Sarah Schwartz is a reporter for Education Week who covers curriculum and instruction. Before joining the staff, she was as an Education Week intern, covering education technology. She has also worked at a middle school in New York City.
Students at R. Brown McAllister Elementary School use different strategies in phonemic awareness during literacy instruction on March 19, 2025, in Concorn, N.C. Teaching spelling in foundational-skills lessons can improve students' reading, research shows.
A student works on a math problem during a 5th grade class at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps. The Trump administration says it will prioritize grants that promote similar state-based math education efforts.
First grader Kamila Reyes works on an assignment in Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s dual-language class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, on Sept. 3, 2025. The district is making cross-language connections a central part of its shift to the science of reading.
Tenth grader Landon Hackney makes an argument during civics class at Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek, N.C., on Nov. 5, 2019. The U.S. Department of Education will promote "patriotic education" in civics and history classrooms.
Eighth graders learn about the value and shape of matter while building containers to hold liquid during a science class at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland on Oct. 24, 2024, in Baltimore. Nationally, 8th graders lost ground in science, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Students listen to social studies teacher Ella Pillitteri during a 7th grade civics class at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., on April 16, 2024. Civics teachers say they are struggling not to run into controversy when teaching core topics like the separation of powers as President Trump's administration continues to push constitutional boundaries.
Seniors at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in San Francisco practice the use of a pipette as part of a STEM initiative on April 29, 2024. Science teachers say they often have to shore up students' math skills in their lessons.
Singer Taylor Swift, left, and Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce, front right, take in one of the games of the Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., on June 12, 2025. Their engagement caused educators in some schools to make an announcement—and others to be grateful for cellphone restrictions.
A student in Lynne Martin's 5th grade class studies math using a Chromebook at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Some teachers, worried about an over-saturation of digital devices, are now ditching the popular tech tools.
A student works a problem in a 2nd grade math class at Place Bridge Academy, May 20, 2025, in Denver. The math instructional strategies that teachers employ can vary depending on whether they trained as general or special educators—a divide researchers say could hurt struggling students.
First graders take a closer look at bees during a class lesson. Science is often neglected in the early grades, but new research suggests that young students who are exposed early to science instruction do better on science exams—potentially setting them up for later success in the discipline.
A first grade teacher greets her class in front of Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, April 29, 2021. New Jersey and other states waived some certification requirements for teachers during the pandemic to ease hiring, but the results of those policies contained some tradeoffs for teacher quality.
First grade students listen as their teacher Megan Goes helps them craft alternate endings for stories they wrote together at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023. In reading classrooms nationwide, teachers tend to mix core and supplemental materials—whether out of necessity or by design.
First grader Geniss Gibbs practices reading skills at Eastern Elementary School in Washington, N.C., on May 23, 2022. Although districts are choosing new curricula purportedly aligned with evidence-based reading practices, they still frequently supplement with other teaching materials.
A student works on math problems in a classroom in Compton, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2025. At least one state, Louisiana, is now investing in training all its middle school math teachers on how they can build on skills learned in elementary math.
Third-grader Fallon Rawlinson reads a book at Good Springs Elementary School in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. Many more states and districts are emphasizing evidence-based practices, including phonics, in reading programs. But the U.S. Department of Education's withholding of teacher-training funding could stymie some of those efforts.