they devote toward their college degrees. Elevated levels of student debt, which officials in the Biden administration are seeking to address through an executive order to cancel $10,000 in loans for every borrower earning less than $125,000, have also prompted many students to pause or discontinue their education. The debt forgiveness policy was recently examined by the Supreme Court, which is expected to release an opinion on the controversial move within the next month. Lockdowns also severely diminished learning outcomes at the primary and secondary levels. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that average reading scores for nine-year-olds plummeted five points and average mathematics scores dropped seven points, marking the first score decline for reading in three decades and the first score decline for mathematics in the history of the initiative. Stanford University economist and Hoover Institution senior fellow Eric Hanushek revealed in a recent study that learning losses could cause affected students to lose between 2% and 9% of their lifetime earnings as they miss the opportunity to learn critical skills, reducing prospects for future nationwide economic growth. Parents concerned about the impact of lockdowns on education have removed their children from government schools at an unprecedented rate. The number of homeschooled students increased from 2.7 million in 2020 to 3.1 million in 2023, according to a study from the National Home Education Research Institute. New Saint Andrews: Today’s culture shifts like sand, but New Saint Andrews College is established on Christ, the immovable rock. The college is a premier institution that forges evangelical leaders who don’t fear or hate the world. Guided by God’s word, equipped with the genius of classical liberal arts and God-honoring wisdom, with a faculty dedicated to academic rigor and to God’s kingdom, New Saint Andrews College offers an education that frees people. Logic and language, hard work and joyful courage, old books and godly professors — New Saint Andrews Colleges provides time-tested resources that can equip your student for any vocation. To find out more, visit: nsa.edu https://www.theblaze.com/news/member-group-of-coalition-pushing-extreme-abortion-initiative-in-ohio-fighting-to-undercut-parental-rights Coalition pushing extreme abortion initiative in Ohio says it isn't trying to undermine parental rights. A member group's explicit agenda suggests otherwise. A leftist coalition is working to roll back Ohio's few remaining abortion restrictions by way of a proposed constitutional amendment. Some opposition groups have suggested that this craftily worded proposal will not only enable late-term abortions, but undermine parental rights on these and other matters of life and death, including the ability to protect children from sex-change mutilations. While proponents of member groups in the coalition have claimed the amendment will not undermine parental rights, recently highlighted remarks made by a key player behind the abortion initiative have done little to inspire confidence. Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom PAC are leading the charge to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution by way of an initiated constitutional amendment called the "Ohio Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative." The proposal to put this abortion initiative on the November 2023 ballot was certified in March by the state attorney general. The proposed amendment further states that the "state shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either: 1. An individual's voluntary exercise of this right or 2. A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual's health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care." The only ostensible restriction on abortion admitted in the amendment leaves determinations as to whether a viable human being can be exterminated up to abortionists. Parental rights are implicated and eroded under the amendment, argued the pro-life activists, because "'reproductive decisions' is a very broad term, and is intentionally included to stop any effort to put reasonable restrictions or enforce parental rights on a wide array of other destructive decisions—potentially including sex change surgeries." Carrie Severino and Frank Scaturro of the Judicial Crisis Network concurred, noting in National Review that "'reproductive decisions' ... is a very broad term. By explicitly defining such decisions as 'not limited to' the enumerated categories, the proposal establishes its scope as sweeping. A natural reading would extend to any medical procedure that involves the human reproductive system, including sex-change surgery." Extra to potentially affecting parents' ability to protect their children from sex-change mutilations and devastating puberty blockers, Dannenfelser and Sekulow highlighted how "if Ohio adopts the amendment, the state's supreme court can be expected to go even farther than the U.S. Supreme Court ever did in undoing the state's parental consent laws," in part by "outlawing any legal requirement for a parent to be notified about or consent before an abortion—or any other procedure related to 'reproduction decisions'—is performed on their child." https://twitter.com/i/status/1636019433578672130 - Play Video https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/05/23/va-cant-account-187-million-emergency-covid-19-funding.html VA Can't Account for $187 Million in Emergency COVID-19 Funding The Department of Veterans Affairs can’t account for at least $187 million in supplementary COVID-19 funding spread across more than 10,000 transactions related to the pandemic, according to a House oversight committee. Congress and the VA are at odds over the department's handling of nearly $37 billion in additional funding it received to address the COVID-19 pandemic, with House Veterans Affairs Committee leaders on both sides of the aisle critical of its failure to account for every dime. Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and ranking member Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., praised the department for its pandemic response overall but called the VA out for its inability to account for the money, during a hearing sidetracked by GOP rancor over the department's messaging on debt ceiling legislation. Between 2020 and 2021, the VA received roughly $37 billion to address COVID-19 response, including an initial $60 million, followed by $19.6 billion in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and another $17 billion in the American Rescue Plan. As part of the deal to receive the funding, the department was required to account for its spending, a mandate underscored by passage in November 2021 of the VA Transparency and Trust Act. Across a series of 40 reviews and reports, the VA Office of Inspector General found numerous accounting issues involving the COVID-19 funds, including a lack of visibility over payroll, some contracts and medical supplies. The IG said the problems are attributable to the department's decentralized management structure, as well as an outdated financial information technology software – that it doesn't expect to modernize for another decade. It determined that the department was challenged by inaccurate payroll accounting; used manual transfers and adjustments to its financial management systems that led to at least 53 reporting errors; had problems with supply acquisition, such as duplicate purchases; and failed to properly oversee its efforts to provide telehealth hardware to veterans, namely distributing tablet computers and cell phones so they could access health care but not recouping the equipment when the veteran failed to use it. Given the issues, both Bost and Takano said they have concerns for the $2.1 billion remaining in American Rescue Plan funds, with Bost and fellow Republicans saying the money should be returned, while Takano pressed the VA to be more transparent as it continues using the funding. VA officials told the committee Tuesday that the department will spend the remaining American Rescue Plan money by the end of the fiscal year for programs initiated during the pandemic such as housing and telehealth for homeless veterans; prosthetics and medical research, including studies of long COVID; and on preventing the spread of contagious diseases in hospital and administrative settings. https://www.outkick.com/matt-araiza-jets-workout-allegations-cleared-up/ NEW YORK JETS WORKING OUT MATT ARAIZA TWO WEEKS AFTER PUNTER’S NAME WAS CLEARED OF GANG RAPE ALLEGATIONS Matt Araiza has landed his first workout with an NFL team since being cut by the Buffalo Bills ahead of last season over gang rape allegations. The New York Jets are giving the free-agent punter a look, according to Adam Schefter. Matt Araiza was cut by the Bills in August 2022 shortly after an allegation was made public that he had taken part in the gang rape of a minor while attending San Diego State. Fast-forward nine months to May of this year, and it has been determined that he was not present at the time of the incident that allegedly took place in October 2021. The transcript of a meeting between the accuser and prosecutors was brought to light just over two weeks ago in which investigators explained that they do not believe Araiza was present at the time of the alleged assault. Prosecutors in the San Diego District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges, but Araiza is still facing a civil suit that he has no plans of settling anytime soon. Despite that there wasn’t a single fact was known about the alleged incident, the Bills caved to the portion of the public who had already deemed the punter guilty and cut him shortly before the start of the 2022 NFL regular season.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, May 26th, 2023. https://www.dailywire.com/news/college-enrollment-keeps-sliding-even-three-years-after-lockdowns College Enrollment Keeps Sliding Even Three Years After Lockdowns Enrollment for most forms of postsecondary education in the United States continued to decline three years after nationwide lockdowns forced many students to temporarily continue their degrees online, according to a new analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse. Public four-year institutions saw a 0.8% enrollment decline as of spring 2023, a somewhat less severe decrease than the 1.2% decline recorded in 2022 but more pronounced than the 0.3% decline in 2021 and the 0.2% decline in 2020. Private four-year nonprofit institutions meanwhile witnessed a 1.0% decrease in 2023, compared to the 1.2% decrease in 2022, the 0.4% decrease in 2021, and the 0.6% decrease in 2020. There are currently 7.1 million students enrolled in public four-year colleges and 3.9 million students enrolled in private four-year nonprofit colleges, marking drops from 7.3 million and 4.0 million enrolled students, respectively, from spring 2019, the last year which was not affected by the lockdowns. “Undergraduates at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions are still declining but at slower rates,” the analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse summarized. “Total postsecondary enrollment remains well below pre-pandemic levels.” Community college enrollment nevertheless increased 0.5% as of spring 2023, a phenomenon driven by “dual enrolled high school students and freshmen,” while the number of students pursuing graduate or professional degrees plummeted 2.2% from last year. The postsecondary education marketplace has been critically disrupted by the lockdowns and the advent of virtual instruction, realities which increasingly prompted students to question the time and funds they devote toward their college degrees. Elevated levels of student debt, which officials in the Biden administration are seeking to address through an executive order to cancel $10,000 in loans for every borrower earning less than $125,000, have also prompted many students to pause or discontinue their education. The debt forgiveness policy was recently examined by the Supreme Court, which is expected to release an opinion on the controversial move within the next month. Lockdowns also severely diminished learning outcomes at the primary and secondary levels. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that average reading scores for nine-year-olds plummeted five points and average mathematics scores dropped seven points, marking the first score decline for reading in three decades and the first score decline for mathematics in the history of the initiative. Stanford University economist and Hoover Institution senior fellow Eric Hanushek revealed in a recent study that learning losses could cause affected students to lose between 2% and 9% of their lifetime earnings as they miss the opportunity to learn critical skills, reducing prospects for future nationwide economic growth. Parents concerned about the impact of lockdowns on education have removed their children from government schools at an unprecedented rate. The number of homeschooled students increased from 2.7 million in 2020 to 3.1 million in 2023, according to a study from the National Home Education Research Institute. New Saint Andrews: Today’s culture shifts like sand, but New Saint Andrews College is established on Christ, the immovable rock. The college is a premier institution that forges evangelical leaders who don’t fear or hate the world. Guided by God’s word, equipped with the genius of classical liberal arts and God-honoring wisdom, with a faculty dedicated to academic rigor and to God’s kingdom, New Saint Andrews College offers an education that frees people. Logic and language, hard work and joyful courage, old books and godly professors — New Saint Andrews Colleges provides time-tested resources that can equip your student for any vocation. To find out more, visit: nsa.edu https://www.theblaze.com/news/member-group-of-coalition-pushing-extreme-abortion-initiative-in-ohio-fighting-to-undercut-parental-rights Coalition pushing extreme abortion initiative in Ohio says it isn't trying to undermine parental rights. A member group's explicit agenda suggests otherwise. A leftist coalition is working to roll back Ohio's few remaining abortion restrictions by way of a proposed constitutional amendment. Some opposition groups have suggested that this craftily worded proposal will not only enable late-term abortions, but undermine parental rights on these and other matters of life and death, including the ability to protect children from sex-change mutilations. While proponents of member groups in the coalition have claimed the amendment will not undermine parental rights, recently highlighted remarks made by a key player behind the abortion initiative have done little to inspire confidence. Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom PAC are leading the charge to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution by way of an initiated constitutional amendment called the "Ohio Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative." The proposal to put this abortion initiative on the November 2023 ballot was certified in March by the state attorney general. The proposed amendment further states that the "state shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either: 1. An individual's voluntary exercise of this right or 2. A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual's health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care." The only ostensible restriction on abortion admitted in the amendment leaves determinations as to whether a viable human being can be exterminated up to abortionists. Parental rights are implicated and eroded under the amendment, argued the pro-life activists, because "'reproductive decisions' is a very broad term, and is intentionally included to stop any effort to put reasonable restrictions or enforce parental rights on a wide array of other destructive decisions—potentially including sex change surgeries." Carrie Severino and Frank Scaturro of the Judicial Crisis Network concurred, noting in National Review that "'reproductive decisions' ... is a very broad term. By explicitly defining such decisions as 'not limited to' the enumerated categories, the proposal establishes its scope as sweeping. A natural reading would extend to any medical procedure that involves the human reproductive system, including sex-change surgery." Extra to potentially affecting parents' ability to protect their children from sex-change mutilations and devastating puberty blockers, Dannenfelser and Sekulow highlighted how "if Ohio adopts the amendment, the state's supreme court can be expected to go even farther than the U.S. Supreme Court ever did in undoing the state's parental consent laws," in part by "outlawing any legal requirement for a parent to be notified about or consent before an abortion—or any other procedure related to 'reproduction decisions'—is performed on their child." https://twitter.com/i/status/1636019433578672130 - Play Video https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/05/23/va-cant-account-187-million-emergency-covid-19-funding.html VA Can't Account for $187 Million in Emergency COVID-19 Funding The Department of Veterans Affairs can’t account for at least $187 million in supplementary COVID-19 funding spread across more than 10,000 transactions related to the pandemic, according to a House oversight committee. Congress and the VA are at odds over the department's handling of nearly $37 billion in additional funding it received to address the COVID-19 pandemic, with House Veterans Affairs Committee leaders on both sides of the aisle critical of its failure to account for every dime. Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and ranking member Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., praised the department for its pandemic response overall but called the VA out for its inability to account for the money, during a hearing sidetracked by GOP rancor over the department's messaging on debt ceiling legislation. Between 2020 and 2021, the VA received roughly $37 billion to address COVID-19 response, including an initial $60 million, followed by $19.6 billion in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and another $17 billion in the American Rescue Plan. As part of the deal to receive the funding, the department was required to account for its spending, a mandate underscored by passage in November 2021 of the VA Transparency and Trust Act. Across a series of 40 reviews and reports, the VA Office of Inspector General found numerous accounting issues involving the COVID-19 funds, including a lack of visibility over payroll, some contracts and medical supplies. The IG said the problems are attributable to the department's decentralized management structure, as well as an outdated financial information technology software – that it doesn't expect to modernize for another decade. It determined that the department was challenged by inaccurate payroll accounting; used manual transfers and adjustments to its financial management systems that led to at least 53 reporting errors; had problems with supply acquisition, such as duplicate purchases; and failed to properly oversee its efforts to provide telehealth hardware to veterans, namely distributing tablet computers and cell phones so they could access health care but not recouping the equipment when the veteran failed to use it. Given the issues, both Bost and Takano said they have concerns for the $2.1 billion remaining in American Rescue Plan funds, with Bost and fellow Republicans saying the money should be returned, while Takano pressed the VA to be more transparent as it continues using the funding. VA officials told the committee Tuesday that the department will spend the remaining American Rescue Plan money by the end of the fiscal year for programs initiated during the pandemic such as housing and telehealth for homeless veterans; prosthetics and medical research, including studies of long COVID; and on preventing the spread of contagious diseases in hospital and administrative settings. https://www.outkick.com/matt-araiza-jets-workout-allegations-cleared-up/ NEW YORK JETS WORKING OUT MATT ARAIZA TWO WEEKS AFTER PUNTER’S NAME WAS CLEARED OF GANG RAPE ALLEGATIONS Matt Araiza has landed his first workout with an NFL team since being cut by the Buffalo Bills ahead of last season over gang rape allegations. The New York Jets are giving the free-agent punter a look, according to Adam Schefter. Matt Araiza was cut by the Bills in August 2022 shortly after an allegation was made public that he had taken part in the gang rape of a minor while attending San Diego State. Fast-forward nine months to May of this year, and it has been determined that he was not present at the time of the incident that allegedly took place in October 2021. The transcript of a meeting between the accuser and prosecutors was brought to light just over two weeks ago in which investigators explained that they do not believe Araiza was present at the time of the alleged assault. Prosecutors in the San Diego District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges, but Araiza is still facing a civil suit that he has no plans of settling anytime soon. Despite that there wasn’t a single fact was known about the alleged incident, the Bills caved to the portion of the public who had already deemed the punter guilty and cut him shortly before the start of the 2022 NFL regular season.

The test results are in, and America's children are failing history and civics.According to the “Nation's Report Card,” just 13% of eighth graders are proficient in U.S. history, and only 22% are proficient in civics.Every four years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress captures how well America's students are performing in major subjects. The latest scores, released this week, are “the lowest numbers ever recorded for the NAEP scores in civics and in history over the past 25 years,” says Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow in higher education reform at The Heritage Foundation.Kissel says there is no doubt that school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the learning loss. As for the drop in proficiency in history and civics, he says, "I would guess that after the Black Lives Matter movement got popular in 2020, a lot of teachers changed their curriculum around and taught less of the basics and more activism-type topics, and that might have been a factor as well.”In response to the troublingly low test scores, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona issued a written statement.“We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America's history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works,” Cardona said.He added: “Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”“He's wrong on both of those points,” Kissel says of President Joe Biden's education secretary. “His solution is really the opposite of what schools need to do.” Kissel joins this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why America's kids are floundering in history and civics classes, and to offer practical solutions to repair America's failing education system.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The test results are in, and America's children are failing history and civics.   According to the “Nation’s Report Card,” just 13% of eighth graders are proficient in U.S. history, and only 22% are proficient in civics.   Every four years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress captures how well America’s students are performing in […]

After a four-day search, police say they've arrested a suspect in last week's massacre in Texas that left five people dead including a mother and her 9-year-old child. Findings by the National Assessment for Educational Progress show that most students in the US are struggling in subjects like civics and history. And the Federal Reserve is expected to make its tenth interest rate hike as it struggles to rein in inflation.

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde discussed the effects of the pandemic and the rise in telehealth services on the ongoing prescription drug shortages and student behavior.TimestampsPart 1: "They all fell into a heap, kicking and punching." (2:29)Part 2: "A 10% increase from 2020." (6:46)Part 3: "Schedule II Controlled Substances." (10:42)Part 4: "The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress." (13:50)Part 5: "Aggressive marketing practices." (19:35) Part 6: "Unprecedented demand may cause intermittent delays." (23:16) =======Organize your work and life, finally.Become focused, organized, and calm with Todoist. The world's #1 task manager and to-do list app.Start for free=======Receive $25 off orders of $149+ with code SWAPSRF at Snake River Farms!Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a beginner to beef, the pioneers of American Wagyu have got you covered with $25 off your order.Shop Delicious Meats Now=======Turn your Airtable or Google Sheets into modern business tools you need.Softr lets you stop waiting for developers. Build software without devs. Blazingly fast. Trusted by 100,000+ teams worldwide.Start building now.=======Sesame Care - Doctor appointments as low as $19.Find the best price for the highest quality physicians. Book an appointment in minutes.Get Started=======Compliantly hire anyone, anywhere, in 5 minutes with Deel.Deel is your one-stop shop for hiring, paying, and managing your remote team. We stay on top of local labor laws across the world to ensure compliance and mitigate risk so that you don't have to.Get Started=======Shut The Box Game.Dating back to 12th century France, sailors cherished playing Shut The Box Game. In modern times whether you're camping with friends or relaxing with family, you'll have endless fun with this easy-to-learn game! Buy 2, Get 1 Free, plus free shipping within the United States.Get Started=======Support the show

According to the recently released results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, American students across the country are scoring lower on math and reading. But before we panic, it's important to put those results in context, and consider what evaluations can actually tell us. Guest: Jack Schneider, associate professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and co-host of the education policy podcast “Have You Heard.” If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the recently released results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, American students across the country are scoring lower on math and reading. But before we panic, it's important to put those results in context, and consider what evaluations can actually tell us. Guest: Jack Schneider, associate professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and co-host of the education policy podcast “Have You Heard.” If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What data from the “nation's report card” shows about how students progressed during the pandemic — and why people like Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are calling the results “appalling and unacceptable.”Read more:This week the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “nation's report card,” was released for the first time since 2019. Widely considered to be the most comprehensive look at how students are progressing academically, it showed that during the pandemic students across the country fell behind dramatically in math and reading. Education reporter Laura Meckler reports on what the data means and what educators and parents can do to counteract the learning loss.