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As teachers seek ways to keep students engaged in learning, a 30-year-old program offers one solution: raising tanks of trout right in the classroom. May say it's a perfect blend of hands-on science and fun.

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This is the 101st year of the national spelling competition, and the third time it's been decided by a rapid-fire "spell-off" since the practice was introduced in 2021 (Image credit: Allison Robbert)

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The California State University system offers an early look at what happens when an administration commits to a technology that its own community isn't convinced will improve education.

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At a time when hopes are dim for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs are partnering across the divide, hoping to prove what's possible. (Image credit: Dena Yadin)

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The Federal Student Aid office lost half its staff last year as part of Trump administration downsizing. Now, it's hiring hundreds of new workers.

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Commencement speakers who bring up the sweeping changes that artificial intelligence is driving are facing boos from the Class of 2026. (Image credit: University of Central Florida and Middle Tennessee State University via Storyful)

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A fast-growing number of special educators nationwide are using AI to create customized education plans. Despite the risks, some research shows it could improve the quality of teachers' work. (Image credit: Talia Herman for NPR)

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New York, Arizona, North Carolina, Kentucky and Nevada are among the states challenging a rule that limits federal student loans for graduate degrees in nursing, physical therapy and more. (Image credit: kieferpix)

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The U.S. has many buildings that are centuries old, but most modern tradespeople haven't learned how to work on them. A New Hampshire program is teaching high schoolers these old restoration skills.

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Some of the nation's most selective institutions are slowly increasing their rural enrollment with the help of millions of dollars from a rural alumnus of the University of Chicago. (Image credit: Lucy Lu)

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State officials in New York say the Salmon River district's special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren't notified. (Image credit: Used with permision)

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The education secretary faced questions about the shrinking of her agency, limits on federal student loan borrowing and oversight of the education of students with disabilities. (Image credit: Eric Lee)

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U.S. school districts worry it could get even more expensive to prepare a meal under new federal dietary guidelines, as they also contend with cuts to programs that helped them buy local food. (Image credit: Rachel Wisniewski for NPR)

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The annual Education Scorecard shows the nation's schools still rebounding from serious losses in math and reading, but it also found those declines began well before the pandemic.

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Remember those devastating learning losses that began during the pandemic? Turns out, they began years before COVID-19. Some states are finally turning things around.

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Oregon's public schools rank last in fourth-grade reading, according to an analysis of national testing. As a wake-up call for elected leaders, Pencil is running for governor as a write-in candidate. (Image credit: Eli Imadali)

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Some schools are warning users not to log back into Canvas yet, after a ransomware group claimed credit for a data breach. Half of North America's higher education institutions use the platform. (Image credit: Michael Warren)

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This year's winner in NPR's College Podcast Challenge is a letter to a grandparent that grapples with health issues including dementia. It's the story of a family learning to talk about hard things. (Image credit: Matthew Coughlin for NPR)

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A first-of-its-kind national study looks at the impacts of cell phone bans in schools.

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Smith College is one of the largest women's colleges in the country. This week, the Trump administration announced it is investigating the school's practice of admitting trans women.

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This application cycle, way more students reported test scores, up 10% compared with last year. That's despite many colleges having "test-optional" admissions policies.

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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Stanford education economist Thomas Dee about the latest study on schools banning cellphones.

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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Morgan State University president David K. Wilson about an association aimed at boosting the research status of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

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Four states have recently passed legislation to limit teaching and assessments via screens for students. So has the United States' second-largest school district.

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In her first appearance on Capitol Hill this year, lawmakers questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon about cuts to federal education spending and students' civil rights. (Image credit: Aaron Schwartz)

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With school choice programs ascendant not just in Iowa but across the U.S., Cedar Rapids offers a preview of who wins and who loses when education meets the free market.

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Some experts worry that less homework could be a problem for math achievement, at a time when test scores nationwide are already at a dismal low. (Image credit: Stanislaw Pytel)

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A new review of state education data shows teacher pay increases can't keep up with inflation and fewer students are enrolled in public schools.

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Every school has problem students, but some are labeled emotionally disturbed (ED) and taught separately from others. (Image credit: Yasmin Yassin for NPR)

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A former pro-wrestling executive, McMahon is now the education secretary Trump tasked with abolishing the agency. New Yorker writer Zach Helfand explains how her WWE experience led her to this role.

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Schools, colleges and other public institutions originally had until this week to make online content accessible to people with disabilities. Now, the Justice Department has delayed that deadline. (Image credit: Kristian Thacker for NPR)

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The influx of fans later this week has led the school district to make a controversial decision: canceling in-person school. (Image credit: Perry Knotts)

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With school choice programs ascendant not just in Iowa but across the U.S., Cedar Rapids offers a preview of who wins and who loses when education meets the free market. (Image credit: Cliff Jette for NPR)

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NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to filmmaker Ken Burns, an alumnus of Hampshire College, about the school's plan to permanently close at the end of the fall semester.

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NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to filmmaker Ken Burns, an alumnus of Hampshire College, about the school's plan to permanently close at the end of the fall semester.

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As one Vermont college finishes its last semester, an estimated 442 others may be in trouble. (Image credit: Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report)

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As one Vermont college finishes its last semester, an estimated 442 others may be in trouble. (Image credit: Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report)

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Public universities across Texas have instituted sweeping changes in recent months, from canceling gender studies programs to directing faculty to sign a pledge not to indoctrinate students.

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To figure out how to boost student voting, colleges have relied on a study about campus voter registration and turnout rates. A Trump administration investigation has cut schools off from new data.

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Public universities across Texas have instituted sweeping changes in recent months, from canceling gender studies programs to directing faculty to sign a pledge not to indoctrinate students.

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To figure out how to boost student voting, colleges have relied on a study about campus voter registration and turnout rates. A Trump administration investigation has cut schools off from new data. (Image credit: Angela Weiss)

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Higher education is especially reliant on computers and phones, but accessibility for people with disabilities has often been forgotten. A new federal rule could change that.

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Higher education is especially reliant on computers and phones, but accessibility for people with disabilities has often been forgotten. A new federal rule could change that. (Image credit: Kristian Thacker for NPR)

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The explosion of online gambling and sports betting, as well as the advertising behind it, is attracting a growing number of young people, most of them boys.

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The explosion of online gambling and sports betting, as well as the advertising behind it, is attracting a growing number of young people, most of them boys.

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Public school teachers across California have taught Cesar Chavez's contributions to the labor movement for a long time. Now they're figuring out how to revise those lessons given the recent allegations against him of sexual assault.

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Public school teachers across California have taught Cesar Chavez's contributions to the labor movement for a long time. Now they're figuring out how to revise those lessons given the recent allegations against him of sexual assault.

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All children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a free K-12 public education. But without birthright citizenship, access to schools and colleges could get complicated.

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All children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a free K-12 public education. But without birthright citizenship, access to schools and colleges could get complicated.

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In August, Education Department employees will relocate to a smaller office roughly a block away, and the larger Energy Department will take over the old headquarters.

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In August, Education Department employees will relocate to a smaller office roughly a block away, and the larger Energy Department will take over the old headquarters. (Image credit: Saul Loeb)

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The Trump administration announced a three-phase transition that will eventually include management of most federal student loans as well as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

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The Trump administration announced a three-phase transition that will eventually include management of most federal student loans as well as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). (Image credit: Alex Brandon)