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Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are improving

  • Written by Jeanne Sinclair, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland
imageMillions of Americans take high-stakes exams every year.Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/iStock via Getty Images

Texas children’s performance on an annual reading test was basically flat from 2012 to 2021, even as the state spent billions of additional dollars on K-12 education.

I recently did a peer-reviewed deep dive into the test design documentation t...

Read more: Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are...

Anti-trans measures don’t just target transgender men and women – a sociologist explains how ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories miss the mark for nonbinary Americans

  • Written by Barbara J. Risman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois Chicago
imageThe nonbinary flag, shown here on a pin, represents people who say 'man' or 'woman' does not describe their sense of self.Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Moment via Getty Images

Since his inauguration in January 2025, President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders that seek to limit federal recognition of transgender people. These orders...

Read more: Anti-trans measures don’t just target transgender men and women – a sociologist explains how...

Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 3 essential reads

  • Written by Jeff Inglis, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation US
imagePresident Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at West Point on May 24, 2025.AP Photo/Adam Gray

President Donald Trump’s speech at the graduation of the class of 2025 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point included segments that were clearly scripted and portions that were obviously not.

During the unscripted portions, Trump,...

Read more: Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 3 essential reads

Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 2 essential reads

  • Written by Jeff Inglis, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation US
imagePresident Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at West Point on May 24, 2025.AP Photo/Adam Gray

President Donald Trump’s speech at the graduation of the class of 2025 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point included segments that were clearly scripted and portions that were obviously not.

During the unscripted portions, Trump,...

Read more: Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 2 essential reads

Queer country: LGBTQ+ musicians are outside the spotlight as Grand Ole Opry turns 100

  • Written by Tanya Olson, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
imageThe iconic circle in the Grand Ole Opry stage. Who gets to stand in it?Timothy Wildey/Flickr, CC BY-NC

On March 15, 1974, the Grand Ole Opry country music radio show closed its run at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, with Johnny and June Carter Cash leading the song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” After that final show, a...

Read more: Queer country: LGBTQ+ musicians are outside the spotlight as Grand Ole Opry turns 100

Could a bold anti-poverty experiment from the 1960s inspire a new era in housing justice?

  • Written by Deyanira Nevárez Martínez, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Michigan State University
imageModel Cities staff in front of a Baltimore field office in 1971.Robert Breck Chapman Collection, Langsdale Library Special Collections, University of Baltimore, CC BY-NC-ND

In cities across the U.S., the housing crisis has reached a breaking point. Rents are skyrocketing, homelessness is rising and working-class neighborhoods are threatened by...

Read more: Could a bold anti-poverty experiment from the 1960s inspire a new era in housing justice?

Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today

  • Written by Sarah Barringer, Ph.D. Candidate in English, University of Iowa

Several Republican-led states have restricted transgender rights: Iowa has signed a law removing civil rights protection for transgender people; Wyoming has prohibited state agencies from requiring the use of preferred pronouns; and Alabama recently passed a law that only two sexes would be recognized. Hundreds of bills have been introduced in...

Read more: Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today

Pope Leo XIV is the first member of the Order of St. Augustine to be elected pope – but who are the Augustinians?

  • Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
imagePope Leo XIV leaves the Augustinian General House in Rome after a visit on May 13, 2025.AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis

When Pope Leo XIV was elected pope, the assembled crowd reacted with joy but also with surprise: He was the first pope from the United States, and North America more broadly. Moreover, he was the first member of the Order of St....

Read more: Pope Leo XIV is the first member of the Order of St. Augustine to be elected pope – but who are...

Air traffic controller shortages in Newark and other airports partly reflect long, intense training − but university-based training programs are becoming part of the solution

  • Written by Melanie Dickman, Lecturer in Aviation Studies, The Ohio State University
imageAir traffic controllers observe a plane taking off from San Francisco International Airport in 2017.AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Air traffic controllers have been in the news a lot lately.

A spate of airplane crashes and near misses have highlighted the ongoing shortage of air traffic workers, leading more Americans to question the safety of air travel.

The...

Read more: Air traffic controller shortages in Newark and other airports partly reflect long, intense...

Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls

  • Written by Sofia Marie Haley, Ph.D. Student in Cognitive Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno
imageMountain chickadees are unusual in having more complex calls than songs.Vladimir Pravosudov

I approach a flock of mountain chickadees feasting on pine nuts. A cacophony of sounds, coming from the many different bird species that rely on the Sierra Nevada’s diverse pine cone crop, fill the crisp mountain air.

The strong...

Read more: Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls

More Articles ...

  1. For opioid addiction, treatment underdosing can lead to fentanyl overdosing – a physician explains
  2. Managing forests and other ecosystems under rising threats requires thinking across wide-ranging scenarios
  3. Europeans are concerned that the US will withdraw support from NATO. They are right to worry − Americans should, too
  4. Why some towns lose local news − and others don’t
  5. MAHA report on children’s health highlights harms of ultraprocessed foods – a food scientist explains the research
  6. Harvard fights to keep enrolling international students – 4 essential reads about their broader impact
  7. How does a person become famous when they’re just a kid?
  8. 5 years after George Floyd’s murder: How the media narrative has changed around the killing and the protests that followed
  9. Supreme Court’s one-sentence order closes the door to Catholic charter school – but leaves it open for future challenges
  10. Can you upload a human mind into a computer? A neuroscientist ponders what’s possible
  11. Here’s how we figured the number of guns illegally trafficked from the US across the border to Mexico
  12. Gun trafficking from the US to Mexico: The drug connection
  13. US gun trafficking to Mexico: Independent gun shops supply the most dangerous weapons
  14. Split Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school − but future cases could hinge on whether charters are, at their core, public or private
  15. US solar manufacturers lag skyrocketing market demand
  16. In 2025, Tornado Alley has become almost everything east of the Rockies − and it’s been a violent year
  17. How abortion laws focusing on fetal viability miss the mark on women’s experiences
  18. From furry friends to fish, turning up the heat helps animals fight germs − how Mother Nature’s cure offers humans a lesson on fever
  19. Like many populist leaders, Trump accuses judges of being illegitimate obstacles to safety and democracy
  20. Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed nationwide missile defense system
  21. Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed US-wide missile defense system
  22. Israelis have a skewed view on extent of Gaza’s hunger plight − driven by censorship and media that downplay humanitarian crisis
  23. NOAA’s 2025 hurricane forecast warns of a busy season – a storm scientist explains why and what meteorologists are watching
  24. WHO is finalizing a new treaty that prepares for the next pandemic − but the US isn’t signing
  25. Young food entrepreneurs are changing the face of rural America
  26. At Cannes, decency and dress codes clash with fashion’s red carpet revolution
  27. Empathy can take a toll – but 2 philosophers explain why we should see it as a strength
  28. Work requirements are better at blocking benefits for low-income people than they are at helping those folks find jobs
  29. Billions of cicadas are emerging, from Cape Cod to north Georgia – here’s how and why we map them
  30. A decade after the release of ‘The Martian’ and a decade out from the world it envisions, a planetary scientist checks in on real-life Mars exploration
  31. Lifecycle of a research grant – behind the scenes of the system that funds science
  32. FDA will approve COVID-19 vaccine only for older adults and high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules
  33. What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains
  34. Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
  35. Russia’s invasion united different parts of Ukraine against a common enemy – 3 years on, that unanimity still holds
  36. Trump treats laws as obstacles, not limits − and the only real check on his rule-breaking can come from political pressure
  37. Too much sitting increases risk of future health problems in chest pain patients – new research
  38. Why your electricity bill is so high and what Pennsylvania is doing about it
  39. Rethinking engineering education: Why focusing on learning preferences matters for diversity
  40. Israel has promised ‘basic amount’ of food into Gaza − but its policies have already created catastrophic starvation risk for millions
  41. 19th-century Catholic teachings, 21st-century tech: How concerns about AI guided Pope Leo’s choice of name
  42. Making eye contact and small talk with strangers is more than just being polite − the social benefits of psychological generosity
  43. Aristotle would scoff at Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestion that AI can solve the loneliness epidemic
  44. Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide
  45. Independence Hall, Gettysburg and – Epcot? How Reagan helped elevate Disney to America’s roster of honored patriotic sites
  46. Nonprofit news media leaders are struggling to stop leaning on the foundations that say they should branch out more
  47. The one-size-fits-all diversity training model is broken – here’s a better alternative
  48. Do photons wear out? An astrophysicist explains light’s ability to travel vast cosmic distances without losing energy
  49. An 18th-century rebellion for liberty, equality and freedom − not in France or the United States, but Ireland
  50. Teens of any age who drink alcohol with their parents’ permission drink more as young adults, new research shows