Four decades ago, there was a push to get more American students into rigorous courses with harder subjects to make them smarter. However, research has shown that students are performing worse on average despite increased admission into the courses. One reason is because there’s an incentive to give students passing grades. Courses are made less difficult and teachers give better grades to keep graduation rates high, inflating success at the local level at the expense of performance in standardised tests. Read full article here
Research
Improving media literacy could boost trust towards the news, IMPRESS report suggests
The UK media is regulated by the likes of IPSO and Ofcom. The report by press regulator IMPRESS highlights the link between low levels of media literacy and trust in the news. The study found that three quarters of those who did not know if journalists were regulated did not trust the news. It suggests that improving media literacy is one way to stem the erosion of trust, and shows that audiences have an appetite for information on news processes. Stakeholders need to collaborate in order to rebuild trust in the news, and independent media is well placed to do this. Read full article here