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The Man Who Helped Redefine Campus Antisemitism

In government and as an outsider, Kenneth Marcus has tried to douse what he says is rising bias against Jews. Some see a crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech.

  By Vimal Patel

Birmingham-Southern College to Close After Failing to Secure State Loan

After decades of financial mismanagement, the nearly 170-year-old private liberal arts school is set to close at the end of May.

  By Emily Cochrane

Here’s What It’s Like to Take the New SAT

Students will take a new SAT on Saturday. It’s all digital, and the reading and writing sections do away with page-long reading excerpts with eight to 11 questions.

  By Dana Goldstein

No More No. 2 Pencils: The SAT Goes Fully Digital

The new format cuts nearly an hour out of the exam and has shorter reading passages.

U. of Texas at Austin Will Return to Standardized Test Requirement

The university said SAT and ACT scores help it place students in programs that fit them best.

  By Stephanie Saul

‘Scary and Daunting’: Dartmouth Players Detail How Union Plan Came Together

On Tuesday, the historic 13-2 vote by the men’s basketball team to unionize took a significant step toward classifying student-athletes as employees.

  By Billy Witz

Liberty University Fined $14 Million for Mishandling Sex Assaults and Other Crimes

The penalty is the largest ever imposed by the Education Department, which found that the school had punished sexual assault victims but not their assailants and created a “culture of silence.”

  By Zach Montague

Harvard’s Response to Subpoenas Is Called ‘Useless’ by House Committee

Harvard said it has been acting in good faith and submitted thousands of pages of new material.

  By Anemona Hartocollis

Brown University Will Reinstate Standardized Tests for Admission

The school joins Yale, Dartmouth and M.I.T. in backtracking on “test optional” policies adopted during the pandemic.

University of Idaho Needs More Students. Should It Buy an Online School?

Ahead of an expected drop in enrollment, the institution is looking to buy the University of Phoenix, a for-profit school with a checkered past. Is it worth $550 million?

After Nonbinary Student’s Death, Schools Chief Defends Restrictive Gender Policies

The Oklahoma school superintendent, Ryan Walters, said “radical leftists” had created a narrative about the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict that “hasn’t been true.”

  By J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval

Co-Chair of Harvard Antisemitism Task Force Resigns

Professor Raffaella Sadun’s departure from the task force is a setback for a group set up to propose ways for Harvard to address antisemitism on campus.

Jewish Students Describe Facing Antisemitism on Campus to Members of Congress

At a discussion led by a House panel, students criticized their universities for not cracking down on antisemitism. An antiwar group pointed out that Muslim and Arab students are facing harassment, too.

California’s Push for Ethnic Studies Runs Into the Israel-Hamas War

The state’s high school students will be required to take the subject, but some object to how the discipline addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Learning: A Special Report

Back to School and Back to Normal. Or at Least Close Enough.

As school began this year, we sent reporters to find out how much — or how little — has changed since the pandemic changed everything.

  By The New York Times

At the Edge of a Cliff, Some Colleges Are Teaming Up to Survive

Faced with declining enrollment, smaller schools are harnessing innovative ideas — like course sharing — to attract otherwise reluctant students.

  By Jon Marcus

Community Schools Offer More Than Just Teaching

The concept has been around for a while, but the pandemic reinforced the importance of providing support to families and students to enhance learning.

  By Alina Tugend

Could Tutoring Be the Best Tool for Fighting Learning Loss?

In-school tutoring is not a silver bullet. But it may help students and schools reduce some pandemic-related slides in achievement.

  By Anna Nordberg

Meeting the Mental Health Challenge in School and at Home

From kindergarten through college, educators are experimenting with ways to ease the stress students are facing — not only from the pandemic, but from life itself.

  By Eilene Zimmerman

Watch These Cute Videos of Babies (and Learn Something, Too)

A social media account features smiley toddlers, while also offering positive lessons about child development.

By Dana Goldstein

How Patty Murray Used Her Gavel to Win $1 Billion for Child Care

A self-described “mom in tennis shoes,” now the Senate Appropriations Committee leader, managed to win an increase in child care subsidies in a spending freeze.

By Catie Edmondson

A Crisis of School Absences

Fewer children are attending school, across rich and poor districts.

By Sarah Mervosh

After a Year of Turmoil, Harvard’s Applications Drop

With the exception of Brown University, some other highly selective schools saw a record rise in the number of students who applied for admission.

By Anemona Hartocollis and Stephanie Saul

​Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere

The pandemic changed families’ lives and the culture of education: “Our relationship with school became optional.”

By Sarah Mervosh and Francesca Paris

U.C. Berkeley Parents Hired Private Security to Patrol Near Campus

The parents were worried about crime, but the university said that the move raised concerns about training and experience, and that security was better left to its own police force.

By Lola Fadulu

Who Would Want to Go to a College Like This?

The national debate about so-called woke campuses does not reflect what most college students care about.

By Tressie McMillan Cottom

Indiana Law Requires Professors to Promote ‘Intellectual Diversity’ or Face Penalties

Faculty members in public universities could be disciplined or fired, even those with tenure, if they are found to fall short of the new requirements.

By Campbell Robertson and Anna Betts

At Oakland University, Students and Alumni Bask in the N.C.A.A. Spotlight

Supporters of the little-known college on Friday celebrated its moment of fame after a shocking first-round win.

By Anna Betts and Ryan Patrick Hooper

A Big Year for Women’s College Basketball in New York

Both the Columbia and N.Y.U. women’s teams made it to postseason tournaments.

By James Barron

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

Parenting & Family Articles & More

Our best education articles of 2020, readers and editors pick the most interesting and insightful articles from the past year about teaching, learning, and the keys to well-being at school..

In February of 2020, we launched the new website Greater Good in Education , a collection of free, research-based and -informed strategies and practices for the social, emotional, and ethical development of students, for the well-being of the adults who work with them, and for cultivating positive school cultures. Little did we know how much more crucial these resources would become over the course of the year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, as we head back to school in 2021, things are looking a lot different than in past years. Our most popular education articles of 2020 can help you manage difficult emotions and other challenges at school in the pandemic, all while supporting the social-emotional well-being of your students.

In addition to these articles, you can also find tips, tools, and recommended readings in two resource guides we created in 2020: Supporting Learning and Well-Being During the Coronavirus Crisis and Resources to Support Anti-Racist Learning , which helps educators take action to undo the racism within themselves, encourage their colleagues to do the same, and teach and support their students in forming anti-racist identities.

Here are the 10 best education articles of 2020, based on a composite ranking of pageviews and editors’ picks.

Can the Lockdown Push Schools in a Positive Direction? , by Patrick Cook-Deegan: Here are five ways that COVID-19 could change education for the better.

How Teachers Can Navigate Difficult Emotions During School Closures , by Amy L. Eva: Here are some tools for staying calm and centered amid the coronavirus crisis.

Six Online Activities to Help Students Cope With COVID-19 , by Lea Waters: These well-being practices can help students feel connected and resilient during the pandemic.

Help Students Process COVID-19 Emotions With This Lesson Plan , by Maurice Elias: Music and the arts can help students transition back to school this year.

How to Teach Online So All Students Feel Like They Belong , by Becki Cohn-Vargas and Kathe Gogolewski: Educators can foster belonging and inclusion for all students, even online.

How Teachers Can Help Students With Special Needs Navigate Distance Learning , by Rebecca Branstetter: Kids with disabilities are often shortchanged by pandemic classroom conditions. Here are three tips for educators to boost their engagement and connection.

How to Reduce the Stress of Homeschooling on Everyone , by Rebecca Branstetter: A school psychologist offers advice to parents on how to support their child during school closures.

Three Ways to Help Your Kids Succeed at Distance Learning , by Christine Carter: How can parents support their children at the start of an uncertain school year?

How Schools Are Meeting Social-Emotional Needs During the Pandemic , by Frances Messano, Jason Atwood, and Stacey Childress: A new report looks at how schools have been grappling with the challenges imposed by COVID-19.

Six Ways to Help Your Students Make Sense of a Divisive Election , by Julie Halterman: The election is over, but many young people will need help understanding what just happened.

Train Your Brain to Be Kinder (video), by Jane Park: Boost your kindness by sending kind thoughts to someone you love—and to someone you don’t get along with—with a little guidance from these students.

From Othering to Belonging (podcast): We speak with john a. powell, director of the Othering & Belonging Institute, about racial justice, well-being, and widening our circles of human connection and concern.

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