“We’re not getting the bang for the buck that we need.”

Our jaws hit the floor when we heard this admission from Governor Sherrill.

Sometimes the best way to figure out the way forward is to take a glimpse back. 

Which of these scenarios do you find the least plausible?

1. You place an order at Jersey Mike’s and are told “your lunch will be ready in 3-4 weeks.” 

2. A teenager takes their driving test in February and finds out in July if they passed. 

3. A 4th-grader completes their NJSLA math exam in April and learns the results in October.

We’ve all seen the cliché of politicians kissing babies to look like nice guys. So it’s adding insult to injury that too many of our elected leaders across the country aren’t looking out for our kids.

“They” say “if it looks too good to be true, then it is.” That’s the conventional wisdom Mississippi is defying with its massive educational turnaround. 

Dropping your kid off at college is one of a parent’s proudest moments. You’ve guided them through the elementary school play, middle school dances, and the (eventual) thrill of college acceptance. Now they have their NJ high school diploma guaranteeing they are “prepared…for success in postsecondary degree programs, careers, and civic life.” 

Fish oil, nuts, antioxidants - one food fad after another claims to be good for your brain. But in computer-centric classrooms, students don’t have much use for that organ. That’s the sad reality presented in a new book excerpt from Jared Cooney Horvath about classroom technology eroding kids’ cognitive abilities. 

Welcome to 2026. We all know the sort of promises we make at the start of the year. Not only are we going to run a marathon, we’ll eat five green vegetables during the course, and swear only once per mile over those 3 4 5 hours. 

The holiday season is officially upon us. Twinkling lights, polar bears in soda commercials, the same four songs over and over - and of course the long overdue New Jersey statewide test results.

Yes, nothing quite says “New Year” like the scores from a test taken in May. But what’s seven months to a 4th grader?

A shocking release from the University of California San Diego shows that many freshman students need remedial math courses on concepts they should’ve mastered around the time they learned to tie their shoes.

That these students boast impressive high-school GPAs only points to the pervasive dishonesty in our K-12 system. Today we’re reprinting this provocative editorial from the San Diego Union-Tribune in full.

With Election Day behind us, we now know Mikie Sherrill is our next governor - and as part of managing our boisterous state, she inherits our schools and the many challenges facing them. The biggest point is that 54% of our kids are not on grade level in math, which is urgent to fix because math is cumulative. We need change, and while change requires effort and political will, it’s totally doable.

Our guest contributor today, Chad Aldeman, shares critical information and his own perspective as a parent on the delay in 2025 state test reporting. Can you guess which state is among the 16 that hadn’t released state data by mid-October? Hint: it’s home to countless diners, the winless Jets, and taylor ham pork rolls.