How do cellphone bans change schools? Get this: Most students use their cellphones … less. And eventually, punishment for students who break the rules tapers off, Stanford researcher Thomas Dee told NPR. The more complicated part is the effect on student achievement, the NPR Education Desk’s Sequoia Carrillo reports: The bans had a “close-to-zero” effect on test scores.
The Canvas platform, used by thousands of colleges and K-12 schools, was inaccessible last week, just as some students were taking finals or preparing for exams. Read some of our stories on why hackers target students and what makes schools vulnerable to cyberattacks.
More college applicants are opting to include SAT or ACT scores in their submissions. This application cycle, way more students reported test scores, up 10% compared with last year. That's despite many colleges having "test-optional" admissions policies.
— JD Allen for NPR
The Trump administration is investigating Smith College for admitting trans women. The Education Department is looking into whether Smith's policy violates Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination. Kimberly Richey, the Education Department's assistant secretary for civil rights, said "an all-women's college loses all meaning if it's admitting biological males."
— Nirvani Williams, New England Public Media |
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And here's something to make you smile... |
This flashy group of Portland mall walkers puts neon pep into their step
Lloyd Center, which opened in 1960 in Portland, Ore., takes up about 20 city blocks in the northeast part of the city. In recent years, many of the mall's stores closed, part of the broad decline in mall shopping across the country.
The upside: The open spaces made the perfect setting for area resident Krista Catwood to counteract all of the sitting she did at a new office job she got about a year ago.
" It's like, 'OK, we need to figure out how to get movement into my life,'" Catwood remembered. And it had to be fun. "Costumes work for me, ridiculous works for me, community works for me. And I knew there had to be some sort of a social accountability piece involving other folks — otherwise I could make a lot of excuses and not show up."
Catwood strapped on a headset microphone, found some portable speakers and gathered a few friends for a Sunday morning walk at the mall. She opted for full 1980s workout gear — leotards and leggings, windbreakers and sweatbands — all in retro neon.
Mall walking is often seen as the domain of senior citizens who want a level, indoor path to get their steps in. But Catwood’s Food Court 5000 group has grown to include people of all ages and abilities.
— Deena Prichep for NPR
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