Jill Barshay

Jill Barshay, a senior reporter at The Hechinger Report, writes the weekly “Proof Points” column about education research and data, covering a range of topics from early childhood to higher education. She taught algebra to ninth-graders for the 2013-14 school year. Previously, Barshay was the New York bureau chief for Marketplace, a national business show on public radio stations. She has also written for Congressional Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Financial Times, and appeared on CNN and ABC News.

Work by Jill Barshay

From the Field

To Save Money, DOGE Slashes Evaluations of Federal Education Spending

Authored byJill Barshay

A virtual wrecking ball took aim last Monday at the relatively small, wonky corner of the Department of Education that I write about every week: evaluation…

From the Field

Tutoring Alone Can’t Untangle the Absenteeism Knot

Authored byJill Barshay

In early 2024, initial reports indicated that tutoring might not only help kids catch up academically after the pandemic but could also combat chronic…

From the Field

Why Fewer Eighth Graders in High-Poverty Schools Take Algebra

Authored byJill Barshay

Like learning to read by third grade, taking eighth grade math is a pivotal moment in a child’s education. Students who pass Algebra 1 in eighth grade are more…

From the Field

Study: Many Remedial Students Can Handle Tougher Math

Authored byJill Barshay

In the fall of 2019, four high schools in a San Francisco Bay Area district shook up many of their ninth grade math classes. Students had traditionally been…

From the Field

Does Dual Enrollment Help More Students Complete College?

Authored byJill Barshay

Dual enrollment is exploding. During the 2022-23 school year, nearly 2.5 million high school students took college classes, simultaneously earning high school…

From the Field

Remedial Education is One Step on the Path to College Completion

Authored byJill Barshay

Fifteen years ago, the Obama administration and philanthropic foundations encouraged more Americans to get a college degree. Remedial classes were a big barrier.

From the Field

Reality Check on Tutoring in Nashville

Authored byJill Barshay

Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University, was an early proponent of giving tutors — ordinarily a luxury for the rich…

From the Field

New Evidence Affirms Teachers Should Go Slow Using AI to Grade Essays

Authored byJill Barshay

When ChatGPT was released to the public in November 2022, advocates and watchdogs warned about the potential for racial bias. The new large language model was…