Struggles with reading comprehension. Debates over the role of social-emotional learning in classrooms. The prevalence of cheating through the use of AI.
Those are just a few of the topics that made EdWeek’s list of most popular stories of 2025.
Readers’ interests spanned subjects including the impact of federal budget cuts, how districts make decisions about curriculum, boys’ developmental and academic challenges, and the Trump administration’s changes to the K-12 landscape.
EdWeek compiled the list based on multiple engagement metrics—total views, time spent on the page, and social interactions, among other factors.
Here are the top 10:
Reading comprehension teaching has improved—but not nearly enough
This story by Sarah Schwartz looks at a review paper authored by researchers from six different universities, which found that English/language arts teachers across grades K-12 aren’t regularly using what research shows to be the most effective strategies for helping students understand text.
More recent studies in the analysis suggest that uneven performance may be beginning to shift.
The story’s popularity reflects the intense interest in schools in finding strategies that will help struggling readers—a recurrent theme in this year’s list.
Elementary students can’t manage their emotions. What schools can do to help
Teachers have seen a troubling rise in students’ lack of self-regulation and their inability to manage behaviors and emotions.
Those struggles were evident after the pandemic among the youngest elementary school students, but they’ve since become a larger problem among older elementary students, too, explained EdWeek’s Lauraine Langreo.
Her story explores the nature of those challenges, and some of the strategies school districts have tested to help.
Does teaching “sight words” contradict the science of reading?
In this story, Schwartz explores whether putting an emphasis on “sight words"—common words that students need to recognize automatically—in literacy instruction aligns with the principles of the “science of reading.”
Research has shown that phonics instruction—teaching children how letters represent sounds and blend together to form words—is the most effective way to teach beginning readers how to identify new words.
The story examines where practices align and diverge between evidence-based approaches and how instruction is playing out in many classrooms.
Ed. Dept. says SEL can ‘veil’ discrimination. What does this mean for schools?
This story by Jennifer Vilcarino and Arianna Prothero looked at a recent wave of criticism directed at social-emotional learning from the Trump administration and conservative activists.
Many school districts have come to rely on SEL to help students with skills like self-management and responsible decision-making. Yet it has come under fire from conservative policymakers, particularly in states such as Florida. The Trump administration has attacked diversity programs in schools, and warned in a FAQ statement that it viewed SEL as a potential “discriminatory” practice in disguise.
Science of reading advocates underscore: It’s not just about phonics
The idea that the evidence base in reading instruction only supports phonics instruction has been “hard to dislodge,” an advocate for evidence-based practices in that subject explains in this popular story.
Advocates are putting more emphasis on language development, reading comprehension, and the various social and cultural factors that influence students’ ability to learn to read well.
The goal is to lay the foundation for a truly “comprehensive approach for infusing evidence-based practices throughout all facets of reading instruction,” Schwartz writes.
Why school isn’t working for many boys, and what could help
EdWeek’s Elizabeth Heubeck explores boys’ struggles as measured by an array of academic and social-emotional benchmarks, starting in preschool and extending through high school and college. Heubeck talks to academic researchers and educators who are trying to uncover the root causes of the gender disparities.
She also draws on a nationally representative survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center of educators’ perceptions of boys’ behavior and engagement. Many educators say boys in their classes struggle to sit still, often appear less focused and engaged, and seem less inclined to take on leadership roles.
Trump tells states he’s holding back $6.8 billion for schools
The news in late June that the Trump administration was putting on hold nearly $6.8 billion in federal funding for K-12 schools shocked school districts across the country.
The money was legally required to start flowing a few days later, and so the decision left district leaders in a state of uncertainty, as EdWeek’s Mark Lieberman reported.
About a month later, the vast majority of that funding was abruptly unfrozen. But the high-stakes stop-and-start was one of several decisions by the administration to interrupt funding streams to schools, leaving K-12 leaders uncertain about the stability of myriad programs they count on.
Researchers created a phonics program with ‘dramatic’ results. Here’s how it works
In yet another highly popular reading story, Schwartz reported on a study that offered evidence of big gains in students’ reading skills from using one specific phonics program. The findings also suggested that strong implementation is critical to getting strong results.
The program is a foundational-skills curriculum, UFLI Foundations, created by researchers at the University of Florida Literacy Institute. It produced tangible gains among kindergarten and 1st grade students, when compared to other reading methods.
Educators reeling as Trump takes ‘sledgehammer’ to Education Department contracts
In February, Alyson Klein and Sarah Sparks reported on a round of cuts imposed by the Trump administration on education programs valued at roughly $900 million.
Many of those programs targeted the U.S. Department of Education’s main research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences. Some researchers took a more favorable view, arguing that the cuts eliminated outdated programs and could make room for more efficient forms of gathering information on schools.
Trump admin. quietly rescinds guidance on English learners’ rights
In August, EdWeek’s Ileana Najarro learned that the Trump administration had quietly rescinded a letter that outlined for schools and districts how they can comply with their legal obligations to serve English learners.
Readers were highly interested. The move was just one of a raft of policy changes that advocates for English learners said would weaken protections for the nation’s 5 million English learners, as Najarro reported.
A Trump administration official said it rescinded the letter “because it is not aligned with administration priorities.”
The Dear Colleague letter itself was not legally binding, but outlined how schools and districts could meet their legal obligations to English learners under federal law. It spelled out issues that frequently arise in civil rights investigations into schools over serving English learners.
