Education
What 'evidence-based' actually means when an edtech vendor says it
Under federal law there are four tiers of evidence, and most sales decks are quoting tier IV — the tier that means 'a logic model.'
Evidence desk
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Education
What 'evidence-based' actually means when an edtech vendor says it
Under federal law there are four tiers of evidence, and most sales decks are quoting tier IV — the tier that means 'a logic model.'
Trends
The pandemic's test-score gap, in the federal government's own numbers
2022 brought the largest math declines in the NAEP's history; two years later, the 2024 results show recovery stalled and reading still falling.
EdTech News
2U's bankruptcy restructuring is done — and the OPM model it built shrinks on
The online-program manager emerged from Chapter 11 in late 2024 with debt cut and owners changed; the university partnerships that made it big keep expiring.
Trends
Why AI detectors still get student writing wrong
A Stanford study found detectors flagged 61% of non-native English writers' essays as AI-generated, and a growing list of universities is dropping the tools rather than trusting the score.
Technology
AI detectors don't prove a student used AI to cheat
Turnitin's own documentation calls its report inconclusive, and independent research finds detectors misfire most against non-native English writers and Black students.
Teachers
What FERPA actually permits before a new app touches student data
The 'school official' exception is why a class can start using an app without a permission slip for every family — but only when a vendor clears three specific conditions written into federal regulation, not its own privacy page.
Education
Retrieval practice works, but not as much as trainers claim
A 2007 federal practice guide gave testing-based study strategies its strongest evidence rating, but newer classroom studies show the real gains are smaller and more subject-dependent than professional-development slides suggest.
EdTech News
What FERPA actually lets edtech vendors do with student data
The law doesn't ban vendor access to school records. It makes the district the gatekeeper — and most of what happens next depends on a contract clause few people read.
Culture
How a book actually gets pulled from a school library
Removing a title from a school shelf is rarely one decision. It is a process with a form, a committee, and an appeal — and 2025’s record numbers show who is actually setting it in motion.
Careers
Micro-credentials rarely change teaching or pay, research shows
Digital badges are pitched as a cheaper, faster alternative to a master's degree. The strongest independent study on the market found most teachers who start one never finish, and finishing didn't move student test scores.
Business News
Why FERPA's vendor exception decides what ed-tech can access
Federal law never says a classroom app can have student data by default. A narrow exception does the work, and a wave of new state laws is now building stricter rules on top of it.