Education News Trends: Equity and a Spotlight on Math and Reading

A look at the education news from PR Newswire in September and October that you might have missed.

By Rocky Parker | Published Nov. 1, 2023

Our team monitored the education headlines crossing the wire in September and October as a new school year took shape. During the two-month period, PR Newswire distributed nearly 1,700 press releases related to the education industry.

The effects of the pandemic continue to be felt across the education space, for students, parents, and teachers. A new survey from McGraw Hill found that one in five students say learning loss caused by the pandemic has had a negative impact on their education and college preparedness.

In response, companies are working to help everyone continue adjusting to this new normal with advances in education technology, efforts to improve equity and access for all students, and a focus on improving math and reading scores across the country.

Below, we dive into these trends and some of the most-read press releases of the last two months. 

Popular Education Releases

In September and October, readers on prnewswire.com were drawn to these newsworthy education press releases:

• U.S. News & World Report unveiled its always popular list of the best colleges of the year. This year, greater emphasis was placed on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students and several factors were removed from the ranking process.
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority announced the induction of 12 distinguished women as Honorary Members into its Alpha Omega Chapter.
• Scholastic celebrated the 25^th anniversary of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by announcing the Empire State Building would light up in Hogwarts house colors on Sept. 27.
• Cartwheel announced $20 million in Series A funding. The platform is working to combat the student mental health crisis by providing evidence-based telehealth services with no waitlist.

Education News Trends

Throughout September and October several trends kept popping up among education news on the wire. Let’s take a closer look.

Education Equity

The U.S. Department of Education is working counter the effects of the pandemic by helping schools, communities, students, educators, and families recover and build back stronger. One of its main focuses is advancing equity and closing gaps made worse by the pandemic.

According to the Center for Public Education, “If we are to close the achievement gap completely, we must address current inequities in funding, access to high-level curriculum, access to good teachers, and how school discipline is imposed.”

The new school year kicked off and our team spotted a variety of releases announcing companies’ initiatives to improve access to education for all students. Announcements included scholarships, inclusive curriculum, outreach campaigns, and more. During the two-month period, more than 300 education releases mentioned the terms “equity,” “inclusion,” “minority,” and “underrepresented.” Here are a few examples:

• Metro State University, an urban university in the Twin Cities, was awarded a $1.35M grant to advance the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of students of color and American Indian students enrolled in its School of Urban Education (UED).
• Lumen Learning launched Lumen One, courseware that leverages innovative technology and machine learning to uniquely understand and support minority student populations.
• A report from nonprofit UnidosUS found that post-pandemic recovery for Latino students has not been fast enough. The organization called on policymakers to scale up investments and commitments to close the education gap.
• At the Global Citizen Festival in September, France announced €40 million in new, additional funding for Education Cannot Wait, which works to provide quality education to crisis-affected children around the world.
• CSforDetroit launched in September with an aim to increase representation in the city’s tech ecosystem. It will “champion lasting transformation in Detroit through deep investment in K-12 computing education.”
• Deloitte teamed up with several organizations to launch Smart Factory Believers, a program designed to create high-quality STEM education programs for students in diverse and underserved communities.

A Focus on Math & Reading

It’s no secret that the pandemic did a number on children’s education and the effects are still being felt across the country.

According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, known as the nation’s report card, in 2022, fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics scores declined across all regions of the country. The scores fell 5 points (fourth grade) and 8 points (eighth grade), respectively, compared to 2019. The story is similar when it comes to reading scores, which decreased by 3 points for both fourth and eighth grades compared to 2019.

"Unfinished learning continues to weigh on students across all grades and subjects," Denise Forte, president and CEO of The Education Trust, said to NPR in June. "And this is especially true for Black and Latino students, English learners, and students from low-income backgrounds who experienced the brunt of pandemic-related upheaval and uncertainties."

On the wire, we saw a number of companies responding to this worrying trend by releasing new tools and curriculums to help math and reading scores rebound. Here are a few examples:

• Takeoff by IXL Math™ launched as a powerful new tool that enables educators to deliver an entire year's worth of daily, personalized math instruction and easily differentiate lessons without prior planning.
• Lindamood-Bell announced that it received a grant to study the effectiveness of its reading intervention program for elementary students.
• Curriculum Associates recognized more than 170 schools nationwide as 2023 i-Ready Super Stretch Schools for demonstrating remarkable growth in reading and mathematics over the past school year.
• The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy announced that First Lady Jill Biden would deliver remarks at the 2023 National Celebration of Reading in October. "Reading is the foundation of all education. It affects every aspect of our society,” said Dr. Biden.
• A collaboration between Reading is Fundamental and Trane Technologies will impact more than 280,000 students with the second year of its unique STEM-based literacy initiative.
• Savvas Learning Company announced a partnership with Brainingcamp to make math learning more visual and interactive through digital manipulatives, which provide an active, hands-on approach to learning. The company also launched new math and literacy solutions for student-centered learning.

EdTech Advances

Edtech, or education technology, is defined as “the practice of introducing information and communication technology tools into the classroom to create more engaging, inclusive and individualized learning experiences.”

Advances in edtech have a range of benefits, from growing capabilities for personalized learning (education isn’t one-size-fits-all) to making grading and lesson planning easier for teachers, increasing collaboration, and enabling constant access to the learning environment.

The pandemic led to a boost in the development and use of edtech technologies as students adapted to virtual learning. According to Instructure’s EdTech Top 40 Report, the average use of edtech tools by individual teachers and students has nearly doubled when looking at the entire school year compared to 2021. The report found that individual educators and students each access more than 140 unique edtech tools.

The explosion of AI and other technologies like VR, AR, and the metaverse can be seen across the education industry. Our team saw nearly 130 releases cross the wire in September and October that mentioned “edtech” and/or “education technology.”

Here are a few of them:

• GoGuardian’s back-to-school survey found that educators are embracing edtech, with 93% of respondents saying they plan to use technology they haven’t used before during the school year.
• Even though many students are now back in the classroom, there’s still plenty of learning happening online. In September, Tutor.com announced it delivered its 25-millionth tutoring session.
• DeVry University launched its AI Lab, which will incorporate AI tools to enhance the learning experience and prepare students for an AI-driven workplace.
• Edtech company Anatomage debuted its new Science Table, a seven-foot-long touch-screen table that lets students perform virtual scientific experiments.
• Echo360 launched its new Echo.ai Assist technology at Educause 2023. The tool “builds upon the instructor's trusted content to create real-time interactive polling, questions, and learning engagement."

Takeaways

As we near the mid-point in the school year, it’s clear that students, from K-12 through college and even adult learners, are still feeling the impacts of the pandemic. The good news is students and educators seem to be finding their way in this new normal, and job satisfaction is even up for teachers.

The industry continues to find innovative ways to reach all learners, regardless of where they’re learning from or what their learning style happens to be. Companies are also working to make teachers’ jobs easier with advanced edtech solutions.

Our team will continue monitoring the latest education headlines. Stay tuned for our next post recapping the latest trends!

About the Author

Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.