Morgan Polikoff
@mpolikoff.bsky.social
🏳️🌈 Educational researcher focused on curriculum, assessment, accountability, public opinion, and the impact of COVID on education. Professor at USC Rossier. Co-director of USC EdPolicy Hub. These are my views, not those of my employer. 🏳️🌈
Pinned
Morgan Polikoff
@mpolikoff.bsky.social
· Oct 24
Every time I log onto this app I think “what atrocity has he committed now?”
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
every single thing hegseth says in public reveals a bottomless pit of insecurity
When you draw a platoon leader like Hegseth, it’s your worst nightmare. You just ride it out until he’s gone and gets replaced by someone who isn’t a complete jackass. Only a fool like Trump would put one of them in charge of the entire defense department.
November 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
every single thing hegseth says in public reveals a bottomless pit of insecurity
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
dead.
Move over, Richmond REAL! The new Richmond Civilian Review Board logo is the worst branding attempt ever made.
November 24, 2025 at 10:48 PM
dead.
"Less requirements" such as the requirement to understand the difference between "less" and "fewer."
Linda McMahon: "The states will have less requirements because more money will go in block grants to the states ... I have called for a hard reset of education because we have failed our students."
November 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM
"Less requirements" such as the requirement to understand the difference between "less" and "fewer."
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
And with perfect timing, @mpershan.bsky.social just dropped a new essay. I haven't read it yet but I'm confident it's better than other ones.
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
I Don't Know What to Think About America's Declining Test Scores and Neither Should You
The case for confusion
pershmail.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
And with perfect timing, @mpershan.bsky.social just dropped a new essay. I haven't read it yet but I'm confident it's better than other ones.
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
This is a genuinely shockingly bad essay - I would not accept reasoning and evidence this poor from the freshmen I teach.
I try not to do ad hominem around here, but this essay is so unbelievably stupid, I was stunned when I found it was authored by a NYT staffer.
There's a reason reporters generally have beats, so they actually know something about the topic they're writing about. This reporter simply does not.
There's a reason reporters generally have beats, so they actually know something about the topic they're writing about. This reporter simply does not.
November 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This is a genuinely shockingly bad essay - I would not accept reasoning and evidence this poor from the freshmen I teach.
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
UCSD report is shocking. If top college students can’t do basic math, how will USA train the engineers to build cutting edge AI that also can’t do basic math
November 22, 2025 at 3:09 PM
UCSD report is shocking. If top college students can’t do basic math, how will USA train the engineers to build cutting edge AI that also can’t do basic math
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
It is likely that widespread legal sorts gambling has corrupted every major North American collegiate and professional sports league. Another John Roberts gift that keeps on giving.
A Temple men's basketball player placed 39 men bets on Temple and 3 against Temple during a 16-month period, the NCAA said after its sports gambling investigation into the program. It also found that a former assistant to the HC bet on college sports + a grad assistant bet on pro and college sports
November 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
It is likely that widespread legal sorts gambling has corrupted every major North American collegiate and professional sports league. Another John Roberts gift that keeps on giving.
Just got an email from a student I have never met in a field I am not in asking me to sign a reference letter for their PhD application.
It's probably AI or fake, too.
Everything is great.
It's probably AI or fake, too.
Everything is great.
November 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Just got an email from a student I have never met in a field I am not in asking me to sign a reference letter for their PhD application.
It's probably AI or fake, too.
Everything is great.
It's probably AI or fake, too.
Everything is great.
Publishing a piece in a math journal and truly education researchers don't know how good we have it. The amount of labor they make authors do to get files ready for publication is *unbelievable*.
November 21, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Publishing a piece in a math journal and truly education researchers don't know how good we have it. The amount of labor they make authors do to get files ready for publication is *unbelievable*.
Yes, this is the way. *slow drag from cigarette* // The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Yes, this is the way. *slow drag from cigarette* // The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
First episode of Pluribus was outstanding.
November 21, 2025 at 5:36 AM
First episode of Pluribus was outstanding.
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
Amazing study showing that deactivating social media improved mental health.
[It has so many coauthors that the sample size was sufficient to run the RCT on themselves.]
[It has so many coauthors that the sample size was sufficient to run the RCT on themselves.]
Forthcoming in AEJ: Economic Policy: "The Effect of Deactivating Facebook and Instagram on Users’ Emotional State" by Hunt Allcott, Matthew Gentzkow, Benjamin Wittenbrink, et al. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
The Effect of Deactivating Facebook and Instagram on Users’ Emotional State
(Forthcoming Article) - We estimate the effect of social media deactivation on users’ emotional state in
two large randomized experiments before the 2020 U.S. election. People who
deactivated Facebook...
www.aeaweb.org
November 20, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Amazing study showing that deactivating social media improved mental health.
[It has so many coauthors that the sample size was sufficient to run the RCT on themselves.]
[It has so many coauthors that the sample size was sufficient to run the RCT on themselves.]
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
This person pitched my news organization earlier this year, but I found the pitches suspiciously too perfect and turned them down. I had a thought of trying to force a confession but figured it would take too much time and effort -- I'm glad someone got to the bottom of it.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 20, 2025 at 11:19 PM
This person pitched my news organization earlier this year, but I found the pitches suspiciously too perfect and turned them down. I had a thought of trying to force a confession but figured it would take too much time and effort -- I'm glad someone got to the bottom of it.
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
Truly, I cannot believe that anyone still trusts this administration to fight antisemitism. And nooses are "divisive"? Between what? the head and the body?
November 20, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Truly, I cannot believe that anyone still trusts this administration to fight antisemitism. And nooses are "divisive"? Between what? the head and the body?
"The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office."
"The past decade has been a gloomy lesson in how limited a proportion of men actually see women as equal human beings. The fact that many men believe they no longer even have to pretend to respect women in order to participate in public life makes it unlikely that anything will change anytime soon"
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office."
Did not know there were places where this was not a university-wide policy! Interesting replies.
Side note: It's always fascinating talking to people at other universities how there is such a tremendous range of benefits, processes, policies, etc. for institutions that otherwise seem so similar.
Side note: It's always fascinating talking to people at other universities how there is such a tremendous range of benefits, processes, policies, etc. for institutions that otherwise seem so similar.
Do business schools do sabbaticals? Or is that an FAS only thing?
November 20, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Did not know there were places where this was not a university-wide policy! Interesting replies.
Side note: It's always fascinating talking to people at other universities how there is such a tremendous range of benefits, processes, policies, etc. for institutions that otherwise seem so similar.
Side note: It's always fascinating talking to people at other universities how there is such a tremendous range of benefits, processes, policies, etc. for institutions that otherwise seem so similar.
Wait you mean they didn't invite the guy who called for his opponents to be hanged? How uncivil of the Cheneys!
President Trump was not invited the memorial service for Dick Cheney on Thursday, and Vice President JD Vance was also not in attendance. Cheney, a once-powerful Republican, turned on Trump last year by announcing he would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump Was Not Invited to Cheney’s Memorial Service
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a once-powerful Republican, turned on Mr. Trump last year by announcing he would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
nyti.ms
November 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Wait you mean they didn't invite the guy who called for his opponents to be hanged? How uncivil of the Cheneys!
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
Costs (the money needed to provide an education) have risen. Prices (what students pay) have been at or below inflation for the past decade. That doesn't get nearly enough attention.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
November 20, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Costs (the money needed to provide an education) have risen. Prices (what students pay) have been at or below inflation for the past decade. That doesn't get nearly enough attention.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
Reposted by Morgan Polikoff
British headline writers really nail the "would you look at this prick" tabloid treatment
Well done with the headline @theguardian.com: “Trump & Mr Bonesaw stage love-in”
November 20, 2025 at 2:43 AM
British headline writers really nail the "would you look at this prick" tabloid treatment
Et voila // Lawrence Summers to Stop Teaching at Harvard While It Investigates His Epstein Ties www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/u...
Lawrence Summers to Stop Teaching at Harvard While It Investigates His Epstein Ties
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Et voila // Lawrence Summers to Stop Teaching at Harvard While It Investigates His Epstein Ties www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/u...
This is WILD. A small-lot development for *10,000 square foot homes* (in Lombard IL, a few miles from where I grew up).
I mean listen, everyone can have whatever they want and can afford, but what the fuck does anyone need 10,000 square feet for?
www.illinoispolicy.org/small-lots-l...
I mean listen, everyone can have whatever they want and can afford, but what the fuck does anyone need 10,000 square feet for?
www.illinoispolicy.org/small-lots-l...
Small lots lower Illinois housing prices, even for big homes
A Lombard housing project shows how smaller lots can lower costs, boost development and help Illinois address its housing shortage.
www.illinoispolicy.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:26 PM
This is WILD. A small-lot development for *10,000 square foot homes* (in Lombard IL, a few miles from where I grew up).
I mean listen, everyone can have whatever they want and can afford, but what the fuck does anyone need 10,000 square feet for?
www.illinoispolicy.org/small-lots-l...
I mean listen, everyone can have whatever they want and can afford, but what the fuck does anyone need 10,000 square feet for?
www.illinoispolicy.org/small-lots-l...
"It’s not really surprising, then, that you’re going to be admitting more students who aren’t ready for mathematics, because you removed the one piece of data that would have told you that" // This is a Very Morgan quote. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
‘A Recipe for Idiocracy’
What happens when even college students can’t do math anymore?
www.theatlantic.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:25 PM
"It’s not really surprising, then, that you’re going to be admitting more students who aren’t ready for mathematics, because you removed the one piece of data that would have told you that" // This is a Very Morgan quote. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
I had blissfully avoided Linda McMahon's asinine, deeply annoying USA Today op-ed, but then a journalist said she wanted to interview me about it so I had to read it. 🤮
November 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I had blissfully avoided Linda McMahon's asinine, deeply annoying USA Today op-ed, but then a journalist said she wanted to interview me about it so I had to read it. 🤮
If you could survey a representative sample of teens about the whole grade inflation situation/grades/tests, what would you ask?
November 19, 2025 at 6:34 PM
If you could survey a representative sample of teens about the whole grade inflation situation/grades/tests, what would you ask?