“Scores for 12th-graders in math and reading continued their years-long slide, reaching new lows on national tests,” the Washington Post reports.

“The declines were underway before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which broadly disrupted education, and scores have continued to fall. Policymakers had hoped there would be signs of recovery by 2024, when these tests were administered. Instead, the results were the latest indication of the pervasive challenges facing American schools and students.”

New York Times: “One major reason is an emerging divide within the administration between aides eager to deliver President Trump a political victory by announcing a deal and those who contend the current framework is too favorable to Harvard. Some Trump advisers argue that one way to strengthen the agreement would be to subject Harvard to an independent monitor who would ensure compliance. Harvard has consistently opposed that idea.”

“Talks have also slowed in recent weeks with Cornell University and Northwestern University.”

“Northwestern University President Michael Schill said Thursday he was resigning, marking the latest university leader to step down during a tumultuous period in higher education,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Like many of its peers, Northwestern has faced pressure from the Trump administration over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.”

“The Midwestern university has had $790 million in federal research money frozen, affecting hundreds of scientific projects, including clinical trials with patients on lifesaving medicine.”

“A federal judge on Wednesday ruled President Donald Trump’s administration unlawfully terminated about $2.2 billion in grants awarded to Harvard University and can no longer cut off research funding to the prestigious Ivy League school,” Reuters reports.

“The decision by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston marked a major legal victory for Harvard as it seeks to cut a deal that could bring an end to the White House’s multi-front conflict with the nation’s oldest and richest university.”

New York Times: “Although Harvard’s case centered on its research funding, the university contended that the administration had compromised its First Amendment and due process rights. Now, the judge’s decision stands to give Harvard new leverage with the White House in settlement talks that began in June.”

Jonathan Martin: “The most consequential bipartisan accomplishment of this decade was hatched in NYU faculty housing and is being fulfilled in conservative and liberal state capitals alike. The legislative victory at hand? Banning phones in classrooms.”

President Donald Trump called for Harvard University to pay a sweeping $500 million settlement to restore its federal funding, CNN reports.

Said Trump, to Education Secretary Linda McMahon: “We want nothing less than $500 million from Harvard. Don’t negotiate, Linda.”

He added: “They’ve been very bad. Don’t negotiate.”

“After months of targeting universities over antisemitism allegations, the Trump administration is turning to a new focus: whether schools are using proxies for race in admissions to diversify student bodies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“This emphasis is emerging in recent edicts from federal agencies and in the White House’s scrutiny of specific universities.”

“The Trump administration said Friday it will not defend a decades-old grant program for colleges with large numbers of Hispanic students that is being challenged in court, declaring the government believes the funding is unconstitutional,” the AP reports.

“A Texas federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked from taking full effect a new state law requiring public schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms,” the Texas Tribune reports.

New York Times: “The law, passed earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Legislature, mirrors one in Louisiana that was declared ‘plainly unconstitutional’ in June by a panel of judges from the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. A federal judge also blocked a nearly identical measure in Arkansas this month.”

“Visitors to the US arriving on student visas plunged in July, falling year-on-year for a fourth straight month,” Bloomberg reports.

“The declines were most pronounced from Asia, the largest international education market, as the Trump administration’s immigration policies created bottlenecks and a chilling effect on prospective students.”

“Teachers from California and New York who want to work in Oklahoma public schools will be required to pass a certification test to prove they share the state’s conservative political values,” USA Today reports.

“Regardless of the subject or grade they teach, they’ll have to show they know ‘the biological differences between females and males’ and that they agree with the state’s American history standards, which includes elements of a conspiracy theory that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump, which fact checkers have said are false.”

Bloomberg: “Some borrowers say they are prioritizing essentials such as housing or groceries, while others refuse to pay as a form of protest.”

“Harvard University and the Trump administration are nearing a potentially landmark legal settlement that would see Harvard agree to spend $500 million in exchange for the restoration of billions of dollars in federal research funding,“ the New York Times reports.

“Negotiators for the White House and the university have made significant progress in their closed-door discussions over the past week, developing a framework for a settlement to end their monthslong battle.”

“The talks could still collapse, as President Trump and senior Harvard officials need to sign off on the terms of the deal.”

“The Trump administration is warning Harvard University that it could take over its patents, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, if a review finds the university hasn’t complied with federal law, an escalation of the continuing negotiations between the White House and America’s oldest university,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher education and extract significant concessions from universities,” CNN reports.