Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Credit: Michael A. McCoy/The New York Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s fourth and eighth graders are losing ground in their ability to read literature and academic texts, according to a rigorous national assessment released Wednesday that is likely to fuel concerns over student achievement after decades of tumult on the educational landscape.
Two out of three children did not meet the standards for reading proficiency set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department.
The dismal results reflected the performance of about 600,000 students in reading and math, whose scores made up what is called the “nation’s report card.” The average eighth-grade reading score declined in more than half of the states compared with 2017, the last time the test was given. The average score in fourth-grade reading declined in 17 states. Math scores remained relatively flat in most […]
Trump addressing Turning Point USA
As he inches closer and closer to being impeached President Donald Trump is working hard to secure his base. One of the most powerful organizations at the president’s disposal is Turning Point USA, which is closely tied to the Trump campaign through Trump family members. TPUSA has been described as a “far-right group” which was originally funded by billionaire donor to Republican and Evangelical Christian causes, Foster Friess.
(Friess may be best-known to most Americans as the man who suggested the best birth control for women is “Bayer aspirin between their knees.”)
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Consider the almond.
Almonds and other nuts are often touted as healthy snacks, because they can help you maintain a healthy weight and are linked to a lower risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
But almonds are grown in drought-stricken California, and the amount of water required to produce them has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. So if you’re an environmentally minded eater who also wants to embrace a healthy diet, are almonds a responsibly green snack?
Relatively speaking, yes, says ecologist David Tilman of the University of Minnesota.
In a vast new analysis published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Tilman and his co-authors looked at the health and environmental impacts of 15 different food groups, including nuts, fruits, vegetables, red meat, dairy, eggs, fish, olive oil, legumes and sugar-sweetened beverages.
The foods were ranked relative to one another based on how they influence the risk of disease and the toll they take on the planet in terms of water and land use, greenhouse gas emissions and how they impact pollution […]
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Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters
A measure of hiring by US businesses fell to the lowest level in seven years in the third quarter as trade tensions increasingly weighed on the economic outlook.
- The National Association of Business Economists said in a survey released Monday that just one-fifth of companies hired more workers over the past three months.
- “Higher tariffs are disrupting business conditions, especially in the goods-producing sector,” one NABE economist said.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A measure of hiring by US businesses fell to the lowest level in seven years in the third quarter as trade tensions increasingly weighed on the economic outlook.
In a survey released Monday, the National Association of Business Economists said one-fifth of companies hired more workers over the past three months. That was compared with one in three in July and brought the gauge to its weakest point since 2012.
The decline was at least partly driven by trade disputes between the Trump administration and major economies, the business economists said. Tariffs have dimmed […]
Young Americans continue to lose faith in capitalism and embrace socialism, according to a new YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey of more than 2,000 Americans 16 years and older.
Why it matters: Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed democratic socialist, is one of the top presidential candidates in the 2020 Democratic field. His flagship health care proposal, Medicare for All, has driven the national conversation and moved the Democratic Party significantly to the left — even among candidates like Elizabeth Warren who consider themselves capitalists.
