Jill Barshay
@jillbarshay.bsky.social
4K followers 830 following 250 posts
I write about education for The Hechinger Report. Sign up for my once-a-week (always free) newsletter: https://hechingerreport.org/proofpoints/
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jillbarshay.bsky.social
Listen to yesterday's (Tuesday, Aug 26th) segment on @npr.org 1a where I talk about the Trump administration's new college admissions data collection -- and how it's bypassing the usual tech review process. wamu.org/story/25/08/...
The Trump administration scrutinizes higher education
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Education to collect extensive admissions data from colleges and universities.
wamu.org
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Tune into @npr.org‬ 1A show at 11am today, 8/26. Host Jenn White will be interviewing me about the Trump administration's new college admissions data collection and why stats experts think it could be a trap for higher education. wamu.org/show/1a/
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Absenteeism is big biz and companies are peddling costly services and tech solutions to schools. Here's a sampling of what schools that have succeeded in reducing their chronic absenteeism rates are actually doing. (Spoiler: outside vendors not required). hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
Adding bus stops, serving biscuits and gravy, and catching butterflies: How schools are tackling absenteeism
Schools are struggling to bring students back after the pandemic
hechingerreport.org
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Curious which conference address this issue?
jillbarshay.bsky.social
I've seen another version of this problem with "mastery-based grading." Students don't bother to study for the initial test because they know they can retake it infinite times and raise their score. If they teacher rewrites the test for every retake, it can work in theory. But not realistic.
Reposted by Jill Barshay
ilanahorn.bsky.social
my students back in 1994 told me:
if you skip 1st period, you are sleeping in
if you skip 4th period, you are going to lunch early
if you skip 5th period, you stayed at lunch late
if you skip 6th period, you went home early

i asked what you are doing if you skip 2nd or 3rd:

"getting high"
jillbarshay.bsky.social
*achievement (I could work on my personal spelling achievement while posting on social media. :))
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Thank you for sharing this
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Many students who skip school complain that school is "boring." This raises big questions about whether school needs to be as entertaining at scrolling through TikTok videos or if kids can adjust to the fact that a certain amount of slow, boring is necessary for learning. (4/5)
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Well-intentioned efforts to help students catch up at school and make up missed work are actually making it easier for students to skip school. (3/5)
jillbarshay.bsky.social
It's not just a problem for low-income children, among whom it is most severe. Everyone -- even high income and high achieving students -- is missing a lot more school these days. (2/5)
jillbarshay.bsky.social
Absenteeism rates at schools across the nation have come down a bit in recent years, but they're still stubbornly higher than they used to be before the pandemic. Some surprising things I have learned. (1/5)
Reposted by Jill Barshay
nirvishah.bsky.social
Of note: Before firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Trump fired the head of the National Center for Education Statistics: hechingerreport.org/proof-points... via @jillbarshay.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org ⬇️
Suddenly sacked
Former education stats chief describes her final days under DOGE
hechingerreport.org
jillbarshay.bsky.social
One GOP lawmaker is publicly protesting Education funding cuts. Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb wrote a letter bacon.house.gov/uploadedfile... to OMB and issued a press release.
bacon.house.gov
Reposted by Jill Barshay
Another terrifically reported piece that tells the human story and the policy fallout
jillbarshay.bsky.social
And the exact circumstances of her dismissal were chilling -- both figuratively and literally. Please read if you have some time today. (3/3)
hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
Suddenly sacked
Former education stats chief describes her final days under DOGE
hechingerreport.org
jillbarshay.bsky.social
In my story, I reported that an Ed Dept official said that federal data is safe and will soon be transferred to IES’s secure servers. Just learned from a former senior ED official that "IES doesn't have secure servers. That was part of the problem." hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
Suddenly sacked
Former education stats chief describes her final days under DOGE
hechingerreport.org
jillbarshay.bsky.social
2 stories today. Supreme Court overturned lower court order to bring back fired employees at the Ed Dept. Employees are out. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p... And my story this morning describes congressionally mandated activities that cannot be done without them. hechingerreport.org/proof-points...