In the cover story, Christine Mulhern reveals that when it comes to school counselors, quality varies and can matter as much as with teachers for driving student outcomes.
In a feature article, William Furey reports that the official study materials for teacher elementary-certification licensing exams in 29 states and the District of Columbia reference learning styles—a theory which holds that matching instruction to students’ preferred mode of learning is beneficial—despite overwhelming evidence that designing lessons that appeal to different learning styles does not accelerate student learning.
An article from Joel Rose presents how lockstep math lessons are leaving students behind. In the editor’s letter, Marty West argues that in the face of the coronavirus the tasks of education and education reform are every bit as life-and-death in the longer-term sense as anything happening in a hospital emergency room or intensive care unit.
Also in this issue, why fewer teens are working and why it matters; an examination of service learning in American; a look at public-education reform in the nation’s capital; and a case for the teaching of classical virtue.
See the full list of contents below.
FEATURES
The Stubborn Myth of “Learning Styles”
State teacher-license prep materials peddle a debunked theory
By William Furey
Summer School Is the New Summer Job
Why fewer teens are working—and why it matters
By David Loewenberg
Service Learning in America
From “McService” to “life changing”
By Greg Toppo
The Grade-Level Expectations Trap
How lockstep math lessons leave students behind
By Joel Rose
Disrupted
Public-education reform in the nation’s capital
By Thomas Toch
RESEARCH
Better School Counselors, Better Outcomes
Quality varies, and can matter as much as with teachers
By Christine Mulhern
High-School Exit Exams Are Tough on Crime
Fewer arrests where diplomas require a test
By Matthew F. Larsen
FORUM
Should State Universities Downplay the SAT?
The merits and drawbacks of “test-optional” admissions
Standardized Tests Can Serve as a Neutral Yardstick
By Jack Buckley
Test Optional Offers Benefits but It’s Not Enough
By Dominique Baker and Kelly Rosinger
FROM THE EDITOR
Education Reform and the Coronavirus
By Martin R. West
LEGAL BEAT
Justices Will Hear Cases About L.A. Catholic Schools
By Joshua Dunn
BOOK REVIEWS
Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools
By Diane Ravitch, as reviewed by Frederick M. Hess
Red State Blues: How Conservatism Stalled in the States
By Matt Grossman, as reviewed by Andy Smarick
Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy
By James Hankins, as reviewed by Ian Lindquist
WHAT NEXT
Now Trending: Chief Innovation Officers
By Michael B. Horn and Sam Olivieri
SCHOOL LIFE
“We’re Likely to Face Another Wave of the Virus”
Policy adviser John Bailey on school closures
