#Publiceducation

In California, a bold new approach to literacy is taking shape: universal, yearly screenings for reading difficulties in children from kindergarten through second grade. The aim is simple and ambitious—spot early warning signs of reading trouble, including dyslexia, so that teachers and families can intervene before gaps become permanent. The lead of the latest report on California’s plan is clear: screenings offer early indications of where children need support and, crucially, point to whether a child should receive further evaluation or targeted instruction. As districts prepare to roll out these tools, educators, parents, and policymakers are watching closely to see whether the strategy translates into meaningful gains in reading proficiency.

Scientists have identified remains that may be the oldest mummies in the world, dating back as far as 12,000 years, and they appear to come from across Southeast Asia. The discovery pushes the known history of deliberate, or at least assisted, preservation of human bodies far earlier than the famous Chinchorro mummies of South America and predates the well-known Pharaoh mummies of ancient Egypt. The remains were found in a spread of sites in parts of China and Vietnam, with potential connections to communities in neighboring countries including the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Researchers emphasize that the mummified remains show signs of heat exposure, suggesting smoke-drying over fires as a preservation method used by hunter-gatherer groups long before agriculture took hold in the region. The finding hints at a long, shared prehistory of ritual and memory in Southeast Asia, where keeping the body intact was believed to sustain bonds between the living and the dead.

A wave of AI in Thai classrooms is approaching, but fresh cognitive science findings urge caution: genuine learning comes from effortful thinking, not shortcuts. A cognitive psychologist who studies how students use AI points to a nuanced future where AI can scaffold and personalize learning, yet risks becoming a brain drain if students let the machine do the hard work. As Thailand expands digital tools in schools, educators, parents, and policymakers must design learning experiences that keep the mental workout central while leveraging AI to keep students on track.

A new wave of national assessment data shows that United States students are grappling with what analysts are calling a devastating setback in reading and mathematics. The latest long-term trend results for nine-year-olds indicate a drop of about five points in reading and seven points in mathematics since the pandemic-era benchmark of 2020. The declines are the largest seen in reading in more than three decades and mark the first time math scores have fallen in the long-term trend record. The findings echo concerns raised by educators and researchers around the world about learning losses during extended school shutdowns, remote instruction, and uneven access to support services.

A fresh wave of education research argues that the current panic over students cheating with AI tools is missing the real opportunity—and the real challenge—in modern classrooms. Rather than treating AI as a cheating threat to be policed, researchers say, teachers and policymakers should embrace AI as a learning partner and redesign assessments to measure understanding, creativity, and problem-solving in ways that tools cannot simply imitate. For Thai educators, parents, and students navigating the rapid digitization of learning, the implications could be profound: with thoughtful implementation, AI can close gaps in access and personalize learning; with sloppy policies, it can widen disparities or train students to chase short-term wins rather than long-term understanding.