The hottest K-12 Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Education Topics

Advanced Math for Kids: Geometry and Algebra Are Secretly the Same

Kids Who Love Math • 83 implied HN points • 24 Mar 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Algebra can describe geometry: coordinates give points, equations like y = x make lines, and formulas like x^2 + y^2 = 25 make circles.
  2. Geometry and algebra are two languages for the same ideas, so switching between pictures and equations helps you understand and solve problems in physics, graphics, and engineering.
  3. A simple hands-on way to see this is to plug numbers into equations and plot the points so kids can watch shapes like parabolas and circles appear and build intuition.

What People Want From Our Schools Has Never Been Accomplished, Anywhere, Ever

Freddie deBoer • 8261 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. The idea that schools used to universally prepare everyone for the same academic track or that education can by itself erase class and racial gaps is a modern invention and has never been achieved anywhere.
  2. Bringing more people into formal schooling naturally lowers average test scores and completion rates because many newly included students are less prepared, so declining metrics often reflect wider access, not a sudden failure of schools.
  3. Economic changes like globalization, automation, and the decline of unionized middle-skill jobs removed pathways to good work for non-degree holders, and policymakers then pressured schools to fix that problem by pushing everyone toward college—something schools alone cannot realistically do.

the war on the talented and gifted

bad cattitude • 177 implied HN points • 14 Mar 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Public schools have moved to a lowest-common-denominator model that removed gifted programs and ability-based pacing, which warehouses students and crushes the curiosity of high-achievers.
  2. Structural choices—de-leveling, social promotion, centralized funding, rising behavior issues, weaker teacher pipelines, and shifting student demographics—create incentives that block real, high-quality instruction.
  3. The remedy is to restore ability tracking, discipline, ESL support, and true gifted options or adopt market solutions like vouchers, and fast-growing AI-based individualized learning will make alternatives irresistible if schools don’t adapt.

No, That's Not What "the Research" Says About Exam Schools

Freddie deBoer • 3960 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Studies using cutoffs and regression-discontinuity designs show that attending selective exam schools does not meaningfully boost test scores, college enrollment, or later earnings once you account for students' pre-entry ability.
  2. The schools' strong reputations come mainly from selecting already high-ability students, so student traits and background drive outcomes more than the school itself, and claims about lasting harm to bright kids stuck in regular classes lack solid support.
  3. That null effect matters for policy: trying to scale elite-school practices often fails, widening access to those schools may not change long-term results, and standardized tests can sometimes help talented disadvantaged students stand out.

EdTech Is Borrowing Zuckerberg's Playbook

After Babel • 2125 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Saying “there is no evidence of harm” is often used to block action, but demanding product-specific causal trials is usually impractical or unethical, so converging correlational evidence should be taken seriously.
  2. Broad rollout of classroom technology — for example in Utah after 2014 — coincided with reversed gains in reading and math, suggesting widespread EdTech can correlate with stagnation or decline rather than clear improvement.
  3. When billions and millions of children are affected, the burden should be on proving clear, durable benefits before wide deployment; choosing restraint and investing in proven interventions avoids large opportunity costs.
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Bad education is a terrible way to fight inequality

Noahpinion • 23353 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Basic math and reading skills have fallen sharply across the US, with many college entrants unable to do middle-school math or meet basic writing standards, forcing universities to place large numbers in remedial classes.
  2. The decline comes from multiple sources: pandemic learning loss, grade inflation and lowered K–12 standards, elimination of standardized tests, policies like “no zeros,” high absenteeism, and distractions such as phones, making grades a poor signal of real skills.
  3. Relaxing standards in the name of equity — effectively giving students a pass instead of educating them well — is a misguided approach that harms learners and is a counterproductive way to try to reduce inequality.

Exclusive: The First Antisemitism Lawsuit Against a U.S. State

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1340 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Jewish parents and civil-rights groups have filed the first antisemitism lawsuit against a U.S. state, saying California agencies failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, violence, and propaganda in public schools.
  2. The complaint alleges Jewish children are bullied by peers, targeted by teachers, and taught curricula that portray them as oppressors, while the state’s responses are slow and ineffective.
  3. Plaintiffs invoke California’s constitutional guarantee of equal education and point to a surge in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023 (with 2024 reaching record highs), and groups like the Brandeis Center and StandWithUs are representing the families.

Maybe Parents Are Just Misinvesting

Bet On It • 679 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. After basic stability is ensured, most common parental investments (extra activities, enrichment, busywork) add almost no extra benefit. Only extreme rescue from neglect or truly exceptional, specialized effort produces large gains.
  2. Small, immediate rewards tied to demonstrated mastery (for example, paying for 100% scores on Khan Academy units) can drastically speed learning and cut costs compared with typical schooling. Short daily practice, immediate feedback, and deadline incentives produced multi-grade progress in the example given.
  3. Ordinary parents can get big returns by swapping low-value time and money sinks for simple high-ROI tactics like focused practice, frequent assessment, immediate feedback, and demand-side incentives. Basic literacy and numeracy can often be taught far faster and cheaper than commonly assumed.

Homeschooling Isn’t for Everyone

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1210 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Taking children out of school can put their education at real risk, creating gaps in basic knowledge and skills.
  2. When parents use extreme or unconventional methods, homeschooling can lead to physical, emotional, or developmental harm for the child.
  3. Homeschooling is often associated with isolation, undereducation, and cultlike family dynamics, so it isn’t the right fit for every family or child.

Pending Change in Higher Ed

In My Tribe • 470 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Parents are moving away from public K–12 toward private schools and homeschooling, which expands the pool of families willing to try alternative higher-education models like UATX.
  2. UATX expects a fast surge in enrollment that could quickly change campus culture and shows how new providers can exploit demographic and recruitment problems facing legacy universities.
  3. Colleges now face a governance choice about how much to embrace AI; going all in will reshape hiring, curriculum, and budgets but risks alienating faculty, while hesitating risks becoming irrelevant.

Top Links 1022 NY public school maths. Unhistorical economics. Comprehension debt & Magic Flute.

Chartbook • 443 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. New York’s public school math scores are very low, showing many students are struggling with basic math.
  2. The phrase 'unhistorical economics' criticizes approaches that ignore historical context, warning this can lead to flawed economic analysis.
  3. 'Comprehension debt' refers to accumulating gaps in understanding that make future learning harder, and references like The Magic Flute are used to show how cultural knowledge and comprehension interact.

No More Gifted Students in Mamdani’s New York City

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1400 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. The new mayor plans to phase out the city’s gifted and talented kindergarten program, affecting roughly 18,000 current G&T students and about 2,500 new admits each year.
  2. Many parents and advocates warn that abolishing G&T would hurt high-achieving kids who need advanced academic support and runs counter to what families want.
  3. Critics frame the move as part of a broader progressive shift that challenges merit-based programs and point to other recent policy decisions they say have had harmful consequences.

Average is Over with AI

In My Tribe • 759 implied HN points • 01 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. The economy increasingly rewards people who can work well with AI, so those who complement machines will thrive while others doing automatable tasks lose opportunities.
  2. The Alpha model pairs AI-driven one-on-one learning in the morning with student-chosen project work in the afternoon, and it naturally selects for learners who can learn from AI and who push themselves to excel.
  3. Colleges and other institutions should move from lecturing and grading toward guiding and coaching, because conscientiousness and ambition plus the ability to use AI will determine who succeeds and will widen social and geographic divides.

Education Links, 2/18/2026

In My Tribe • 227 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Blurring high school, college, and career can give students real work experience, college courses, and employer-valued credentials before they graduate, making schooling more directly relevant to careers.
  2. Using metrics like cost per graduate or return on investment lets policymakers compare programs and see which models produce more graduates for the money, guiding funding and design decisions.
  3. Dollar-focused metrics miss important non-monetary benefits—like lifelong enrichment from arts—and overlook the value of creativity and combining skills, so education should also cultivate personal growth and skill-stacking.

Boys can read

Of Boys and Men • 167 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Boys lag behind girls in reading from early grades through high school, finishing roughly a year behind on average.
  2. Boys do a bit better in math, but that advantage is much smaller; math scores don’t explain college enrollment gaps the way GPA, course-taking, and college expectations do, which helps account for lower college enrollment among boys.
  3. Some tutoring and instructionally aligned programs show promise for closing the reading gap and may help boys more, but the evidence is limited and researchers should always report gender-disaggregated results so effective policies can be scaled.

Education Links, 1/25/2026

In My Tribe • 273 implied HN points • 25 Jan 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Top universities get far more of their revenue from endowments and research grants than from tuition, so students are a smaller part of the financial model.
  2. Many young people are skipping both factory jobs and high-end tech roles, creating a talent pipeline gap that schools could address by improving math prep, offering job shadowing, and creating tech pathways that don't require top-level math skills.
  3. Long-term success depends less on raw intelligence and more on character: initiative, self-control, good relationships, and doing real, meaningful projects help teenagers become thriving adults.

Mr. Mayor, Let the Kids Have a Snow Day

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 357 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Kids should get a real snow day to play outside, not be stuck doing remote lessons at home.
  2. City leaders plan to shift to remote learning for big storms, but the mayor still has time to change that plan.
  3. Remote snow-day lessons tend to be ineffective and steal a classic childhood chance for sledding and snowball fights.

The Department of Education Isn’t Going Anywhere

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 190 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Despite a presidential executive order to shut it down, the Department of Education is still operating and its budget was increased.
  2. Congress — with Democrats and some Republicans pushing back — refused to abolish the agency and approved $79 billion in funding, more than the White House requested.
  3. Executive orders alone can’t eliminate a federal agency, and appropriations plus political resistance kept the department intact and growing.

Antisemitism Investigations Hit Three Big Public School Districts

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 445 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. A House committee opened investigations into Fairfax County, Berkeley, and Philadelphia public school districts over allegations they failed to address antisemitism.
  2. The committee has asked each district for anonymized charts of antisemitic complaints and any documents or communications related to antisemitism, Judaism, or Israel.
  3. The probe, led by Republicans on the House Education Committee, warns the districts they could lose federal funding if found to have violated federal law.

Education Links, 11/21/2025

In My Tribe • 167 implied HN points • 21 Nov 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. A lot of teachers believe it's important to show students that America is a good country. Most teachers don't have extreme views and the idea that they're anti-American isn't true.
  2. Students should learn practical skills for the job market, especially in tech, rather than just theory. AI might change how software engineering is done, with most code being generated by machines in the future.
  3. High schoolers are increasingly taking college courses, showing families want a blended education. This shift suggests we need to create a more flexible learning path for students.

Conformity and Education

In My Tribe • 516 implied HN points • 16 Jul 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Many parents actually prefer a conforming and safe school environment for their kids rather than a strict focus on academic excellence.
  2. Colleges often fail to teach effectively because they don't measure or reward good teaching, focusing instead on research credentials.
  3. Active learning is known to be more effective, but many colleges still stick to old lecture methods because most people value conformity over true learning.

Who Needs a Professor?

UnfairNation by Ehsan Zaffar • 6 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26
🚌 Education K-12
  1. AI can answer many questions, so traditional lectures and the professor-as-knowledge-delivery model are becoming obsolete. Teachers now need to change how they assess and teach.
  2. AI democratizes access to tutoring and expertise, giving students without elite resources personalized, always-available help.
  3. Humans still matter for mentoring: teachers can push students, model changing your mind, and evaluate real understanding in ways AI can't. That makes mentoring, judgment, and assessment design the new core roles for educators.

Maybe K-12 schools should rebrand discipline

Sex and the State • 38 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Rebrand discipline as assistance: when a student disrupts class, remove them to get help from a counselor or support staff instead of using punishment.
  2. Treat misbehavior as a sign of unmet needs—like home trouble, learning differences, or mental health—because helping those needs is more effective for learning and more ethical than retribution.
  3. Shift resources and policy away from punishment and bloated administration toward counseling, tutoring, vocational options, and flexible learning to reduce racial punishment gaps and better support boys who act out.

How Thomas Sowell Thankfully Made Me A Contrarian Educator

Journal of Free Black Thought • 48 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
🚌 Education K-12
  1. Education quality shouldn't depend on the racial makeup of a school. A good education is about standards and hard work, not just the presence of different races.
  2. Objective standards in education are important. They give students the chance to prove themselves and build confidence, showing that anyone can succeed regardless of their background.
  3. Thomas Sowell highlights historical examples of successful black schools, teaching us that excellence can exist in all contexts if we focus on the right values and standards.