National Assessment of Educational Progress

Teachers are incentivized in education to stay in the profession longer through the step-and-lane salary schedule, which gives a raise each year for experience, regardless of professional performance. This creates a system in which individuals are not accountable for proving they are providing student learning. Teacher pay is not linked to student test scores or student growth; rather, it is based on time in the profession. High-achieving individuals enter the profession and find that their hard work and professional results are not rewarded. They often leave the system to pursue a career opportunity in which their job performance is recognized with financial compensation. It’s time the system was flipped so that high performance by educators is incentivized and rewarded. The status Read More ›

As the price tag of a college degree soars, the perceived value by parents, students, and employers alike is decreasing. A 2024 essay in The Wall Street Journal found, “Nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school, even if there were no obstacles, financial or otherwise.” Additionally, the report noted that two-thirds of high school students believe “they will be just fine without a college degree.” Furthermore, the findings of a November 2023 survey revealed that an astonishing 55 percent of US companies eliminated bachelor’s degree requirements for employment eligibility. Instead, employers are valuing skills and experience over education. Employers face growing challenges filling specialized jobs due to the misalignment between college Read More ›

With Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signature on Tuesday, New Hampshire became the first state in the Northeast and the 17th state in the nation to enact universal school choice. New Hampshire joins Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming in empowering all parents statewide with a portion of their children’s education funding to select the K-12 education avenue of their choice. Previously, New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program, which began in 2021, was restricted to only families meeting a certain household income threshold. However, during this legislative session, the state House and the Senate took up separate bills to make all students eligible for the program. On March 13, House Bill Read More ›

Today, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act into law, bringing the total to 15 states with universal (or near-universal) school choice! Last week, Idaho Governor Brad Little ushered in school choice for families statewide. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee brought education freedom to Tennesseans a few weeks ago. Last year, Alabama and Louisiana got the job done. The year prior, 2023, included Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and North Carolina enacting universal school choice in their states. All of these wins were built upon the courageous, bold, and forward-thinking leadership of West Virginia Senator Patricia Puertas Rucker and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who led the way in 2021 and 2022, helping advance universal school choice Read More ›

President Donald Trump hit the ground running, reforming K-12 education and restoring parental rights during his second week back in the Oval Office, which coincided with the 15th annual National School Choice Week. Last week, President Trump issued the “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” executive order. According to a White House fact sheet, the order “recognizes that parents, not the government, play a fundamental role in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.” The executive order states that within 60 days, “the Secretary of Education shall issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives.” It also “directs the Secretary of Education to prioritize school choice programs in Read More ›

The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress exam results showing dismal reading scores for America’s 4th and 8th grade students should not be surprising. Organizational design expert Arthur W. Jones noted that “all organizations are perfectly structured to obtain the results they get.” Applied to our public schools, rather than being surprised by the mediocre results we’re seeing throughout the country, it’s what we should expect. If we want to improve the performance of our schools, which is crucial to our nation’s economic health and security, we need to change the structure of the educational system. All successful systems have several key elements: Leadership Successful organizations are led by effective leaders. If we want better schools, we need better leadership, namely Read More ›

President Joe Biden’s appointed secretary of education, Miguel Cardona, is out the door as President Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office. The end of Cardona’s tenure couldn’t come soon enough. K-12 student learning achievement is pitifully low. Chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed. Condoned college campus protests are a disgrace. Federal student aid, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (known as FAFSA) form and process, is a mess. Despite four catastrophic years, Cardona released a glowing report last week. It boasts about the U.S. Department of Education’s “accomplishments” under his watch and opens with a full-page letter from the secretary. “This report, The Impact: Fighting for Public Education, is about more than documenting the successes under the Biden-Harris Administration. Read More ›