Latest news with #PeggyCarr
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
Teacher Gives 4th Graders Anonymous 'Question Box'—Results Raise Eyebrows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A fourth grade teacher has gone viral for showcasing the questions she got from her students when she allowed them to ask "any question they like." The teacher, who did not give her name but who posts to Reddit under the username u/goatsnsheeps, took to the r/pics sub on May 27, where she explained: "I have a question box where my 4th grade students can put in any question they like. Here are some." She explained in the comment section that she usually takes 10 minutes at the end of each day to answer the questions, some of which require research on her end so she can study the subject herself and relay it to the students in a way they will understand. Some of those questions were illustrated in the post, as she shared handwritten notes from her students asking things like "why do feet sweat," "how were languages made," "when did people discover colors," and "how does our body work? How does it bend easily?" Other questions were more subjective, like "when did people discover beautiful art," while some were straightforward: "When was coffee invented?" and the elementary-school favorite: "Who invented homework?" Among these questions were some more bizarre ponderings: "Why was brain rot made," and "What grass made out of," being a favorite among commenters in the post, which racked up more than 24,000 upvotes. One commenter wrote under the post, racking up more than 14,000 upvoted of their own: "WHAT GRASS MADE OUT OF?" with one person replying simply: "Green," and another joking: "But what was it called before people discovered colors?" One commenter advised the teacher: "Keep an eye on the 'who invented homework' kid. He seeks vengeance." Another said: "When did people discover beautiful art' is such an endearing and innocent question that most likely has an equally beautiful answer." One user suggested that the questions asked was a "very interesting display of the students' academic levels. Some seem way more advanced than their peers," with another pointing out that the students would have started kindergarten in 2020, and "a year or two of learning at home during a pandemic might be why there's such a range in abilities." Pictured: Stock image of a group of schoolchildren and their teacher in an elementary school classroom. Pictured: Stock image of a group of schoolchildren and their teacher in an elementary school classroom. dolgachov/Getty Images Studies have shown there is some merit to this concern: in January 2025, a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth and eighth-grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, told reporters that they are "not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic," according to Education Week. The Reddit user wrote in a comment that all of her students ask "big questions," but they often reflect their "own personal interests." "For example, I have kids who ask a lot about cats and asked 'What is the world record for owning the most cats' and they have cats at home. Or I have students who play sports who submitted 'what was the first sport ever played?'" she said. She added: "Since starting this, the students and I both find it extremely rewarding," and she tries to "answer every single [question] as best I can." Newsweek has contacted u/goatsnsheeps via Reddit for comment on this story. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@ with some extra details, and they could appear on our website.
Newsweek
26-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Generation Alpha Is Causing Problems for Teachers
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Short attention spans, an overdependence on technology and a lack of interest in learning are all things that Generation Alpha has been accused of having. The demographic, born between the 2010s and the mid 2020s, is entering a world of education that is radically different than their Generation Z predecessors. Hit by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as young children, Generation Alpha is going through school at a time when technology is more ubiquitous in education than ever before. And if the discourse on social media is to be believed, their journey into education has been anything but seamless, with teachers and social media creators sounding the alarm on Generation Alpha and their relationship with learning and technology. Concerns extend well beyond social media too – a report released in January 2025 from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth- and eighth-grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said in a statement after the January National Assessment of Educational Progress report was released: "These 2024 results clearly show that students are not where they need to be or where we want them to be." Newsweek spoke with teachers to find out more. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva What Difficulties Are Generation Alpha Students Experiencing At School? Newsweek spoke with Elizabeth McPherson, who is known by her handle Ms Mac on TikTok. She told Newsweek by email: "There's been a noticeable shift in student engagement and accountability. Many students today appear apathetic and disconnected from their own learning, and it's not simply a matter of motivation—it's systemic." Citing a lack of exam learning and low attendance, McPherson said: "When students learn that minimal effort still yields promotion and that they can be chronically absent without consequence, they stop seeing the value in showing up—mentally or physically." Matt Eicheldinger is a New York Times bestselling author and TikTok creator with a background in teaching. Eicheldinger told Newsweek that while the experience of students varies greatly across districts and states, there are three points that illustrate a "noticeable change in student focus and engagement in school, all in regard to Gen A," he said, when "smartphones became more commonplace, when one-to-one devices were introduced into schools, and the post Covid-19 reentry to in-person school." Eicheldinger said that smartphones becoming more common caused "major disruptions," particularly at a middle school level. "It wasn't just the fact that students tried using them during class," he said. "Students' involvement in text messaging and social media brought outside-of-school social issues into schools. It was difficult to manage all the online bullying, harassment, and anxiety, and placed a lot of the burden on classroom teachers, counselors, social workers, and administration to figure out how to handle it. This had a direct negative impact on student learning." Gabe Dannebring, a teacher and TikTok creator who has amassed more than 1 million followers, told Newsweek: "I have noticed Gen Alpha struggling to focus in school. Students are constantly stimulated by technology in their free time, so when it comes to learning, they struggle to stay focused on tasks for an extended amount of time." Dannebring also noted that "Gen Alpha is also very anxious, which causes them to struggle with communication to large audiences. Now more than ever, I see students having panic attacks when they have to present to their peers." How Is Technology Impacting Younger Generations? "Technology is impacting this generation in powerful ways—both good and bad," McPherson said. "Students have unlimited access to knowledge. That's a gift. But with that gift comes a cost: instant gratification. And that makes it hard for students to commit to learning processes that are slow, complex, or challenging." Dannebring echoed this: "Technology is impacting this generation in many ways, and not all of them are positive. Many students are so used to the instant gratification and dopamine rush from their phones that classroom learning, which is much slower and less stimulating, feels like a letdown." Eicheldinger said that when his school introduced one-to-one iPads for students, "there were clear, obvious benefits that we were so excited for," including "the ability for students to have better workflow options, clearer communication with grading for parents, having the internet as a tool to compliment other teaching resources, and all other sorts of tech we saw the potential in." A child sits on the floor in Germany on September 12, 2014. A child sits on the floor in Germany on September 12, 2014. Tobias Hase/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images But this came with a downside. "I do not think we were ready for the negative impact it would have on learning," Eicheldinger said, explaining that students were "constantly trying to play games" and there was an "inability to control impulses," adding that "we had students who physically could not stop touching their iPad, even just swiping the home screen." And students aren't having screen time only at school. "We had students who would sometimes be on a screen their entire learning day and then go home to 4-5 hours of additional recreational screen time," Eicheldinger said. Technology is in turn, impacting how students relate to traditional subjects like reading and writing. "With the way social media algorithms work, students are being fed nonstop content that's not only entertaining but also specifically tailored to their interests," Dannebring said. "That personalized experience has made traditional academic tasks, like reading and writing, feel much less engaging. "When you're used to content that's fast-paced, visually engaging, and highly personalized, a standard reading assignment just doesn't compete," Dannebring said, adding that students "are a product of their environment, and their environment is one of constant digital stimulation and dopamine rushes." McPherson said: "Many students struggle to find value in traditional subjects unless there's a direct, tangible payoff. If they can't see how reading or writing will translate into a paycheck or immediate benefit, they're often uninterested. Intrinsic motivation—the kind that keeps you learning even when something gets hard—is fading." What Needs To Change For Generation Alpha? "We need to bring back accountability," McPherson said. And beyond that? "We have to rethink the curriculum and how we deliver it. "This generation is different, so the same strategies from decades ago simply don't work anymore. We need more hands-on, student-centered learning experiences—projects, discussions, simulations, real-world applications." Eicheldinger said: "We need to teach students how to determine if a source is credible. So often, students rely on the first thing they read [or in most cases, watch] as the main source, when in reality it might be just a popular video from an individual who isn't well educated on the topic, and is instead just giving their opinion." Dannebring noted the challenges posed to education by AI. "Some students are becoming incredibly savvy with tools like AI," he said. "Many teachers don't even realize how much of their students' work is being completed 100 percent with AI. It's a challenge because while tech can be a powerful tool for learning, it's also changing the way students engage with education, and many educators are still trying to catch up." McPherson added: "It's not about abandoning tradition—it's about adapting it. We need to be willing to reimagine what school looks like. And that reimagination should start with the people who are in the classroom every day—teachers—and the people we serve—our students."
Newsweek
13-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Gen Z Teacher Quits, Reveals Why She Thinks High School Students Are Doomed
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Gen-Z teacher has shared why she left the profession in a social media video that has been viewed millions of times. Hannah Maria, who taught tenth-grade English, sounded the alarm on the impact of technology on kids in a nine-minute video. Why It Matters As of 2024, 21 percent of adults in the U.S. were found to be illiterate, with 54 percent of adults having a literacy rate below a sixth-grade level, according to the National Literacy Institute. Low literacy costs the country up to $2.2 trillion a year, according to the NLI. A report released in January 2025 from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth and eighth grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average. In this stock image, a student raises their hand during a lesson at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, Wales, on September 14, 2021. In this stock image, a student raises their hand during a lesson at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, Wales, on September 14, To Know At the time of reporting, the video has been reshared to X where it has been viewed 4.3 million times. The TikTok account where the original video was posted has been set to private. Filming in a classroom shortly ahead of her last day teaching, Hannah Maria said that "technology is ruining education." "School boards and superintendents and people who actually can make this true difference in their school districts aren't listening," she says in the video. She shared that she teaches in a district where each student is given an iPad from sixth to twelfth grade. Hannah Maria, who said that she is an "older Gen-Z," said that "technology is directly contributing to the literary decrease we are seeing." "A lot of these kids don't know how to read, because they have had things read to them or they can click a button and have things read out loud to them," she said. She also said that children's "attention spans are waning because everything is high stimulation, they can just scroll," adding that kids "can't sit still for very long." She adds that when trying to get children she teaches to handwrite, they don't corporate, rolling their eyes or throwing tantrums. What People Are Saying Hannah Maria, speaking in her viral TikTok video: "I don't think these kids even care. They don't care about making a difference in the world... I think that we need to cut off technology from these kids, probably until they go to college." Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said in a statement after the January National Assessment of Educational Progress report was released: "These 2024 results clearly show that students are not where they need to be or where we want them to be." What's Next President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education that former President Jimmy Carter founded 45 years ago, which could change the face of education in America.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NAEP Costs May Have Played Role in Move to Sideline Testing Official Peggy Carr
For more than 20 years, Peggy Carr has helped the nation understand how students are performing in school. Even before former President Joe Biden appointed her commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics in 2021, she had long been the face of the testing program known as the Nation's Report Card. But that era ended abruptly Monday when the U.S. Department of Education put Carr, who has worked across both Republican and Democratic administrations, on paid leave. Spokeswoman Madison Biedermann cited the fact that Biden appointed Carr to the position. Carr's term was set to expire in 2027. 'I'm still processing and have no words to share right now. It's a lot to take in,' Carr said in an email, declining to answer further questions. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The move, coming less than a week after officials canceled an upcoming math and reading test for 17 year olds, raises questions about the future of the congressionally mandated National Assessment of Educational Progress. Carr earned respect from both sides of the aisle with her ability to present the results — both promising and discouraging — in an objective way. Some former officials say the decision to put her on leave reflects President Donald Trump's desire to streamline NAEP. But others say losing her expertise at a time when student performance still hasn't recovered from the pandemic could compromise the integrity of the assessment program. 'Without knowledgeable decision makers like Peggy Carr, it is likely that the scientific quality of NAEP, and other important data collections, will be eroded,' said Eric Hanushek, a Stanford University economist and former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets NAEP policy. He added that political interpretations of the data could undermine public trust in the assessment's value. 'Today, schools and states must face up to the reality of their performance. If given the chance, some states will argue that their poor performance is just a matter of poor data — allowing them to avoid addressing any performance problems.' Andrew Ho, a Harvard University assessment expert and also a former board member, called Carr an 'institution' and 'truth teller' who presented results in a nonpartisan way. But others say politics had nothing to do with the decision to let Carr go. Related Mark Schneider, a Trump appointee who stepped down last March as director of the Institute for Education Sciences, which includes NCES and NAEP, said the program's increasing costs during Carr's tenure were out of step with an administration determined to cut spending. 'NAEP is going to take a haircut. I don't think there's a question about that,' said Schneider, Carr's former supervisor and NCES commissioner under George W. Bush. 'The question is 'How do you prioritize what it does in a harsh fiscal environment?' ' He argued that canceling the long-term trend test for 17 year olds is just the first step toward making NAEP, which costs $192 million, a leaner operation that concentrates on math and reading. 'We've been doing main NAEP since the 1990s. Why do we need long-term trend tests?' he asked. 'NAEP has grown and grown and grown, and from my perspective, it's way too expensive.' Related Carr began her long career with the federal government as a chief statistician in the Office for Civil Rights before moving to NCES in 1993. For over 20 years, she served as associate commissioner for assessment and has long translated NAEP and international assessment results for reporters, educators and policymakers. 'She did a lot of homework preparing and rehearsing for presentations of NAEP results, so that she knew the results thoroughly and could answer any questions,' said Andrew Kolstad, who served as her senior technical adviser in the 1990s. 'People in the department and in the testing industry called on her for her experience.' Chester Finn, president emeritus of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute and former chair of the board, said Carr won his respect for 'meticulously' fact-checking his 2022 book, Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP. She offered a number of critical judgments 'without ever once trying to compromise my authorial integrity or get in my face,' he said. 'In her day job, she's been superb at explaining and interpreting NAEP data without spinning it or crossing the line into causation.' Related When students took the first NAEP tests after COVID school closures, Carr wanted to brace the public for sharp declines. In an exclusive interview with The 74 in 2022, she said that while scores for fourth and eighth graders in reading and math were already falling prior to the pandemic, 'it's more than likely we're going to see the bottom drop even more.' While some former commissioners served under only one president, others worked through transitions to new administrations. Carr served as acting commissioner under President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump until Trump appointed Lynn Woodworth. Under Biden, Woodworth stayed on until the end of his term in 2021. She wasn't alone in asking for more resources for NCES, which collects and analyzes data on all aspects of education, including enrollment trends and the state of the teacher workforce. During his tenure Woodworth pushed for more in-house staff and equipment, rather than contracting with outside agencies, but said his requests were always denied. Related Schneider applauded Carr for spearheading the requirement under No Child Left Behind to administer the core NAEP math and reading tests every two years. The law required states to participate to receive federal funds. 'Someone had to turn NAEP into that machine to deliver on a regular basis data required by law,' he said. 'She deserves all the credit in the world for that.' Carr also led the transition to a digital testing format in 2018 and to automated scoring of students' answers in 2022. But Schneider, who hasn't ruled out returning to his former position, said the program hasn't kept up with 'modern data-collection techniques.' He'd prefer the next commissioner to have state-level experience and to be more 'critical of these big research houses' like ETS, which has held NAEP contracts for roughly 40 years and just won another competition in January. 'The challenge for NAEP, and more broadly for NCES,' Schneider said, 'is modernization — creating new data systems that are faster, cheaper, better.'
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maine 4th-graders' math and reading skills are among the lowest in the country
Jan. 30—Maine fourth graders' math and reading skills are among the lowest in the country and have dropped the most since pre-pandemic levels. That's according to new data released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics. The center is part of the federal education department and releases its National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, every two years as mandated by Congress. The report measures math and reading scores for a sample of fourth and eighth graders from both public and private schools. This year's data shows that nationally, students have not made up for pandemic-era learning losses, and Maine has seen some of the most significant declines. The 2024 report card says just 33% of Maine fourth graders are proficient in math, one of the lowest proficiency levels in the nation. Compared to the rest of the country, those same students were also below the average for reading, with only 26% deemed proficient. The report detailed similar numbers for eighth-graders, with 25% proficient in math and 26% in reading — both near the national average. But the Maine Department of Education cast doubt on the significance of the national scores, pointing to state assessment data that shows about two-thirds of students across seven grades are considered proficient in reading by its standards. PANDEMIC LOSSES NOT MADE UP Maine's NAEP scores plummeted between 2019 and 2022, as did scores across the country. Reading scores dropped to their lowest level ever for both fourth and eighth graders in Maine, the national data showed. Officials attributed that to major pandemic-era education disruptions. A major focus of this year's report card was whether students have made up for those declines. Like most of the country, Maine has not. Before the pandemic, Maine's reading and math scores across both age groups were higher than the national average. But since 2019, they've fallen roughly 10 percentage points in both subjects. For fourth graders, that's the largest drop of any state, in both subjects. Peggy Carr, commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, called the report card sobering during an NAEP webinar Wednesday afternoon announcing the new data. Carr said the difficulty is most noticeable in reading. She said there are some encouraging results in math, but only among higher performing students, while lower-performing students have continued to struggle. "These results show that students are not where we need them to be, or where we want them to be," she said. DOE URGES CAUTION A spokesperson for the state education department said in an email Wednesday that changes in Maine between 2022 and 2024 were not statistically significant, and said pandemic impacts on education are still being felt nationally. "In Maine, as in all states, pandemic-related learning loss has impacted student performance. Fourth graders who took the NAEP in 2024 were in kindergarten at the height of the pandemic," spokesperson Chloe Teboe said. The DOE also pointed to differences in the sample size between the national and state assessments. "The NAEP validity depends upon a large aggregate number of data points from students nationwide, providing a reasonable snapshot in time-related to U.S. student performance," Teboe said. "At the state level, however, given the much smaller sample size, it is important to be careful about drawing any sweeping conclusions based on NAEP data." Nearly 85,000 students took the state assessment last year, 65% of whom met or were above the state's expectations, she said. The department said it has launched several evidence-based math and literacy programs to help Maine school districts, like the Math Pathways toolkit and free literacy module access for teachers. A spokesperson for Educate Maine, a statewide nonprofit that advocates for education policies, said the NAEP results highlight persistent challenges across the country, like the impact of poverty on learning. "These metrics also highlight persistent achievement and opportunity gaps, which often reflect disparities in resources and support rather than students' potential or educators' efforts," said Kate Carlisle, the organization's communications manager. "Addressing these gaps requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond standardized assessments and focuses on equitable access to high-quality education, economic stability, and community support." Copy the Story Link
