Explainers

Go deeper on the latest education issues with these explainers from Education Week
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Education Issues, Explained
Browse research-based background explainers on the most important education issues.
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Activists demonstrate as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on a pair of cases that could decide the future of affirmative action in college admissions, in Washington, Oct. 31, 2022. As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most Americans say the court should allow consideration of race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students' race should play a significant role in decisions.
Activists demonstrate as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on a pair of cases that could decide the future of affirmative action in college admissions on Oct. 31, 2022. Most Americans say the court should allow consideration of race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students' race should play a significant role in decisions.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Equity & Diversity Explainer What Is Affirmative Action? How a Supreme Court Decision Could Impact K-12 Schools
Experts talk about what affirmative action is, how it's worked, and what's at stake—including for K-12 schools.
Ileana Najarro, Eesha Pendharkar & Mark Walsh, June 20, 2023
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1 min read
Illustration of a giant red addition symbol on a field of numbers
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Mathematics Explainer How Addition Fluency Develops: A Visual Explainer
From basic counting to automatic recall, see how students learn to grasp their addition facts.
Vanessa Solis & Stephen Sawchuk, May 11, 2023
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1 min read
Photo collage of computer with pixelated image of girl.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Classroom Technology Explainer AI Literacy, Explained
Now that AI is expected to influence fields from medicine to policing, what do students need to understand about the technology?
Alyson Klein, May 10, 2023
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10 min read
Conceptual Illustration of various math symbols floating above a grid and waves.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
Mathematics Explainer What Is Math 'Fact Fluency,' and How Does It Develop?
Here's why math fact fluency matters, and what we know from research about teaching strategies and timed exercises.
Stephen Sawchuk, May 1, 2023
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6 min read
Illustration of a desk with a calculator and budget sheet.
vladwel/iStock/Getty
Special Education Explainer How Special Education Funding Actually Works
Special education is among the most complicated and misunderstood facets of America’s sprawling K-12 school landscape.
Mark Lieberman, April 27, 2023
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6 min read
Students at Sutton Middle School in Atlanta compare and contrast songs representing different eras in history during an International Baccalaureate immersion day on Feb. 14, 2020.
Students at Sutton Middle School in Atlanta compare and contrast songs representing different eras in history during an International Baccalaureate immersion day on Feb. 14, 2020.
Allison Shelley for EDUimages
Equity & Diversity Explainer Equity Audits in School Districts: An Explainer
Equity audits are systemic examinations of data to understand where gaps to access and challenges to educational equity exist.
Eesha Pendharkar, April 18, 2023
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7 min read
Illustration with scales holding books and cash
Liz Yap/Education Week/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Explainer Education Savings Accounts, Explained
Four states this year have passed laws allowing any parent to spend public dollars on private school tuition or other education expenses.
Libby Stanford & Mark Lieberman, March 27, 2023
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17 min read
Photo of librarian pushing book cart.
Wavebreak Media / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Explainer How School Libraries Buy Books, Struggle for Funds, and Confront Book Bans: An Explainer
Schools are under fire from some parent groups over books they deem explicit. This is how those books end up in their library collections.
Mark Lieberman, February 27, 2023
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12 min read
Open book with space theme complete with hand drawn astronaut and planets coming alive off the pages.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Explainer What Is Background Knowledge, and How Does It Fit Into the Science of Reading?
What a greater focus on content could mean for reading instruction.
January 30, 2023
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12 min read
Photograph of a group of young people holding their mobile phones together
iStock/Getty
Classroom Technology Explainer Is the Gas App Safe? Here's What You Need to Know
Gas is billed as a positive, safer alternative to other popular social media apps. But experts see problems.
Alyson Klein, January 18, 2023
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2 min read
Young writer looking at a flash card showing a picture of a dog and writing various words that begin with a "D" like dog, donut, duck and door.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Explainer 'Encoding' Explained: What It Is and Why It's Essential to Literacy
From children's earliest strokes on a page to letter formation and spelling, writing helps students connect speech to print.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 17, 2023
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7 min read
Conceptual Illustration of artificial intelligence superimposed over paper documents.
iStock/Getty
Classroom Technology Explainer What Is ChatGPT and How Is It Used in Education?
Some educators think the popular AI bot could revolutionize teaching. Others worry it will have the opposite effect.
Mark Lieberman, January 4, 2023
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2 min read
In this Sept. 7, 2018 photo, students socialize at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., after school let out. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices.
In this 2018 photo, students socialize at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., after school let out. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices.
Gillian Flaccus/AP
Equity & Diversity Explainer School Dress Code Debates, Explained
What are they, who do they serve, and do they need to be changed?
Eesha Pendharkar, December 27, 2022
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1 min read
Image of a classroom
Laura Baker/Education Week and Getty
School & District Management Explainer What to Know About PCBs in Schools: A Visual Primer
Key facts about a toxic chemical that continues to contaminate older schools.
Mark Lieberman, October 27, 2022
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12 min read
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