Education
OPINION: Tenure is under attack nationwide, threatening academic freedom and sending chills to faculty
Academic freedom is not a gift. It is a structure long protected by tenure, a contract with no expiration date that guarantees procedural protections to faculty.  Tenure has granted faculty at U.S. colleges and universities the rights to peer review, committee delibera
By The Hechinger Report
Why India’s Infosys has a university of its own
MYSORE, India — Employers around the world share a familiar complaint: Universities often don’t prepare students for fast-changing job demands. Too many new graduates need extra preparation before they’re workforce-ready.  In India, rather than waiting for higher education to catch up, major e
By The Hechinger Report
More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, new projection shows
CRAFTSBURY COMMON, Vt. — More than a dozen newborn lambs cavorted around a fenced-in yard beneath the scrutiny of their mothers and a few watchful students taking turns attending to them. The lambs’ successful births have been a needed bright spot at tiny Sterling College, which uses a 130-acre far
By The Hechinger Report
OPINION: Too many community college students never finish what they started, and that must change
When policymakers debate whether community colleges should offer bachelor’s degrees, the arguments often sound abstract: mission creep, duplication, threats to university enrollment.  Yet for the students that community colleges serve and the industries struggling to fill essential roles, comm
By The Hechinger Report
More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, a new projection shows
As one Vermont college finishes its last semester, an estimated 442 others may be in trouble.
By NPR Education
Colleges are trying to boost student voting. A Trump probe freezes data for that work
To figure out how to boost student voting, colleges have relied on a study about campus voter registration and turnout rates. A Trump administration investigation has cut schools off from new data.
By NPR Education
Public university professors in Texas say a new law restricts their academic freedom
Public universities across Texas have instituted sweeping changes in recent months, from canceling gender studies programs to directing faculty to sign a pledge not to indoctrinate students.
By NPR Education
Youth drug use is down, but overdoses have risen. One town’s schools have a possible solution
FORT KENT, Maine — Michael Robertson struggled in school almost from the very beginning. But it was in seventh grade, when he started smoking cigarettes and drinking, that school seemed to become nearly unbearable to him. “There was always an excuse for why he couldn’t go to school,” said his mothe
By The Hechinger Report
PARENT VOICE: Children with special needs are too often failed by our education system
As a mom of a child with special needs, I often spend the majority of my day filing insurance forms for reimbursement. I can spend hours on the phone trying to find out why coverage was denied for my child’s therapy. Usually, it is due to an error, but there are other times when we […] The po
By The Hechinger Report
The quest to build a better AI tutor
It’s easy to get swept up in the hype about artificial intelligence tutors. But the evidence so far suggests caution.  Some studies have found that chatbot tutors can backfire because students lean on them too heavily, get spoonfed solutions and fail to absorb the material. Even when AI tutors
By The Hechinger Report
Trump squeezed Brown U. for $50 million in job training. Here’s who gets the money
CRANSTON, R.I. — Before he landed in prison three years ago for selling drugs, Joe worked on and off as a construction laborer. In his free time, he’d do little projects around the house, his youngest daughter by his side.  “I always liked working with my hands,” said Joe, whose last name is b
By The Hechinger Report
More teens are getting hooked on gambling. Parents say it often goes undetected
The explosion of online gambling and sports betting, as well as the advertising behind it, is attracting a growing number of young people, most of them boys.
By NPR Education
Delaying kindergarten may have limited benefit
When my son was about to turn 5, I was faced with a decision that may be familiar to parents of children whose birthdays are close to kindergarten enrollment cutoff dates. In my local school district, children must be 5 years old on or ahead of Sept. 1 before they enroll in kindergarten. With a [&#
By The Hechinger Report
The heat is on: As climate change threatens student athlete safety, states try to adapt
When George LaComb moved two years ago to a new high school in Orlando, Florida, he quickly noticed safety precautions that the football team at his previous, less affluent school never had.  There was a designated recovery room, staffed by a full-time athletic trainer, giant ice baths to cool
By The Hechinger Report
OPINION: Winning a prestigious award can make anyone’s day. But for a working-class student, it can transform a life
Fulbright award notifications were trickling in, and as the Fulbright campus adviser at Lehman College in the Bronx, I was glued to the application portal and kept my phone close. I often see results before the students I advise do, but I try to wait for them to contact me. As I dealt with tears [
By The Hechinger Report
The AI ‘hivemind’: Why so many student essays sound alike
Bruce Maxwell, professor of computer science at Northeastern University, was grading exams for his online master’s course in computer vision, a subfield in artificial intelligence that deals with images, when he first noticed that something felt … off. “I’d see the same phrases, the same commas, ev
By The Hechinger Report
Did New York blow $10 million on reading instruction that doesn’t work?
In April 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made a bold promise: The state would revamp its approach to literacy and boost state reading scores by double digits. “We’re turning the page on how we teach students how to read,” she said in front of a first grade class in Albany. The state would ra
By The Hechinger Report
Readers weigh in on our story about screen time for kids in school
Last fall, I was contacted by a reader who was so concerned about the pervasive use of screens in their young child’s classroom, they had pulled their child out of their local school district. The parent wanted to know if, from my reporting, I had heard of districts that were either not using scree
By The Hechinger Report
How a Minneapolis child care center survived an ICE surge — and is moving forward
MINNEAPOLIS — On a frigid February afternoon at a Spanish-immersion child care center, toddlers grabbed puffy coats out of cubbies as parents helped them pull on mittens and hats before heading home. In an office down the hall, Michael, the husband of the center’s director, stared intently at a com
By The Hechinger Report
Child care centers tap retirees to fill staffing gaps
DENVER — It was nap time at Family Star Montessori, and Sue Alexander, a retired accountant, settled onto the floor beside a little girl named Ophelia. The child leaned against her and announced: “I love squishy things.”  Alexander’s “squishy thing” — her arm — just ear
By The Hechinger Report
On-demand college counseling, courtesy of AI
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — At 16, Khloe Watson-Barrett already knows she wants to be a lawyer. She also knows she’ll soon have to run the gauntlet of the high-stakes college admissions process, now that she’s past the halfway point of her junior year in high school. “It’s nerve-wracking,” Watson-Barrett said
By The Hechinger Report
OPINION: ICE operations cause deep psychological trauma for students, declining enrollment and diminishing job paths
Educators nationwide are grappling with the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on the homes of their students. Teachers face crying, worried children after their family members have been taken away.  Traumas like these have long-term effects on the mental health, well-being an
By The Hechinger Report
How colleges are reconnecting with students who left before earning degrees
More than 43 million Americans have some college credit but no degree. Institutions have been partnering with a national organization to help those students re-enroll and finish their credential.
By NPR Education
Green schools = big savings
In Warren County, Kentucky, the school district saved more than $2 million in utility costs since retrofitting five schools with solar panels and introducing other energy efficiencies. In Jamestown, Rhode Island, installing solar panels at two schools is saving the district more than $60,000 per ye
By The Hechinger Report
Urged to speak out, education researchers face a high-stakes choice
It’s a bit like asking patients in intensive care to make the case for their own treatment.  Federal education research — the system that tracks student learning and evaluates what works — has been battered by mass firings, contract cuts and cancellations, and stalled grant funding. Many resea
By The Hechinger Report