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 practice exercises in phonemic awareness during literary instruction on March 19, 2025, in Concorn, N.C. Consensus exists that teaching students alphabetics, including phonics and phonemic awareness, is critical for reading—but which methods are the most efficient?
Julie Celestial, center, teaches her kindergarten class a literacy lesson at Mark Twain Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Proponents of a "speech-to-print" phonics approach say it works more efficiently than other methods. But research evidence is inconclusive.
Sixth graders read a passage and give constructive feedback to their partners during Nancy Barajas' class at Fairview Elementary School on May 6, 2026, in Modesto, Calif. New research shows the nation's 6th graders' reading scores have flatlined, and the lowest-performing students are losing ground.
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., left, listens as U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee meeting at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 30, 2026. The committee advanced two bills related to reading, as well as another opposing the transfer of certain U.S. Department of Education offices to other agencies.
The desktop of a student at the Wells Preparatory Elementary School reflects the literature they're studying in Charlotte Owens' fifth grade class on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. Research supports children reading over the summer—but not specifically assigning reading lists or holding kids accountable for completing them.
Research confirms what many educators know: chronic absenteeism undermines student academic recovery. A view of an empty classroom at a school in Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 12, 2026.
Children look at the Star Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired the lyrics of the American national anthem, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on June 10, 2025, in Washington.
Students at Hudson Primary School study about what it means to be a citizen in this March 24, 2026 photo. The Pasco County school district is expanding its civics education program amid a state and national push to do so.
Details of math homework photographed in Annandale, Va. on June 8, 2026. Many teachers use multiple math programs in their classrooms—and the content doesn't always line up.
Alex Lucas, right, a college adviser at Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan, N.C., works with junior Chloe Lester during an ACT prep session after school on March 11, 2014. ETS, another assessment organization, is acquiring ACT—though nothing will immediately change for students taking the ACT's college-entrance exam.
Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty <br/>
A classroom at an elementary school in Effie, La., on Aug. 22, 2025. Though debates over how to present the American story have been especially heated over the past five years, they've waxed and waned for decades.
Estes Elementary School kindergarten students Evelyn Bolmer, front left; Jase Bellamy, back right; and Eric Guarneros, front right, listen as their teacher Faith Harralson assists Bolmer with a math equation, as they ride pedal desks at school in Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 19, 2016. New research shows students who start kindergarten behind in reading and math are unlikely to catch up by 3rd grade.
State Board of Education Vice Chair Pam Little votes on a proposed required reading list during a meeting at the Barbara Jordan Building in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Critics have argued that both the list and proposed social studies standards attempt to embed religious teaching in public school classrooms.
A copy of one of the National Reading Panel's work products is shown in this June 17, 2026 photo. The influential report, now more than 25 years old, has long served as a cornerstone of the “science of reading” movement, shaping state legislation, curriculum, and teacher professional development.
An educator at Holcomb Elementary School in Oregon City, Ore. works with students on phonics and phonemic awareness on Feb. 5, 2025. New studies point to the mix of factors teachers should consider when selecting texts for students.
Students eat lunch at an elementary-middle school on May 7, 2026, in Detroit. The 2025 release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ Long-Term Trend data indicates that 13-year-old middle schoolers' scores in reading and math have stagnated, showing no statistically significant changes from the last test administration in 2023.