Education
Schools, students, and the systems that shape both.
Can a Financial Aid Office Change Your FAFSA Numbers?
Federal law gives one person on campus the power to override the income data on your aid application. The decision is final and the...
A Small Unpaid Balance Can Lock Up Your Transcript
Millions of former students cannot get a transcript over debts of a few hundred dollars. New federal and state rules narrowed the practice...
Cleopatra Lived Closer To The Moon Landing Than The Pyramids
The math is not close, and it exposes how badly most of us compress ancient history into a single blur. The habit costs us more than trivia...
One-on-One Tutoring Lifts Average Students to the Top 2%
A landmark study found that one-to-one teaching moved a typical student near the top of the class. The reasons behind it can help any...
The Note-Taking Habit That Outperforms Your Laptop
Research shows students who take notes by hand grasp ideas better than those who type. Here is why the slower tool wins.
Why Does Cramming Work for the Test But Not for Life?
Cramming can get you through Friday's test and leave you empty by Monday. Spreading the same study time out is what makes learning stick.
Rereading Your Notes Is the Worst Way to Study
Rereading and highlighting feel productive, but the research says they barely help. Pulling facts from memory works far better and lasts...
The Shocking Truth About Homework in Grade School
Decades of research show little link between homework and achievement in the early grades. Here is what the evidence really says and what...
The High Stakes Hidden in Your Child's Class Size
A rare randomized study in Tennessee followed 11,000 students and found that early class size shapes test scores and college, especially...
Skipping the FAFSA Can Cost a Student Thousands
Every year families skip the federal aid form because they assume they will not qualify. That single guess leaves real grant money sitting...
What Your Kids Lose Over a Long Summer Break
The summer slide is real, math takes the hardest hit, and a few small habits can prevent most of it.
The Shocking Truth About Learning Styles
The belief that each of us has one learning style shapes classrooms everywhere. When scientists test it head on, the idea does not hold up.
What Early School Start Times Cost Teenagers
Teenagers are wired to fall asleep late, yet many schools start before 8 in the morning. The research on what that mismatch costs is hard...
What Happens to Kids Who Miss the Third Grade Reading Mark
Third grade is the year school stops teaching reading and starts assuming it. Children who fall behind by then face long odds that follow...
Why Do Only English Speakers Hold Spelling Bees?
The spelling bee is almost an English only tradition. The reason reveals why English spelling is so strange and why reading it takes longer...
The College Savings Mistake That Costs Families Thousands
A 529 plan lets college savings grow tax free, yet many families leave that money in a regular account. Here is how the accounts work.
Why Low Adult Literacy Puts the Whole Economy at Risk
About one in five American adults struggles with basic reading. The costs show up in wages, health, and the wider economy.
Typing Your Notes Is Costing You. Write by Hand.
A well known study found that students who take notes by hand understand ideas better than those who type. Typing is fast enough to copy a...
Why Does Testing Yourself Beat Rereading Your Notes?
Rereading your notes feels productive and mostly wastes your time. Decades of research show that testing yourself is what actually builds...
The 2 Sigma Rule That Explains Why Tutoring Works
A famous study found that one-on-one tutoring can move an average student to the top of the class. The size of that jump reveals what a...
Why Do You Forget a Name the Second You Hear It?
Names slip away faster than almost anything else you try to remember. The reason has less to do with memory and more to do with what your...
You Didn't Forget the Lesson. You Never Stored It.
Most of what we study fades within days, and a nineteenth century experiment shows why. The fix is not more effort. It is better timing.
Why Have College Textbooks Gotten So Expensive?
Textbook prices have climbed far faster than almost everything else students pay for. The reason is a market built so the person choosing...
Students Leave Billions in College Aid Unclaimed
Every year hundreds of thousands of students skip one free form and walk away from grant money they never have to pay back.