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Education news, analysis, and opinion about research about education

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September 17, 2026
082024 Opinion REMI hesitant to seek help ly
Liz Yap/Education Week and Canva
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Why ‘Just Ask for Help’ Isn't Enough for Teens—and What Schools Can Do Instead
Mental health messaging is out of step with what students actually need, explains one high schooler.
Aanya Remi, August 21, 2026
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4 min read
Abigail “Abby” Zwerner shares a moment with her mother Julie Zwerner after a verdict was reached in her lawsuit against the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, of Richneck Elementary School during proceedings at Newport News Circuit Court on Nov. 6, 2025 , in Newport News, Va. Zwerner was injured when a 6-year-old male student shot her while she was teaching. Violence against educators has risen since schools reopened after the pandemic.
Richneck Elementary schoolteacher Abigail Zwerner with her mother after a verdict was reached in her lawsuit against the school's assistant principal, Ebony Parker, at Newport News Circuit Court on Nov. 6, 2025 in Newport News, Va. A 6-year-old student brought a loaded gun to school that was later used to shoot Zwerner, despite her raising concerns with school officials.
Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via TNS
School & District Management Teachers Are Facing More Aggression at Work. How Can Schools Protect Them?
Teachers feel less victimized when they have their principal's support
Olina Banerji, August 20, 2026
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4 min read
Pre-K/kindergarten teacher Lisbeth McGregor instructs her students at Mackinac Island School, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. McGregor lives in St. Ignace and commutes back and forth daily to teach on the island.
Pre-K/kindergarten teacher Lisbeth McGregor instructs her students at Mackinac Island School, Sept. 24, 2025, on Mackinac Island, Mich. Research examining the academic benefits of pre-K shows mixed results.
John T. Greilick/The Detroit News via TNS
Early Childhood Does Pre-K Give Kids a Lasting Edge? Here's What the Latest Study Says
Several researchers have studied the effects of pre-K on future academic success, with mixed results.
Elizabeth Heubeck & Jennifer Vilcarino, August 20, 2026
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6 min read
Collage of a student with students in a hallway socializing and test paper fragements.
Laura Baker/Education Week + Canva
Student Well-Being & Movement From Our Research Center The Most Pressing Problems Schools Count on SEL to Address
Many educators use SEL strategies to help improve academic performance.
Arianna Prothero, August 17, 2026
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2 min read
Illustration of a child carrying an oversized yellow pencil while writing on the floor, surrounded by classroom desks and laptops, with a highlighted brain floating above their head.
Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
Teaching Opinion How Teaching Handwriting Supports Brain Development
Schools shouldn’t abandon handwriting instruction—including cursive—in the digital age.
Nicole Humlicek, August 17, 2026
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4 min read
Students at R. Brown McAllister Elementary School use exercises in phonemic awareness during literary instruction on March 19, 2025, in Concorn, N.C.
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?
Cornell Watson for Education Week
Reading & Literacy A New Phonics Debate Shows How the 'Science of Reading' Movement Is Evolving
Growing momentum behind 'linguistic' phonics has raised questions about how best to use classroom time.
Sarah Schwartz, August 13, 2026
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6 min read
School PatrolsLos Angeles, CA - August 14: Ron Gochez, a history teacher at Maya Angelou and member of Union del Barrio, looks for ICE activity during a patrol on the first day of school around Maya Angelou High School on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
Ron Gochez, a history teacher and member of Union del Barrio, looks for ICE activity during a patrol on the first day of school around Maya Angelou High School on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A new report found K-12 educators took on more work this past school year to care for immigrant students.
Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
School & District Management Immigration Enforcement Takes Heavy Emotional Toll on K-12 Educators
A new report documents how keeping students safe and focused became difficult amid ICE presence.
Ileana Najarro, August 13, 2026
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3 min read
Fifth grade students attend a math lesson with teacher Jana Lamontagne, right, during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Fifth grade students attend a math lesson with teacher Jana Lamontagne, right, during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., May 1, 2024.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
Mathematics Here's What Educators Say Makes Them Anxious About Math Teaching
Some educators dread teaching math, and that can affect their students' learning.
Evie Blad, August 12, 2026
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1 min read
HONOLULU, HI - OCTOBER 28, 2025: Seventh grade students work in a Coding and AI Data Sciences class. Kulia Academy, a public charter middle school, specializes in teaching students to the use of AI, artificial intelligence, and data science, on October 28, 2025 in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are 150 students in 6th and 7th grades.
Seventh-grade students work in a coding and AI data sciences class at Kulia Academy on Oct. 28, 2025. The public charter middle school in Honolulu, Hawaii, specializes in teaching students how to use data science and artificial intelligence to learn. Educators and parents see benefits if students learn more about data science and artificial intelligence, according to a new survey.
Photo by Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via AP
Artificial Intelligence Data Literacy Skills Seen as Key for Success in the Age of AI
Educators and parents see benefits if students learn more data literacy skills, survey shows.
Jennifer Vilcarino, August 11, 2026
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3 min read
The Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The Department of Education headquarters in Washington on Friday, July 17, 2026. Federal funding for education research may be starting to flow, even as the overall spending picture remains unclear.
Eric Lee for Education Week
Federal After Months of Standstill, Ed. Dept. Announces New Federal Research Funding
The agency outlined its fiscal 2027 grantmaking amid questions about its sluggish spending.
Stephen Sawchuk & Mark Lieberman, August 11, 2026
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7 min read
Julie Celestial, center, teaches her kindergarten class a literacy lesson at Mark Twain Elementary School in Long Beach, California on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 . A new bill could change how literacy is taught in elementary schools by providing transitional kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers with training and textbooks that stress what's known as science of reading, an approach to literacy that focuses heavily on phonics and foundational reading skills to combat California's literacy crisis. Though other states have shifted to this evidence-based reading, California's reading instruction has largely been left to the control of school districts, many of which have not made the switch. The school has begun their shift to a science of reading approach and are seen as an example for other California districts.
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.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via TNS
Reading & Literacy What is 'Linguistic' Phonics and Why Are Some Schools Adopting It?
A new question is emerging in the "science of reading": Is one type of phonics instruction better than another?
Sarah Schwartz, August 7, 2026
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8 min read
Students, from left, Araiza Maldonado Basilio, Alexa Velasquez Mendoza and Leslie Sandoval Reyes, open letters in 2023 informing them which Minnesota colleges and universities they were pre-accepted to as part of the state's Direct Admissions program.
From left, students Araiza Maldonado Basilio, Alexa Velasquez Mendoza, and Leslie Sandoval Reyes open letters in 2023 informing them which Minnesota colleges and universities they were pre-accepted to as part of the state's Direct Admissions program. As families conduct college searches, AI is playing a growing role in helping families understand and discover college choices, a new survey found.
Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS
College & Workforce Readiness AI Gains Ground as a College-Search Tool for Parents
A survey of parents of high school students finds more are turning to AI for information about college choices.
Mark Walsh, August 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Education technology companies market their products and services at the ISTE Live 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in late June in Orlando, Fla. Some school districts are now insisting that payments to ed-tech companies be linked to evidence that their products and services improve student learning.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
School & District Management Should Districts Pay Vendors Based on Student Outcomes? What the Research Says
Tying vendor pay to outcomes can help boost student achievement, researchers find.
Alyson Klein, August 6, 2026
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4 min read