Reposted by James S. MurphyChristopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 15hThis is priceless. Check out how local news is reporting on Sen Eric Schmidt’s clown-show grilling of Jack Smith. They found Jack Smith at the game… “Top corner, section 109, row 1. In fact, that seat doesn’t even exist in Atlanta.” 767177385610
Reposted by James S. MurphyW. Carson Byrd @wcbyrdphd.bsky.social · 6hNice overview of research by the Urban Institute & AIR about the burdens of ACTS reporting for institutions. ‘Ultimately, many institutions surveyed said they were concerned about how the ACTS data would be used—& whether their difficulties compiling it would lead to erroneous conclusions.’insidehighered.comInstitutions Outline Challenges Collecting ACTS DataAbout two-thirds of institutions needed at least the 200 hours that the Education Department anticipated they would require to compile ACTS data. Difficulty remedying errors and unclear definitions ma... 122
Reposted by James S. MurphyPaul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 23h"Unless [Federal Scholarship Tax Credit] funds are targeted towards low-income areas outside the communities where the money is being donated, we expect the FSTC to become a regressive funding source, even where those funds go to public school students." www.brookings.edu/articles/who...brookings.eduWho is likely to benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit? | BrookingsJon Valant and co-authors assess who will benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit—and why policymakers should be worried. 036
Reposted by James S. MurphyMatt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026"It’s the kind of movie about evil billionaires that evil billionaires would enjoy, which makes it the worst kind of movie about evil billionaires." @williambibbiani.bsky.social is one of the greats 1722650
Reposted by James S. MurphyMerle Eisenberg @merleeisenberg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026AI teaching for today: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/o.... The author's approach makes sense: students write an essay followed by a 45 minute oral discussion. But he teaches small seminars at Williams College, whereas most professors teach 30-200+ lectures. The solution is a structural non-starter.nytimes.comOpinion | I’m a College Professor. Writing Isn’t as Important as We Think. (Gift Article)If I do not treat writing as essential for achieving thought, it is not clear why I should force my students to. 232
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026It's wild that an editor at the Chron could ask this question for any other reason than to point out that Yglesias is completely wrong and has no idea what he's talking about. 251
Reposted by James S. MurphyPhil Klinkner @pklinkne.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Great research by @tesler.bsky.social on the GOP man crush on testosterone. I really loved this chart.goodauthority.substack.comRepublicans’ fascination with testosterone in three chartsWhy depictions of testosterone as a measure of manhood resonate with Republicans. 210126
Reposted by James S. MurphyEric Kelderman @erickelderman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026One big question I have about this entire endeavor is: Was this report itself an act of advocacy, given the way it was compiled and the people chosen to do the writing? Did the authors use scholarly methods to address the issues? 031
Reposted by James S. MurphySarah Cohodes @cohodes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I love when @douglasharris9.bsky.social gets cooking on vouchers. I would say "vouchers are a special-interest carve-out for rich people." 1115
Reposted by James S. MurphyChronicle of Higher Education @chronicle.com · 28/09/2026Dartmouth is conducting a review of Provost Santiago Schnell after he admitted to using AI to write academic articles and newspaper opinion pieces. chroni.cl/4rCxBl8chronicle.comDartmouth Opens Review of Provost Over AI Use in Scholarly and Public WritingThe college is conducting a “rigorous, objective review” of Santiago Schnell after he admitted to using artificial intelligence to write academic articles and newspaper opinion pieces. 076
Reposted by James S. MurphyMerle Eisenberg @merleeisenberg.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Budget fun fact #2. After removing medical schools and hospitals (more on this later), the largest sources of research funding for the Top 50 universities are: HHS (the NIH) at 31.5%, DoD (Department of Defense) at 25.5%, and the NSF (National Science Foundation) at 16.1%. 166
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Policymakers at speech time: We need more college students going into high-paying STEM programs. Maybe wipe out some other stuff? Policymakers at budget time: We definitely can't provide more money for high-cost STEM programs. Maybe wipe out some other stuff? 010
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I love this time of year when the leaves change and you can almost smell the end of baseball. 020
Reposted by James S. MurphyDana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/09/2026By far the closest Zuck has ever stood in proximity to something called “charm”:bloomberg.comMeta Debuts Dedicated ‘Charm’ Device for Using Muse AIMeta Platforms Inc. unveiled a palm-sized, dedicated gadget for using Muse, the company’s popular new artificial intelligence assistant, pushing deeper into the AI devices market with a surprise annou... 1437
Reposted by James S. MurphyMatt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o... 58854721497
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I had a great time talking about the impact of the SFFA decision with @juliejpark.bsky.social @angelbperez.bsky.social Jasmine Davis-Randolph and Dakota Pawlicki on the @luminafoundation.bsky.social podcast. 141
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The loss of international students is probably the single biggest factor in who gets admitted where this year. It's never a bad year to be full-pay students. This year is likely to be better than ever. 132
Reposted by James S. MurphyDavid H Feldman @dhfeldman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I just noticed that I was cited in the Yale Report. The person who wrote this paragraph clearly did not understand what Bob and I were trying to express about the reasons why college price (and cost) have risen over long stretches of time. This is a wonderful example of a defensive citation. 232
Reposted by James S. MurphyRobert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 24/09/2026George Washington University is reporting a 6.7 percent drop in enrollment this fall, primarily driven by international graduate students.gwhatchet.comGranberg warns GW will face continued financial challenges as enrollment slides nearly 7 percentUniversity President Ellen Granberg said during the meeting the anticipated decline of nearly 1,000 students this year is concentrated in the international graduate student market after visa restricti... 11914
Reposted by James S. MurphyLee Gardner @leegee.bsky.social · 23/09/2026John Coltrane was born 100 years ago today. We should all get off work and schools should close. 211750
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Batwitdaflop metalinjection.net/news/another...metalinjection.netAnother Kid Rock Festival Gets Cancelled Due to No One Buying Tickets - Metal InjectionFreedom Fest, the MAGA event set to feature Kid Rock this Saturday, has been cancelled due to incredibly low ticket sales. 131
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The fact that USN puts the military academies in the same category as Bowdoin and Bryn Mawr tells you pretty much all you need to know about how seriously to take the rankings. 151
Reposted by James S. MurphyCharlie Barone @charliebarone.bsky.social · 22/09/2026What Happens on Education After the Midterms? Competing proposals from progressives and the center-left foreshadow 2027 education policy debates at all levels of government charliebaroneedu.substack.com/p/what-happe...charliebaroneedu.substack.comWhat Happens on Education After the Midterms?Competing proposals from progressives and the center-left foreshadow 2027 education policy debates at all levels of government 022
Reposted by James S. MurphyMatthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I am also a parent who has opted not to peergroup-max by son’s education and for a whole bunch of reasons I feel like it’s been a pretty different outcome than what NHJ describes. www.slowboring.com/p/why-i-send...slowboring.comWhy I send my kid to low-income urban public schoolsNot every school with unfavorable demographics is a dysfunctional mess — policy matters! 9694
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026High school graduation cheat codes don't help anyone. edtrust.org/blog/low-aca...edtrust.orgLow Academic Standards Spare Adult Feelings at the Expense of Students’ FuturesAs states lower the bar for graduation and grade-level tests, students can pass without mastering almost any high school skills 010
Reposted by James S. MurphyHakeem Jefferson @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Nikole Hannah-Jones w/ a sobering follow-up on her decision yrs ago to enroll her daughter in a poor, majority-Black public school rather than a wealthier, whiter private school. You leave heartbroken for the kids being failed by this grossly unequal system. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...nytimes.comIn Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? (Gift Article)A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice. 21524358
Reposted by James S. MurphyVictor Luftig @vl1959.bsky.social · 19/09/2026This disheartening thread seems to me very well worth reading to the end: "shame tolerance is built into the business model. Federal legislation may be the only way to get rid of this unethical & embarrassing ritual..." (State legislation did in UVA's.) 132
Reposted by James S. MurphyKaren Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026When Johns Hopkins (my alma mater) dropped legacy admissions a few years ago, I can tell you that many of college classmates (many of whom identify as liberal/progressive) were very displeased, some to the point where they stopped donating. 1102
Reposted by James S. MurphyTim “Positive Subway” Smith @positivesubway.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Everyone who is crashing out over the NYT guest op-ed (which has not been skeeted or gotten a push alert) about University of California admissions procedures: please report to this link immediately and take the test! akilbello.com/crisis-const...akilbello.comTake the Diagnostic: The Math 2 Skills Assessment 153
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026What's going on with legacy preferences in 2026? There's really 2 stories. 1) The vast majority of colleges have stopped considering legacy status in their admissions practices, but... 197
Reposted by James S. MurphyTrueRef by Abbey Esparza @trueref.bsky.social · 18/09/2026My 95 year old Mexican grandmother receiving another angel figurine. 640426
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Almost half the people with education debt are under 35. 120
Reposted by James S. Murphymikenietzel.bsky.social @mikenietzel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The good news and the bad news on the current status of legacy admission preferences. #HigherEd #AcademicSky www.forbes.com/sites/michae...forbes.comThe Good News And The Bad News About Legacy Admissions Revealed In New ReportExtending a legacy preference in college admissions has dropped sharply in the past decade, but many selective colleges continue to advantage the relatives of alumni. 152
Reposted by James S. MurphyBetsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026$3500 is too much for researchers to pay out of pocket to have access to publicly owned data. 073
Reposted by James S. MurphyHadas Weiss @hadas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026if they want to slow ai down they should submit to peer review 2657
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026I'm grateful for this story that is so well reported, but reading it made me feel sick and hopeless. www.wired.com/story/burner...wired.comA College Girl Was Exploited on Camera. A Network of Anonymous Men Got to WorkMaddie Kowalski is one of countless young women who’ve had their lives destroyed by the burnerverse, a loosely connected online community of sports fans. Now she’s fighting back. 021
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026As good a summary of all the administration's efforts to break this country as you'll find: "Notwithstanding the scale of the likely harm, the government’s proffered rationales for the rule are exceptionally weak." 041
Reposted by James S. MurphyAnne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026Some details: Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children www.propublica.org/article/dona...propublica.orgDonald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian OligarchThe oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large... 15224451312
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Let's not forget the federal component in the scandal that is Alpha Schools. 232
Reposted by James S. MurphyBenjamin Riley @benjaminjriley.bsky.social · 14/09/2026NEW REPORT ON ALPHA SCHOOL Last week, I reported on troubling activities at Alpha School's boot camp. This week, I report on the broader activities going on at Alpha School, and its culture. What I found is deeply disturbing. Children are at risk. I will now share some of what I uncovered.buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com“It’s pretty dystopian if you think about it”New report on Alpha School’s activities and culture 46431
Reposted by James S. MurphyGod @thegodshow.com · 13/09/2026“DONALD TRUMP IS NOT WELCOME HERE!”thegodshow.comBless The Irish For Standing Up To DonaldDear Humans, 652585479
Reposted by James S. MurphyMichael Clemens @mclem.org · 12/09/2026The US President's new proposal to tax international students has been approved by the White House for release this week. It's an unprecedented $100,000 tax on int'l grads who stay to work after graduation on Optional Practical Training (most grads do), a crucial bridge to remaining by any channel. 21432711
James S. Murphy @jamessmurphy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Weird that this airline went out of business. 010
Reposted by James S. MurphyNate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026More than any Chronicle of Higher Education profile of a professor who doesn't like academia, I think this interview is the one I'd recommend to understand where higher education is at in the United States www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...insidehighered.comArchitect of Ohio Higher Ed Overhaul on Shared Governance: GarbageJerry Cirino, former chair of the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee, successfully passed a sweeping, controversial law in his state. He’s an example of state lawmakers getting more invol... 69642
Reposted by James S. MurphyRobert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 10/09/2026As a higher ed finance person, I keep emphasizing that more students are enrolling in high cost of educating fields like health and engineering and fewer in lower-cost fields like the humanities. This squeezes institutional budgets as cross-subsidies disappear.insidehighered.comReport: Humanities Majors DisappearingAnxiety about job prospects and heavy reading loads have led to dramatic declines in humanities majors since 2012, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 110329
Reposted by James S. MurphyW. Carson Byrd @wcbyrdphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Additional weak findings announced about supposed discrimination in law & medical admissions that rely on decontextualized test scores & misconstruing internal communications & other materials that seek to follow the SFFA ruling’s allowance of considering student essay responses.insidehighered.comTrump Admin. Says Berkeley Law, Duke Med DiscriminatedThe Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced this week that they had determined the University of California, Berkeley’s law school and Duke University’s medical school each inte... 033
Reposted by James S. MurphyJeremy Singer @jeremylsinger.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Ever since the pandemic, we've had a school attendance crisis...right? I have a new essay arguing that the "crisis" narrative is a bit overblown, and may be distracting us from longer-standing issues that predate the pandemic: edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1574 🧵 2208
Reposted by James S. MurphyJesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · 09/09/2026The University of California is in the midst of what looks to be a year-long debate about the use of SAT scores in undergraduate admissions. I wrote a FAQ that attempts to collect the facts that are relevant to this debate, and to dispel some common misconceptions: escholarship.org/uc/item/6kx2...escholarship.org 13617