Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Teachers are underpaid. Is that changing?

Mar 3, 2023
At least two dozen states — and Congress — have either proposed or enacted laws to increase teacher pay in the past couple of years.
At least two dozen states, plus Congress, have proposed or enacted laws to boost teacher pay in recent years.
Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

Why are more and more public school principals quitting their jobs?

Feb 22, 2023
A Rand survey finds that 16% of public school principals retired or quit in the 2021-22 school year, more than double the rate from the year before.
School principals have increasingly been at the center of polarizing debates over issues like masking.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

At the Federal Games Guild, video games and public policy play together

Feb 14, 2023
Want to balance the federal budget? A video game lets you do it. Elizabeth Newbury of the Federal Games Guild and Wilson Center explains.
"You're not going to get the same thing from reading a 25-page policy brief as you'll get from a game, but more people — I bet — will play my game," the FGG's Elizabeth Newbury says.
Courtesy Department of Education

Why colleges may soon have more midcareer students

Chris Farrell discusses college programs that may portend a return to class for older workers, making the schools "centers for lifelong learning."
Pilot programs for experienced workers at Harvard, Notre Dame and the University of Texas at Austin offer a glimpse at the possible future of continuing education.
Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images

States consider a contract that would help teachers stay certified across state lines

Feb 2, 2023
At least 10 states are considering an agreement that would make it easier for teachers licensed in one state to work in any of the others.
A newly proposed compact would allow teachers in states that join get certified more easily in other member states.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

The advent of ChatGPT creates demand for software to detect its use

Feb 1, 2023
Since the chatbot launched, schools have sought tools to inform teachers when students try to pass off AI-generated writing as their own.
Some students are using artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT to do their homework. Now school districts are seeking software to identify AI-generated writing.
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

Harvard Medical School is the latest institution to opt out of U.S. News rankings

Jan 19, 2023
Harvard Med joins a number of prestigious schools boycotting the rankings, saying education is too complex to be ranked numerically.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The costs of banning women from education in Afghanistan are felt everywhere

Jan 6, 2023
The World Bank estimates the costs of not educating girls through high school is between $15 and $30 trillion dollars in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. But the costs go beyond the financial.
Afghan women and girls take part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul on March 26, 2022, demanding that high schools be reopened for girls.
Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP via Getty Images

When school buses are delayed, the costs add up

Dec 15, 2022
Nearly 8% of all transportation positions in American public schools were vacant as of this October. The lack of staff can lead to delays.
A school bus pulls up to Dumbarton Middle School in Baltimore County, Maryland, on Dec. 13.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Most financial aid offers have a fuzzy bottom line, GAO reports

Dec 9, 2022
More than 90% of American colleges write offers without stating the net price. That makes it hard for prospective students to compare schools.
More than 90% of American colleges either don’t supply the final price in those letters or understate it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images