How My Guidance Counselor Changed My Life Between First and Second Period

I was rushing to second period when my counselor asked, “Did you send your application to Dartmouth yet?” stopping to interrogate me in the hall. In my min

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It’s Never Been Harder to Be a Teacher and That’s Why We Need to Train Them Better

Teacher training in the U.S. has been a crapshoot. Because when you’re hiring first year teachers, sometimes you say “crap” and other times you say “shoot.

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The Last Thing I Wanted Was Another Standardized Test, But I’m Glad I Took This One Seriously

As a busy high school student with a demanding schedule, the last thing I wanted to add to my plate was yet another standardized test. But two years ago, m

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Our High Schools Can’t Afford To Ignore These Mediocre PISA Scores

I recently spoke to a handful of young women at a high school in North Carolina who had taken an international test that is getting a lot of attention—the

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Coffee Break: Valerie Camille Jones on Coffeehouse Math, Our Numbers Complex, and ‘Hidden Figures’

This is Teacher Appreciation Week, and we’re a little late to the party in recognizing and appreciating Dr. Valerie Camille Jones, who was feted at the Whi

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If I’d Had Common Core I Probably Wouldn’t Suck at Math Now

I’m terrible at math. In seventh grade, I became aware of my poor math preparation when I entered a team math competition against other Catholic schools in

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