The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning

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</p> <h2>The dismantling of the Ed Dept., why kids aren’t reading, teacher pay. The 74 takes a look back at some of our biggest education stories of 2025.</h2> <p class="sans">By Nicole Ridgway</p> <p> <img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/education-stories-of-year-2025-the-74-optimize.gif" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图" /></p> <p>This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox.</p> <p class="drop_it">When it comes to education news, 2025 was unprecedented. Within days of President Donald Trump taking office in January, tectonic shifts to education policy and child welfare were set in motion – and at a dizzying pace. </p> <p>Here at The 74, we chronicled the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and its cuts to crucial department staffing, education research and funding. We wrote about immigration crackdowns that spurred concerned families to keep children home from school (or leave the country altogether), significant changes in vaccination recommendations, efforts to remove crucial protections for students and a broader push for school choice and religious instruction in schools, among other things. And we did much more than just cover that news; our team dug further to help explain what these changes mean to school districts, teachers, parents and – most importantly – children. </p> <p>At the same time, other storylines were playing out. A big one was literacy. Testing data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress painted a dismal picture of America’s children’s ability to read. But there were some encouraging signs, especially in the South. Separately, our team created an interactive database that compares literacy versus poverty rates in 10,000 districts and 42,000 schools to discover where educators are beating the odds. (We will be continuing to feature these Bright Spots in the new year.)</p> <p>We also took a close look at teacher pay, special education and the challenges teachers and parents face as they grapple with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. And, with the launch of our zero2eight vertical, we expanded our coverage to include the crucial issues facing early child care and education. </p> <p>It has been a busy year and this list only scratches the surface of the great work the team at The 74 produced. We hope you take the time to read (and share) these memorable and impactful stories.</p> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why Are So Few Kids Reading for Pleasure?</strong></h3> <p><em>By Greg Toppo</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/why-dont-kids-read-for-pleasure_update-min.png" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图1" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图1" /></figure> <p>Over the past two generations, the proportion of young people who “never or hardly ever” read for fun has quadrupled. What’s going on? Digital distraction and social networking seem likely culprits, but it might not be that simple. Could young people be reading less because they got lousy reading instruction? The 74’s Greg Toppo explores young people’s changing relationship with books, showing that the problem is complex and may require a deep commitment to doing things differently.</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related</strong></h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reading-to-young-kids.png);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Why Parents Aren’t Reading to Kids, and What It Means for Young Students</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Bright Spots: These Schools Are Beating the Odds in Teaching Kids to Read</strong></h3> <p><em>Analysis by Chad Aldeman; Interactive by Eamonn Fitzmaurice</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/bright-spots-literacy-schools-data-leadc.jpg" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图2" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图2" /></figure> <p>Early reading is highly predictive of later-life outcomes, and there’s often a strong correlation between a school’s poverty level and its reading proficiency rate. But around the country, exceptional schools are beating the odds. Contributor Chad Aldeman and The 74’s art and technology director Eamonn Fitzmaurice crunched the numbers for 10,000 districts, 42,000 schools and 3 million kids to find the schools that are best at teaching kids to read, and plotted the results on an interactive map, allowing you to discover whether your school is a Bright Spot. </p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related:</strong> </h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reading-map-usa.png);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Is Your School Beating the Odds in Reading?</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>‘Going for Blood’: With Half of Its Staff Cut, Many Wonder How Ed Dept. Will Function</strong></h3> <p><em>By Linda Jacobson, Amanda Geduld and Mark Keierleber</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cuts-at-department-of-education-2025b.jpg" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图3" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图3" /></figure> <p>One of the biggest education stories of 2025 documented efforts to dismantle the Department of Education under the Trump administration. In March, a nighttime purge of Ed Department staff left deep cuts to programs long critical to its mission, from investigating complaints of student discrimination to measuring academic performance. At the time, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the elimination of more than 1,300 employees, meaning that, along with buyouts and early retirements, the department would be reduced to roughly half the size it was when President Donald Trump took office just eight weeks earlier. </p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related</strong></h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/trump-cancels-teacher-grants.jpg);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Education Dept. Cancels Over $600M in Grants for Teacher Pipeline Programs</h4> </p> </aside> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/us-department-of-education-trump-linda-mcmahon-2025.jpg);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">White House Splinters Education Department, Sending K-12 Programs to Labor</h4> </p> </aside> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/states-hiring-fed-education-staffers.png);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Amid Fed Exodus, States Grab Departing Talent from Education Department</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>RFK Jr. Could Pull Many Levers to Hinder Childhood Immunization as HHS Head</strong></h3> <p><em>By Amanda Geduld</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/RFK-anti-vaccine-NYC.jpg" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图4" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图4" /></figure> <p>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a conspiracy theorist who once said, “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” — was tapped by President Donald Trump to run the Department of Health and Human Services, with vast influence over vaccine research, funding and rhetoric. Prior to his confirmation, The 74’s Amanda Geduld spoke with experts who called the child health implications “dire” and predicted a fresh round in the school culture wars over mandatory vaccines for students. One law professor pointed out that school boards “can’t change the policies, but they might say, ‘We don’t support these policies. Not in our school district. No way, no how.’”</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related:</strong></h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/vaccines-rfk-back-to-school-2b.jpg);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Confusion as Kids Head Back to School and RFK Jr. Calls the Shots on Vaccines</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Many Young Adults Barely Literate, Yet Earned a High School Diploma</strong></h3> <p><em>By Jessika Harkay</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/adult-literacy-usa.jpg" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图5" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图5" /></figure> <p>The numbers are staggering: One in four young adults in the U.S. is functionally illiterate – yet more than half earned high school diplomas. In 2023, a total of about five million young adults could understand the basic meaning of short texts but could not analyze long reading materials, according to an analysis by the American Institute of Research. At the same time, the share of young adults earning diplomas increased significantly. “We know that over 20% of (young adults) that get their high school diploma do not have the skills commensurate with that,” Sharon Bonney, chief executive officer of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education, a national adult education nonprofit, told The 74’s Jessika Harkay. “So, when we have this ‘Make America Skilled Again’ agenda, but people can’t read, write, speak the language or do math, they can’t get good jobs and better jobs. They can’t be skilled up.”  </p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related </strong></h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/dyslexia-people-of-color.jpg);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">For Decades, Students of Color Denied Dyslexia Diagnosis and Intervention</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The South Surges Academically in Alternative View of National Exam</strong></h3> <p><em>By Kevin Mahnken</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-naep-scores-adjusted-demographics.png" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图6" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图6" /></figure> <p>According to an analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a raft of mostly Southern states — Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and others — can boast the highest math and English scores anywhere in the country. There’s just one catch, The 74’s Kevin Mahnken explained. That new educational hierarchy is only visible when researchers adjust for the demographics in each state. In other words, after accounting for the uneven distribution of low-income and minority families, special-needs students, and English learners, the nation’s K–12 hierarchy looks wildly different. </p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related</strong></h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/naep-chart-reading-2024b.png);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">New NAEP Scores Dash Hope of Post-COVID Learning Recovery</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>School Spending Is Up. Teacher Pay Isn’t. See What’s Happening in 8,900 Districts</strong></h3> <p><em>Analysis by Chad Aldeman; Interactive by Eamonn Fitzmaurice</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/schoo-revenue-vs-teacher-salary-animation_final.gif" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图7" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图7" /></figure> <p>In districts nationwide, school spending has skyrocketed — in Los Angeles, for example, it’s up 108% from 2002 to 2022. But L.A’s teachers have seen a meager 5% salary increase during that time. In fact, teacher salaries nationally have hovered around an inflation-adjusted $70,000 for decades, lagging behind not only per-pupil spending, but earnings of other college-educated workers. Contributor Chad Aldeman and The 74’s art and technology director, Eamonn Fitzmaurice, document this disconnect in a series of interactive charts. See what’s happening in nearly 8,900 districts.</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading">Related</h5> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/teacher-student-ratio-2025-analysis-usa-lead-b.png);"/> <p><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span></p> <h4 class="sans">Interactive: Data From 9,500 Districts Finds Even More Staff and Fewer Students</h4> </p> </aside> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>For Students With Disabilities, Suspension Not Just a Matter of Race and Gender — But Geography</strong></h3> <p><em>By Amanda Geduld </em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/school-suspensions-usa-disabled-students_IDEA-1.jpg" title="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图8" alt="The Year in Education: 25 of Our Top Stories About Schools, Students and Learning插图8" /></figure> <p>An exclusive analysis by The 74’s Amanda Geduld of federal data revealed stark disparities among students already subject to disproportionate punishment in school — not only by race and gender but also geography. Some 15% of special education students in South Carolina faced out-of-school suspensions for up to 10 days in the 2022-2023 school year — nearly twice the national average and more than any other state in the nation. Meanwhile, students with the same disabilities were the least likely to be excluded from school if they lived in California or Vermont.</p> </div> </div> <p>
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