Education

APM Reports has a long history of covering education and reading issues in the United States, dating back to the days of American RadioWorks, which produced several hour-long audio documentaries. Since 2022, the majority of the education reporting has been related to the investigative podcast Sold a Story, hosted by Emily Hanford.

October 16, 2025

New reading laws sweep the nation following Sold a Story

At least 26 states have passed laws about how schools teach reading since APM Reports’ Sold a Story podcast began in 2022. But proponents of the disproven ideas about reading exposed in the podcast haven’t given up.

August 21, 2025

A window into America’s high schools slams shut

For decades, the federal government has surveyed high school students — and repeatedly followed up with them as adults. The goal was to gather data on their educational choices and careers so researchers could draw connections between them. Trump put an end to that effort as part of his quest to dissolve the Department of Education.

August 21, 2025

‘At what point does it break?’ Nation’s Report Card at risk, researchers say

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is one of the few federal education initiatives that the Trump administration has vowed to preserve. But the administration has slashed the staff responsible for keeping the series of tests up to date. And the board overseeing the assessment has eliminated more than a dozen scheduled tests over the next seven years, citing “cost efficiencies.”

August 21, 2025

Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment

The Trump administration tried to kill the largest reading experiment ever funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm — just months before the yearslong study was complete. The administration agreed to finish the research only after it was sued.

July 24, 2025

Success for All gets kids reading. Why don’t more schools use it?

The school reform program, first developed in the 1980s, has been declining in popularity for the past two decades — even though a mountain of research shows it gets great results, especially when it comes to elementary reading skills. Schools that have dropped the program cite logistical challenges, cost, administrative turnover and a perceived lack of flexibility.

May 23, 2025

Judge scuttles lawsuit over Massachusetts reading curriculum

U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled that the lawsuit against educational publisher Heinemann and three of its top authors was invalidated by a legal doctrine that bars claims of “educational malpractice.”

March 6, 2025

When schools buy new reading programs, they look to EdReports. But some of its reviews don’t line up with science

Even though EdReports is only a decade old, it has quickly become a powerful force in the educational publishing industry. Many schools rely on its reviews when they decide which reading programs to buy. But the nonprofit organization has given high marks to programs that use strategies debunked by cognitive science. And it hasn't endorsed other programs despite studies showing they work.

February 20, 2025

Most school districts have lots of kids who struggle with reading. This one is different

The third graders in Steubenville, Ohio, are among the best little readers in the nation. For nearly 20 years, 93% or more of them have scored proficient on state reading tests. In fact, the elementary schools in this economically depressed area are producing better readers than some of the wealthiest places in the country.