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Report card on american education: 22nd edition.

The status quo is not working. Whether by international comparisons, state and national proficiency measures, civic literacy rates, or career preparedness, American students are falling behind. The 22nd edition of the Report Card on American Education ranks states on their K-12 education and policy performance.

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The U.S. student population is more diverse, but schools are still highly segregated

Sequoia Carrillo

Pooja Salhotra

The U.S. student body is more diverse than ever before. Nevertheless, public schools remain highly segregated along racial, ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

That's according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). More than a third of students (about 18.5 million of them) attended a predominantly same-race/ethnicity school during the 2020-21 school year, the report finds. And 14% of students attended schools where almost all of the student body was of a single race/ethnicity.

The report is a follow up to a 2016 GAO investigation on racial disparity in K-12 schools. That initial report painted a slightly worse picture, but findings from the new report are still concerning, says Jackie Nowicki, the director of K-12 education at the GAO and lead author of the report.

Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money

"There is clearly still racial division in schools," says Nowicki. She adds that schools with large proportions of Hispanic, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students – minority groups with higher rates of poverty than white and Asian American students – are also increasing. "What that means is you have large portions of minority children not only attending essentially segregated schools, but schools that have less resources available to them."

"There are layers of factors here," she says. "They paint a rather dire picture of the state of schooling for a segment of the school-age population that federal laws were designed to protect."

School segregation happens across the country

Segregation has historically been associated with the Jim Crow laws of the South. But the report finds that, in the 2020-21 school year, the highest percentage of schools serving a predominantly single-race/ethnicity student population – whether mostly white, mostly Hispanic or mostly Black etc. – were in the Northeast and the Midwest.

School segregation has "always been a whole-country issue," says U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who heads the House education and labor committee. He commissioned both the 2016 and 2022 reports. "The details of the strategies may be different, but during the '60s and '70s, when the desegregation cases were at their height, cases were all over the country."

How The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By 'Individual Choices'

The GAO analysis also found school segregation across all school types, including traditional public schools, charter schools and magnet schools. Across all charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, more than a third were predominantly same-race/ethnicity, serving mostly Black and Hispanic students.

There's history behind the report's findings

Nowicki and her team at the GAO say they were not surprised by any of the report's findings. They point to historical practices, like redlining , that created racially segregated neighborhoods.

And because 70% of U.S. students attend their neighborhood public schools, Nowicki says, racially segregated neighborhoods have historically made for racially segregated schools.

The 50 Most Segregating School Borders In America

"There are historical reasons why neighborhoods look the way they look," she explains. "And some portion of that is because of the way our country chose to encourage or limit where people could live."

Though the 1968 Fair Housing Act outlawed housing discrimination on the basis of race, the GAO says that in some states, current legislation reinforces racially isolated communities.

"Our analysis showed that predominantly same-race/ethnicity schools of different races/ethnicities exist in close proximity to one another within districts, but most commonly exist among neighboring districts," the report says.

School district secessions have made segregation worse

One cause for the lack of significant improvement, according to the GAO, is a practice known as district secession, where schools break away from an existing district – often citing a need for more local control – and form their own new district. The result, the report finds, is that segregation deepens.

"In the 10 years that we looked at district secessions, we found that, overwhelmingly, those new districts were generally whiter, wealthier than the remaining districts," Nowicki says.

Six of the 36 district secessions identified in the report happened in Memphis, Tenn., which experienced a historic district merger several years ago. Memphis City Schools, which served a majority non-white student body, dissolved in 2011 due to financial instability. It then merged with the neighboring district, Shelby County Schools, which served a wealthier, majority white population.

This Supreme Court Case Made School District Lines A Tool For Segregation

Joris Ray was a Memphis City Schools administrator at the time of the merger. He recalls that residents of Shelby County were not satisfied with the new consolidated district. They successfully splintered off into six separate districts.

As a result, the GAO report says, racial and socioeconomic segregation has grown in and around Memphis. All of the newly formed districts are whiter and wealthier than the one they left, which is now called Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Why Busing Didn't End School Segregation

"This brings negative implications for our students overall," says Ray, who has led Memphis-Shelby County Schools since 2019. "Research has shown that students in more diverse schools have lower levels of prejudice and stereotypes and are more prepared for top employers to hire an increasingly diverse workforce."

The GAO report finds that this pattern – of municipalities removing themselves from a larger district to form their own, smaller school district – almost always creates more racial and socioeconomic segregation. Overall, new districts tend to have larger shares of white and Asian American students, and lower shares of Black and Hispanic students, the report finds. New districts also have significantly fewer students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a common measure of poverty.

Global Education Monitoring Report

Technology in education

2023 gem report.

The 2023 GEM Report on Technology in education: A tool on whose terms? addresses the use of technology in education around the world through the lenses of relevance, equity, scalability and sustainability.

It argues that education systems should always ensure that learners’ interests are placed at the center and that digital technologies are used to support an education based on human interaction rather than aiming at substituting it. The report also provides an assessment of progress towards SDG 4 at the mid-point to 2030 , summarized in a brochure and released at the 2023 SDG Summit. The global launch event can be watched here. 

Download the full report , the summary version , the 2023 regional report for Southeast Asia, the gender version , social media resources and visit the report page for more online resources.  

Just released:

2024 Youth Report - Technology in education: a tool on our terms

Meet the Spotlight children

All children are #Borntolearn . But so many never do. Visit our website which is dedicated to showcasing the education journeys of four school children in Africa, Godfred, Priscilla , Rougui and Pape . As part of the GEM Report Spotlight Series , this platform offers an exclusive glimpse into the lives of these young learners as they navigate their educational paths in diverse contexts.

Embark on a virtual journey as you explore the unique experiences, aspirations, and accomplishments of these remarkable children.

Leadership and education

Leadership is at the heart of quality education. It has been argued that it is the second most important school factor explaining learning outcomes. Leaders at multiple levels matter, from those within the school, to those outside of the school, and even those outside of education systems.

The new  concept note for the  2024/5 GEM Report , developed based on a  think-piece  by David Gurr, details how the theme will be explored. 

Join our consultation using the comments section on this webpage or by emailing us to provide feedback on this concept note, suggest relevant evidence for the theme or new areas of research to be explored.

Tell us about the leaders who shaped your education by completing our survey .

Explore content by theme

The UNESCO SDG 4 Scorecard dashboard visually displays progress towards countries SDG 4 benchmarks.

Countries’ laws and policies on key themes in education.

Summaries of key facts and trends in education around the world through five themes.

Provides estimates of the completion and out of school rates.

Highlights circumstances like wealth, gender, ethnicity and location in shaping opportunities for education.

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Upcoming events

The availability of internet at school often lags far behind electrification

is needed to operate a full digital transformation in education in the poorest countries

guarantee data privacy in education with a law

found a negative effect of mobile phones on academic performance

for countries to achieve their national SDG4 benchmark education targets

The Science of School and Education

Here are solutions to improve students’ emotional, physical, and mental health and to boost educational outcomes

simpson33/Getty Images

Reading for Pleasure Helps Kids’ Brain Development

The simple and fun act of reading for pleasure in early childhood produces better cognition, mental health and educational attainment in adolescence

Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Christelle Langley, Jianfeng Feng, Yun-Jun Sun, The Conversation US

Extreme Heat Threatens Student Health in Schools without Air-Conditioning

August and September will bring tens of millions of public school students back to class. Many face health risks from rising temperatures

Daniel Cusick, E&E News

Useful Feedback, More Than Praise, Helps Students Flourish

Teacher feedback that gives students options can make them feel empowered

Camilla Mutoni Griffiths

Adversity in Early Childhood Can Impair Brain Development

Adverse early childhood experience leaves persisting traces in brain structure, highlighting the importance of preventive measures for healthy brain development

Cordula Hölig, Ramesh Kekunnaya, Brigitte Röder

Fascism’s History Offers Lessons about Today’s Attacks on Education

Moves in Florida to control public education mirror past fascist strategies in ways that are disquieting for American democracy, a historian argues

Eden McLean

Let Teenagers Sleep

Despite years of evidence that starting school later promotes better health and improved grades, too few schools have adopted this measure

The Editors

Spiky ‘Sleep Spindles’ Linked to Acts of Learning

A study shows how bursts of brain activity during sleep could boost memory

Rebecca Sohn

We Need More Health Clinics at Schools

In-school clinics improve well-being and educational outcomes and serve children who need them most

Back-to-School Special: Kids, Tests and Long COVID Reassurance: COVID, Quickly, Episode 37

This is our back-to-school special episode of COVID, Quickly . We’ll talk about why COVID testing is about to become a school problem—and about whether or not kids are at risk for long COVID.

Tanya Lewis, Josh Fischman, Tulika Bose

A Cure for Vaccine Hesitancy Could Start in Kindergarten

Teaching simple basics in school about masks, handwashing and ethics can stave off misconceptions in adulthood

Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

Unlike in adults, suicide risk among children is lowest during the summer and higher during the school year. Understanding these patterns can help prevent and treat suicidality

Tyler Black

In Schools, Honest Talk about Racism Can Reduce Discrimination

New laws make it harder for teachers to discuss racism and inequality, but psychological evidence shows these conversations dispel causes of bias and distress

Camilla Mutoni Griffiths, Nicky Sullivan

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Schools struggling to find solutions to chronic absenteeism problem

by CORY SMITH | The National Desk

(TND) — Schools are having limited success in reducing chronic absenteeism, according to a new RAND report .

And more students are missing school than they were before the pandemic.

School leaders seem to believe that the pandemic shifted perspectives to the detriment of students.

“Yeah, it seems like parents are viewing school as more optional,” Heather Schwartz, an education policy expert and researcher at RAND, said Tuesday of the feedback she’s heard from school district leaders.

RAND’s report, released last week and based on a survey and interviews conducted late last school year, determined that 19% of students were chronically absent.

That’s down from the peak of 28% during the 2021-22 school year but remains elevated from the 13% and 15% absenteeism rates from 2016 to 2019.

And about 10% of districts had 30% or more of their students chronically absent last school year.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing at least 10% of their school days. A typical school year is 180 days, so a chronically absent student would be out of class for at least 18 days.

The American Federation of Teachers says chronic absenteeism predicts both low academic success and potentially which students may eventually drop out of school.

RAND found a quarter of districts didn’t find their approaches to reducing chronic absenteeism particularly effective.

Common approaches have been the adoption of an early warning system to flag students who are at risk of being chronically absent, home visits, having teachers call students’ homes when they miss school, and hiring staff focused on reducing absenteeism.

“It was disheartening to see the lack of any clear approach, any clear winner among the approaches,” Schwartz said.

Why are more students missing school?

There were common themes RAND heard from district leaders.

Some families, it seems, might be more apathetic towards school since the pandemic.

Some parents seem to have more zealous concerns about sending their children to school when they have minor illnesses, like colds.

There seems to be a growing sense among parents that doing class assignments online is a “good enough” replacement for attending school in person.

And then there’s an increased desire to ease anxiety or mental health concerns children might have about going to school.

“I would say those are the four buckets we hear,” Schwartz said.

Those sentiments seem to be more prevalent now than they were before the pandemic.

“To be fair, we didn't ask them (to) look in the crystal ball and be like, ‘Do you think this is forever?’ So, I don't know if they see it as like a receding tide that's still hanging around, or if it's ... the new normal,” Schwartz said of their survey of school leaders.

How can we fix this?

Schwartz said it’s clear there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to chronic absenteeism.

The same approach in two different places is going to yield different results, she said.

“The culture of a community, the size of the district, the types of students they serve, the needs of the family, the availability of transportation, on and on, are all highly dependent on the local context,” Schwartz said.

Beyond that, she said schools need to tailor their messages to the needs and challenges of different families.

A student who misses a lot of class time in one concentrated chunk is different than a student who misses a lot of days sprinkled throughout the school year.

A student who is missing time and struggling to keep up is different from a student who is missing time but managing to stay on track.

Schwartz said schools need to invest in testing different messages for different student populations.

“The problem is important enough that it's worth investing to find a solution,” she said. “Solutions, plural, because there isn't going to be just any one solution.”

And any approach needs to include “carrots, not just sticks,” she said.

Schools can’t just send truancy officers to homes and solve chronic absenteeism, she said.

“To fundamentally fix this issue, I don't think you can merely hang a bunch of threats over families. ... Make school compelling enough that kids actually feel that they in some sense want to come,” Schwartz said.

And relationship-building is key to making students want to go to school, she said.

“There is an adult who knows you, who notices when you're not there, cares about you, and who wants to see you there at school,” Schwartz said.

See the No. 1 high school in every N.J. county, according to U.S. News

• Updated: Sep. 05, 2024, 12:07 p.m.
• | Published: Sep. 05, 2024, 7:01 a.m.
• Tina Kelley | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

What’s the best high school in your New Jersey county?

New Jersey has some of the top public high schools in the nation, according to the annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report . ( See the list of the top schools in each county below. )

The news site looks at nearly 25,000 participating high schools each year and ranks them based on: state assessments in math, science and reading; performance on college-level exams; and four-year graduation rates. The site also factors in the breadth of the curriculum offered, and the success rates of Black, Hispanic and low-income students.

High Technology High School in Lincroft ranked as both the top high school in New Jersey and the top STEM — or science, technology, engineering and math — school in the country in the latest rankings. Students in Monmouth County must apply to attend the specialized, highly-competitive public high school.

In 2024, 42 New Jersey schools ranked in the top 5% on the U.S. News national list.

Here are the top-ranked high schools in all 21 New Jersey counties:

Can’t see the chart, click here.

Did your high school make the list of No. 1 schools? If not, here’s how the rest of the public high schools in each New Jersey county fared on U.S. News’ 2024 list. Not every school received a numerical ranking. High schools at the bottom of U.S. News’ list did not receive number and are instead listed as “unranked.”

• Atlantic County
• Bergen County
• Burlington County
• Camden County
• Cape May County
• Cumberland County
• Essex County
• Gloucester County
• Hudson County
• Hunterdon County
• Mercer County
• Middlesex County
• Monmouth County
• Morris County
• Ocean County
• Passaic County
• Salem County
• Somerset County
• Sussex County
• Union County
• Warren County

Stories by Tina Kelley

• N.J. school district locking kids out of their laptops as early as 9 p.m. again this year
• Parents are paying crazy ‘junk’ fees for kids to eat school lunch, report says
• Free help available before N.J.’s new high school graduation requirement starts

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com .

Tina Kelley may be reached at [email protected]

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Report reveals ‘shocking’ levels of abuse allegations at religious-run schools

The scale of allegations of historical sexual abuse at schools run by religious orders in Ireland is “truly shocking”, Education Minister Norma Foley has said.

The minister has announced that a Commission of Investigation is to be established to examine historical sexual abuse claims in day and boarding schools.

Almost 2,400 allegations of historical sexual abuse were recorded by 308 schools run by religious orders across Ireland, a Government-ordered scoping inquiry has revealed.

The 700-page report, published on Tuesday, said the allegations were made against 884 alleged abusers in day and boarding schools run by 42 religious orders.

The level of abuse is shocking, it is truly shocking

Norma Foley

The scoping inquiry said it had contacted 73 religious orders that ran or are still running schools in Ireland, with 42 having records of historical sexual abuse allegations.

The report said 17 were special schools, which recorded 590 allegations involving 190 alleged abusers.

It added that around half of the alleged abusers are believed to be dead.

The report names hundreds of schools, including primary, secondary and special schools. It also details the total number of allegations and number of alleged abuser at each institution.

It also includes the accounts of many survivors, detailing the abuse they suffered and the impact it has had on their lives.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said it was important that the next steps taken by the Government are “absolutely survivor-centred”.

He said: “I want to say this on behalf of the Government, and I want to say this on behalf of the people of Ireland: we will get this right.”

The report was written by senior counsel Mary O’Toole, who was appointed by Ms Foley. She provided the minister with the report in June.

The report recommended the Government approach the religious orders to contribute towards to a redress scheme.

Speaking at a press conference at Government Buildings on Tuesday, Ms Foley, who became emotional while reading out the statement, said: “This is the first time, and we shouldn’t underestimate this, the first time that the scale of child sexual abuse allegations in schools run by religious orders has been disclosed based on information supplied by religious orders themselves and by survivors.

“It covers schools all across the country.”

She added: “The level of abuse is shocking, it is truly shocking.”

Ms Foley said that a redress scheme for survivors will also be considered.

She added: added: “The report is a harrowing document and contains participants’ descriptions of appalling sexual abuse and violence.

“This include abuse being perpetrated in front of other children.”

She added: “Many of the survivors who participated in the scoping inquiry are now older.

“They have been able to speak about the lifelong impact of childhood sexual abuse. Participants in the inquiry told us that it led to the premature end of their childhood.

Some survivors said they left Ireland specifically to get away from memories of sexual abuse

“It affected their academic performance in schools, it caused mental health issues, abuse of alcohol or drugs. It damaged survivors’ relationships with their families and even their own children.

“Some survivors were unable to visit their own parents’ graves because their abuser was buried nearby in a plot in the same graveyard.

“Some survivors said they left Ireland specifically to get away from memories of sexual abuse.”

She said: “Our schools should be places of haven, not horror.

“Our students should be able to experience learning, fun and friendship in school, not fear and certainly not fright.”

Ms Foley added: “Today is about shining a light on the actions of abusers during a dark, distressing and horrific period in our history.

“These were the people who were meant to build up children and young people in their care.

“Instead, they broke them down.

“These abusers betrayed trust, they betrayed innocence, they betrayed the beauty and joy that should be at the core of childhood.”

Last year, the Spiritan Congregation apologised to victims of abuse and said an independent group would engage with survivors at its schools and institutions, including Dublin’s Blackrock College.

The abuse allegations go back as far as the 1970s.

The Government set up the scoping inquiry to shape its response to allegations of historical sexual abuse in boarding and day schools run by religious orders.

Restore Together, which is an advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse in Spiritan schools, expressed “real concern” that any statutory inquiry at schools could result in further delays to justice and redress for victims and survivors.

Restore Together said in a statement: “ Media reports in July and again today refer to the imminent establishment of a redress scheme only after the conclusion of any inquiry.

“This would unnecessarily add years of delay to urgently needed justice and healing for all victims/survivors of abuse.

“It is already fully accepted by the Spiritan and other religious orders that widespread abuse took place over a long time frame affecting hundreds of children, who are now adults, and that they must receive justice and redress.

“Restore Together’s strong wish is that any statutory inquiry must be structured to reflect the urgency of the situation putting the best interests of victims/survivors first.

“This could be partially achieved by the concurrent operation of parallel strands of any inquiry aimed at providing healing, redress and justice to victims/survivors without any further delay.”

The report also details a total of 185 allegations of abuse were disclosed at Spiritan-run schools in Blackrock.

It revealed that 130 allegations of abuse were disclosed at Willow Park Junior School, while 55 allegations of abuse were made at Blackrock College.

It is vital the needs of these survivors remain at the heart of our response

Micheal Martin

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the scoping report had revealed the impact of abuse on the lives of survivors.

He said: “The level and scale of the horrific abuse within schools revealed in the report’s pages is shocking, and there must be full accountability and justice for those abused.

“I commend Minister Norma Foley for her thorough and survivor-led approach in producing this Scoping Inquiry as she works to establish a Commission of Investigation to further examine the historic sexual abuse.

“Much more work needs to be done and I know the Minister will continue to work on the recommendations of the report in consultation with survivors.

“Over many decades, there has been significant work to deal with the abuse suffered in a wide range of institutions.

“This report reveals the severe impact of sexual abuse on the lives of survivors.

“It is vital the needs of these survivors remain at the heart of our response.”

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