News

A Proof Points column on a new 20-year cost analysis of Arkansas school district consolidation. As background it links to the earlier Arkansas studies on community effects (Sarah Ausmus Smith and Ron Zimmer) and on student achievement (co-authored by Josh McGee).

A Flypaper review of research on California students who fail dual enrollment courses. It summarizes Jenna Howard Terrell and colleagues' study of how course failure relates to later college-going.

Chalkbeat Tennessee story on a Vanderbilt study (with Jason Grissom) of why Tennessee superintendents leave, finding internal hires stay longer. It links that EdWorkingPaper and a second EdWorkingPaper on superintendent instability and student achievement.

An Education Week article on how superintendent turnover affects student learning. It centers on Rachel White's Annenberg working paper linking repeated leadership changes to lost math learning, with interview quotes from White.

A news story on an AIR randomized trial that added pop-up alerts recommending advanced courses to an online course planner. Co-author Megan Austin explains that the nudges raised students' plans to take advanced courses in 11th grade.

A Proof Points column on a two-year study of the Khanmigo AI tutor in Tennessee middle schools. It describes the draft paper by Philip Oreopoulos and Nina Low, which found students largely stopped using the tutor when it withheld answers.

An Education Week story on high school teacher academies in Texas as a teacher-pipeline strategy. It reports the Annenberg working paper by Danielle Sanderson Edwards and Matthew Kraft, which found the courses raise interest in teaching but do not diversify local teaching pools because of college-going gaps.

Chalkbeat Detroit explainer on the stakes of the 2026 Detroit school board election, including the superintendent's future. It links the EdWorkingPaper on superintendent instability and student achievement to note that leadership churn can hurt achievement.

A news feature on how climate-related heat and disasters keep students out of school. It cites Lucy Sorensen and colleagues HVAC study of New York schools and her newer paper showing schools serving more students of color have worse building conditions.

An exclusive report on superintendent turnover and student outcomes. It is built around a new paper by Rachel White finding that students in high-poverty districts with repeated leadership churn fell behind in math and reading.

Chalkbeat Ideas feature on why pandemic-era high-dosage tutoring fell short of expectations. It draws on the EdWorkingPaper on Nashville's district-operated tutoring program coauthored by Matthew Kraft to describe implementation problems.

A news article weighing evidence on AI tutors versus human tutoring. It describes the Khanmigo experiment by Philip Oreopoulos and Nina Low in Tennessee middle schools, which found thin engagement and no learning gains.

A news story on a four-year randomized trial of Chapter One, a short, classroom-embedded early-literacy tutoring model. Lead author Jilli Jung explains that its smaller but lasting gains came at lower cost and with easier implementation than intensive tutoring.

An analysis piece by Meghan McCormick and Carly Robinson on student engagement with AI tutors. It summarizes their Annenberg working paper on adding human support to an AI literacy tutor and also points to the Tutor CoPilot trial.

A news story on a WestEd working paper about failure in dual-enrollment courses. Quoting co-author Jenna Howard Terrell, it reports that disadvantaged students fail more often, but that even students who fail still enroll in college at higher rates than peers who never took dual enrollment.

A K-12 Dive feature on teacher apprenticeship and grow-your-own programs. It cites and links an Annenberg working paper by University of Maryland researchers showing locally raised, locally trained teachers are more likely to stay.

Chalkbeat story built around a two-year experiment finding middle schoolers rarely engaged with Khan Academy's Khanmigo AI tutor. It links and credits EdWorkingPaper 26-1551 ("One Click Away") and a companion EdWorkingPaper by Philip Oreopoulos and colleagues on a mastery-based AI math program.

Khan Academy founder Sal Khan reviews Philip Oreopoulos and Nina Low's randomized trial of Khan Academy and its Khanmigo AI tutor in 18 Tennessee middle schools. He highlights a 0.14 standard deviation math gain for students with sustained access, while noting that students rarely used the AI tutor itself.

An article on chronic absenteeism and how students' sense of happiness and safety relates to attendance. It links to the EdWorkingPaper by Jeremy Singer and colleagues on what Michigan and Georgia schools are doing to improve attendance.

A Proof Points column on an experiment suggesting students learn more when AI math practice requires them to review mistakes. It covers the working paper led by Philip Oreopoulos, naming its title and quoting him.