Teachers say there’s a rise in misbehavior even among the littlest kidsView in browser [link removed]

**Weekly Update**

**A newsletter from The Hechinger Report**

**In this week's edition:** Elementary teachers nationwide say they’re seeing the same trend: worsening — and increasingly severe — behavior problems in young children [link removed]. The most selective colleges still accept only a tiny fraction of applicants, but at almost all the rest, the odds of getting in are good — and getting better [link removed]. Plus, as a growing number of states weaken childhood immunization requirements, physicians fear many families will miss critical wellness checks [link removed].

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A sign in a classroom at Lead Elementary encourages children to take a break when feeling big emotions. Teachers across the country say student behavior is still challenging post-pandemic, and more support is needed. Credit: Jackie Mader/The Hechinger Report

****Biting, kicking, wandering the classroom****

Elementary teachers nationwide say they’re seeing the same trend: worsening — and increasingly severe — behavior problems in young children. Students are more disruptive. They sometimes lash out physically at classmates and teachers. They’re more defiant. It’s pushing many teachers and schools to try new methods to bring classrooms under control, with districts and states sharply divided over the right approach.

While policymakers have been focused on stalled academic progress and math and reading interventions, far less attention has been paid to understanding why students are displaying more challenging behavior and supporting and training teachers as they try to manage it. Federal data shows educators want help: The percentage of elementary schools where educators say they need more training on classroom management increased from 51 percent in May 2022 to 65 percent last year.

Even though these children were toddlers, infants or not even born when the pandemic began, experts say that the disruption has had long-lasting repercussions. In 2021, researchers at Brown University found that toddlers who were born during the pandemic had significantly lower verbal, motor and overall cognitive performance compared to toddlers born in the previous decade. Those “pandemic babies” would now be around 6 years old and in first grade.  

In a 2025 survey, 76 percent of elementary school leaders said they “agree” or “strongly agree” that the pandemic has continued to negatively affect the behavioral development of students.

Many young children missed out on preschool and other social experiences during the pandemic that could have helped prepare them for school.

Read the story [link removed]

**Getting in to college is getting easier**

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Think getting into college is all but impossible?

Think again.

Sure, the most selective institutions still take only a tiny fraction of the people who apply to them. But at almost all the rest, the odds of getting in are good — and getting better.

That’s because enrollment in higher education is already down by more than 1.5 million since 2010. Now the number of 18-year-old prospective college students is projected to begin a long decline. And federal data show that today’s high school graduates are less likely to go straight to college than their predecessors were.

All of this means colleges and universities are having to admit larger proportions of their applicants, on average. Some are accepting high school seniors who haven’t even applied. They’re waiving application fees, helping admitted applicants nail down financial aid and sign up for classes and offering financial aid to students just for showing up for campus tours.

Only 33 institutions in the country accept 10 percent or fewer of the people who apply to them, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC.

Almost all the rest took half or more of their applicants in 2022, the most recent year reported.

Read the story [link removed]

****Without school vaccine mandates, many kids may never see a doctor****

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As a growing number of states weaken childhood immunization requirements, physicians fear many families will miss critical wellness checks.

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The divide over shots has contributed to what some fear could be a lasting breach between many families and modern medical care — with lasting implications for public health. [link removed]

****Reading list****

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This state tried to overhaul math instruction. It didn’t go as planned [link removed]

Utah tried to infuse data science into its math standards. That effort got caught up in a broader debate about rigor and what math high schoolers need

Inside one state’s approach to fighting antisemitism in schools [link removed]
States are struggling to fight antisemitism and even to define it. Massachusetts faces criticism that its effort might do more harm than good

The greening of career education: Students learn new skills they’ll need as climate change advances [link removed]
Some school districts are adding programs in clean energy and sustainability, while one state is infusing environmental lessons into culinary education, construction and nearly every pathway

Tracking Trump: His actions on education [link removed]

The president is working to eliminate the Education Department and fighting ‘woke’ ideology in schools. A week-by-week look at what he’s done

After affirmative action: Four takeaways — and puzzles — from college admissions data [link removed]
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Everyone expected the end of affirmative action to reduce Black and Hispanic enrollment at top colleges. That’s not exactly how it worked out.

When school size matters and when it doesn’t [link removed]
A study of more than 120 small New York City high schools finds higher rates of college enrollment, but not degrees, jobs or income

OPINION: Pathways for future scientists are becoming scarce, threatening a strong and innovative workforce [link removed]
We need to expand undergraduate research to HBCUs, regional public universities and community colleges

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