Pulse #37: Making Decisions Without a Map

As AI and shifting job roles accelerate change, schools are overinvesting in teaching skills that age quickly and underinvesting in judgment. What matters most is students’ ability to navigate ambiguity, make informed decisions, and act responsibly when expectations are unclear. Preparation shifts toward real-world problems with authentic stakes. It also means longer projects that build persistence and reflection, clearer visibility into decision-making and tradeoffs, strong student-adult relationships, and portfolios that show growth over time.

A new report finds that AI’s risks may outweigh its benefits, particularly for developing learners. Researchers warn that AI can shortcut learning, weaken social and emotional development, and erode trust between students and teachers, especially when used as a substitute rather than a support. The report argues it’s not too late to course-correct, calling for AI use that prioritizes learning over task completion, transparency with students, stronger AI literacy for educators and families, and tools designed to teach rather than tell.

Educators are positioning visual literacy as a core reading strategy to help students navigate an increasingly AI-saturated information environment where realistic-looking but potentially fabricated images appear across learning materials and social media. Students who struggle with traditional text-based reading tasks often engage more readily when learning to “read” images by slowing down, describing what they see, making inferences, and justifying their thinking. These are the same cognitive strategies required for written comprehension. The shift reflects growing recognition that critically evaluating visual content is now as fundamental as traditional literacy when preparing students to identify misinformation and question constructed media.

A new study tracking students from prekindergarten through 8th grade shows that absence rates as low as 3% to 7% are linked to below-grade-level performance on state tests, well before students reach the 10% threshold that typically defines chronic absenteeism. Researchers examined year-over-year attendance and achievement data to question how chronic absenteeism is currently defined. The data points to the need for earlier intervention in attendance patterns, as states increasingly hold districts accountable for chronic absenteeism rates that rose from 15% pre-pandemic to 28% in 2021–22.

A low-income district east of San Jose has emerged as a model for addressing chronic absenteeism by combining systematic data analysis with personalized student interactions through its counseling program. The district's approach focuses on identifying attendance patterns early and connecting students with targeted support services, moving beyond traditional disciplinary responses to absences. The strategy demonstrates how districts can tackle attendance challenges by treating counselors as key players in academic intervention rather than just crisis responders.

A new study finds that most students leave high school with little awareness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, even when teachers and counselors report being familiar with them. More than 60% of students said they knew little to nothing about HBCUs, reflecting limited classroom exposure and inconsistent college advising. The findings point to the importance of earlier conversations about HBCUs, clearer guidance on programs and financial aid, more sustained counselor engagement, and intentional work to counter bias so HBCUs are part of students’ initial college planning, not an afterthought.

Thirty-one states now require high school students to take a financial literacy course for graduation, with Hawaii becoming the latest to add the mandate starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Only Alaska, Wyoming, and Washington D.C. currently have no financial literacy requirements, while other states require courses to be offered or standards to be implemented at the district level. The expansion comes as national financial literacy rates remain stagnant at 49 percent, suggesting state mandates may be responding to persistent gaps in students' money management skills.

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