Poor kids’ low scores go up after counseling, tutoring
A new study out of Chicago may change the mind of people who thought providing individual tutors for poor kids who were behind in school was too expensive.
Academics
Pronoun usage and Facebook's new gender rules
Facebook will allow users to specify what pronoun—he, she, or they—is used when referring to them after a change to the gender rules.
Lots of snow and closures in the Northeast
The winter storm that hit the Northeast Wednesday night & Thursday brought snow, school closings, & awesome photography, courtesy of NASA & the NOAA GOES Satellite.
Math Olympics for grades 3 & 4 in Lincolnshire, IL
Students at Half Day School participated in the annual Math Olympics, which, because the real Olympics are going on, were enhanced somewhat.
Recommended: Learning to graph algebraic functions
We find a tool for manipulating the coefficients of assorted algebraic functions by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics quite good.
Results mixed for use of iPads in 3 S.C. schools
Educators shift their duties from being teachers to data analysts, but a 1-to-1 iPad program shows that anecdotal evidence is often the most informative kind.
States bolster demand for testing, Common Core delay
Lawmakers in several states are calling for delays in the implementation of high-stakes tests & new standards, and they have all sorts of reasons for doing this. Time to listen.
Science Guy debates a Young-Earth Creationist
Apparently, to my dismay, the debate of creationism vs science rages on, attracting some 3 million viewers to a "debate" between Bill Nye and Ken Ham.
Does the PARCC test need to be online?
We analyzed the item types on the PARCC practice tests & found that almost all could be delivered in a paper-and-pencil test. We question the need to upgrade technology at great cost.
Discovery of a new whale species took years
It may have taken a while for scientists to figure out they were right in the first place about a new species of beaked whale, but that's science for you.