A recent study by scholars at the London School of Economics has revived the argument over using mobile technology in schools, and whether students should be allowed to use their own devices. The study found that schools that banned cell phones had a 6% stronger test score improvement than schoolsRead More

Apart from anecdotal evidence and a cornucopia of movies, books, and songs written on the subject of teenage angst, we can learn from scientific research that negative emotions become more common as people age from age 10 to age 15. Then, from age 15 to age 18, the ratio ofRead More

Maintaining effective communication with their child is a common struggle for parents. The way adults tend to talk about their daily lives and the problems they’re dealing with doesn’t seem to translate well to a conversation with a 3rd grader. Parents naturally want to help their child handle problems, andRead More

From classroom tests to final exams to large assessments like the SAT and next week’s AP exams, students have a lot of tests to take. Our school system starts testing students at a young age, and everyone knows the connection that test scores have to magnet and private school admission,Read More

The 2015 AP exams start on May 4, just one week from today. Is your teen ready? If your child is taking an AP exam this year, they’ll be studying a lot in the upcoming week (I hope). The advice contained in this guide will help them make the mostRead More

Divorce is common in America; many experts agree that roughly 50% of marriages end in divorce. While parents tend to claim that they are happier after the divorce than they were during their marriage, divorce can still have a negative impact on the children involved. Dr. Patrick F. Fagan hasRead More

Earlier this year, we told you about the Student Privacy Pledge which Google, Microsoft, and other major infotech companies signed in a gesture of goodwill toward keeping students’ data safe. The pledge was put forward as part of President Obama’s broader agenda on education technology, an agenda in which dataRead More

“He’s such a smart kid! I don’t know why he isn’t getting better grades. I know that he could do great in school if he worked at it.” It’s a common sentiment among parents: children and teenagers who are otherwise very bright and talented, yet are consistently getting a BRead More

In honor of National Reading Awareness Month, HISD and a coalition of Houston-based organizations (led by the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation) have embarked upon the #Discover15 campaign to encourage parents to read aloud with their children. The initiative is designed to help parents find time in their busy schedulesRead More

Thursday night, 9pm. A high school student finishes up dinner and sits down at the computer to check social media before going to bed. They notice a few status updates by friends complaining about the test that they have to take tomorrow. “Hmm, Alex and I have almost every classRead More

The past 15 years have seen American elementary schools cutting back on recess and increasingly focusing on assessments. On paper, less time for play and more time for academics looks great – but is it really? We must remember that for young children, play is important. Studies have shown that playRead More

One of the most prevalent concerns in the modern American education system is literacy. Studies show that while most students can understand the face value of written words by third grade, only about one third of middle schoolers can truly comprehend written texts. A variety of strategic plans, teaching strategies,Read More

Retesting and How It Can Help You Achieve the Score You Want Standardized tests are usually stressful for students. This is understandable, as everyone knows that a strong (or weak) score can have a huge impact on college or private school admissions. To help improve test-taking performance, students and theirRead More

The Huffington Post recently ran an article about a college student who decided to break out of her old study routines by turning her notes into art – specifically, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” recreated in impressive detail on a whiteboard. By writing out her notes in the form of an ImpressionistRead More

In 2014, HISD partnered with myON, a service of Capstone Publishing which allows students to access hundreds of books online for free. The partnership was intended to support the Literacy by Three program, which stresses full literacy by the end of third grade, and the Read Houston Read program, whichRead More

Do you remember learning your times tables as a child? And what about “Minute Math”? Timed math quizzes and drills are commonly used as classroom tools to reinforce basic concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But according to Stanford professor and education scholar Jo Boaler, these teaching methods canRead More