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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 43m

This whole thread made me happy

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 4h

Learning styles, apex of the make-believe-but still believed pyramid

Peps @pepsmccrea.bsky.social · 4h

🎓 For more, check out this analysis of the wonky moral intuitions that underlie the learning styles myth:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...

Why the learning styles myth appeals and how to persuade believers otherwise

Many teachers and researchers, among others, continue to believe, despite the lack of evidence, that learning will be more effective if educators matc…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 5h

I heard students were using savemygpa.com for summarizing and studying, so got myself an account. Working through 117 flashcards on one of my own papers, and let's see how I do on the quiz.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 6h

Your data access (is) revoked.

[In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.]

Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 9h

Congratulations, you're department chair.

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 15h

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 6h

Congrats! It's a terrific paper.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 6h

This new study + a long research record is clear: distance to educational opportunity matters for college & K-12. Public policy can shorten the trip by siting college satellites and high-quality K12 schs where students live, not making young people choose between proximity to family & education.

abstract distance to degrees

Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access public colleges and universities, but there are heterogeneous effects across students – particularly with regard to distance to public two-year colleges (i.e., community colleges). White and higher-income students who live in a community college desert (i.e., at least 30 minutes driving time from the nearest public two-year college) substitute towards four-year colleges and are more likely to complete bachelor’s degrees. Meanwhile, Hispanic, lower-income, and to some extent, Black students respond to living in a community college desert by forgoing college enrollment altogether, reducing the likelihood that they earn associate’s degrees and reducing the likelihood that they ultimately transfer to four-year colleges and earn bachelor’s degrees. These relationships persist up to eight years following high school graduation, resulting in substantial long-term gaps in overall degree attainment by race-ethnicity and income in areas with limited postsecondary access.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 22h

I want inflatable frogs on the floor. Whatever it takes to capture attention these days

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

“the differences we observe between tracks already existed for a large part at the start of secondary school, suggesting that the track that students enrol does not have a causal effect on democratic and civic engagement.”

Herman van de Werfhorst 🟥 @hermwerf.bsky.social · Jul 1

New paper out with the @adkspanel.bsky.social team, in the @bjsociology.bsky.social. I was happy to lead this paper on track differences in civic engagement, using four-year panel data of the ADKS (DAPDV) project, from the start of the tracked system (roughly age 12-16) doi.org/10.1111/1468... >

Track Differences in Civic and Democratic Engagement During Secondary Education: A New Panel Study From the Netherlands

Whether students educated in different ability tracks in secondary education develop different levels of civic and democratic engagement is yet unclear. To explore this issue, we focus on how schools...

doi.org

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

my so-called life is the only reason to say jared leto

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

15% of American kids are served by IDEA.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Better get mine before they are sold out

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

the possibilities for dark academic novels are ever expanding: tenure clocks, once ticking in iambic pentameter, now thump Kid Rock; in the library, every couch tagged "Reserved, J.D.V"; in Western civ, Lysistrata deplatformed by podcast bros.

Dark Academia: A Starter Pack

www.nytimes.com

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

thank you for putting this together!

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

I love this. Do you take attendance in large lectures besides this incentive?

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

But there's no money to be made on that.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

My two cents: it gives the school system a much larger role in contributing to disparities than the literature suggests and omits family structure. I closed the window so will leave that next experiment to you :)

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

After reading this article, I asked ChatGPT 5, "Why do low income students in the United States perform worse on reading and math standardized tests than high income students?" I'd be interested to know how education researchers rate the degree of liberal/conservative "bias."

Why do low-income students in the United States perform worse on reading and math standardized tests than high income students?
ChatGPT said:
Thought for 4 seconds

Great question. Short version: test-score gaps mostly reflect differences in the conditions children grow up and learn in, not differences in ability. Here are the biggest, well-documented drivers.

Why the gap exists

Early childhood disparities: Lower-income children hear fewer words, have less access to books and enriching childcare, and face more stressors in the first 5 years—critical for language and numeracy foundations.

Health & stress: Higher rates of food insecurity, asthma, uncorrected vision/hearing issues, sleep disruption, lead exposure, and chronic stress impede attention, memory, and attendance.

School resources & teacher exposure: Schools serving low-income communities often have larger classes, fewer advanced courses, higher teacher turnover, and fewer experienced or subject-specialist teachers—especially in math.

Curriculum & tracking: Early tracking and uneven access to rigorous coursework reduce time on grade-level material; remediation-heavy placements can become self-fulfilling.

Attendance & mobility: More absences (illness, work/family responsibilities, unreliable transport) and school moves cause instructional gaps.

Out-of-school learning time: Less access to tutoring, camps, museums, test prep, and stable study space; more summer learning loss.

Peer and neighborhood effects: Concentrated poverty raises the prevalence of disruptions and lowers access to social/academic supports.

Digital divide: Less reliable internet/devices limits homework quality and feedback loops with teachers.

Bias & expectations: Lowered expectations, stereotype threat, and disproportionate discipline reduce instructional time and motivation.

Measurement effects: Standardized tests reward familiarity with test language and formats; differences in test prep and comfort can widen measured gaps.

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Reposted by Jen Jennings

Lucy Sorensen @lucy-sorensen.bsky.social · 2d

New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️

edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302

With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon

Contemporary Child Labor and Declining School Attendance in the U.S.

The United States has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade, coinciding with declines in K-12 school attendance and enrollment. We examine the causal rela...

edworkingpapers.com

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 2d

www.usnews.com

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 2d

For some, the biggest plot twist of Bad Bunny week is that Puerto Ricans are American citizens.

Poll finds Americans don’t know Puerto Ricans are US citizens

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 2d

His firm has sponsored H1B visas, so this "some talented domestic students and scholars have been crowded out of enrollment and employment opportunities by international students" business is precious.

apollo global management H1B visa sponsorships

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 2d

"Nearly 60% of teachers pick up at least one extra job outside of their primary teaching work."

I haven't seen comparison data from peer countries, but would predict we win the Stupid Education Policy Olympics on teacher pay.

'It's Rough Out Here': Why Most Teachers Work a Second Job (and What It Means)

Those with education-related second jobs are more likely to stay than those with non-related gigs.

www.edweek.org

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 3d

Since you are in a demography paradise, you could formally test this at the population level, using an exogenous shock like the pill, Roe, availability of medical abortion, or Dobbs to see how partner and job quality changed. Or comp. sex ed, per @nickdemark.bsky.social's paper.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 3d

Very exciting and congrats!

Advocating for a chapter on how virtual schools are consistently low-performing. And now expanding in all of these ESA states.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 3d

Conclusion seeks p-values: "We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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