Analysis - All Posts

How Widespread Is Grade Inflation?
A topic we have been keeping a close eye on in the last several months is standardized tests in college admissions. A key reason many of the colleges chose to reinstate the testing requirement is that test scores tend to be better predictors of academic success than grades alone. It

A Look At The Latest PISA Results
The results from the 2022 PISA tests, released last month, showed that while US scores generally held steady from 2018 in reading and science literacy, the US score in math literacy dropped 13 points. In 2018, students scored a 478 on the math literacy test; in 2022, that score fell

A Look At Past PISA Results
Tomorrow morning, the results from the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) will be released. PISA measures the literacy of 15-year-olds in science, math, and reading every three years. Data is reported as a score for each country and as the share of students reaching one of six proficiency

It’s the Year of the Independent: An analysis of the 2022 Midterm Election
In this election, Republicans, Democrats and the media expected a significant Red Wave. Projections of Republicans winning 240 seats were not uncommon, and most had the number at 230 or higher. On election night, it was not clear that Republicans could reach 218, and it wasn’t until over a week

What Do The New NAEP Data Say About Learning Loss?
By now, many of our readers may have already seen the headlines. “Reading and Math Scores Plummeted During Pandemic, New Data Show” from The Wall Street Journal. In The New York Times, “The Pandemic Erased Two Decades of Progress in Math and Reading.” As these articles report, data from the latest long

A Call to Action on Mathematics
Over the weekend, hundreds of top scientists and mathematicians released a statement to, as they wrote, “express our alarm over recent trends in K-12 mathematics education in the United States.” Citing the California Mathematics Framework as an example of such a reform that is intended to enhance equity and reduce disparities, the