Betsy DeVos: U.S. report card shows we must do better
The report card is in, and the results are disappointing for families and educators across the nation.
Every two years, the Department’s National Center for Education Statistics releases the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more commonly referred to as “the nation’s report card.”
The data show that, despite some meaningful improvements, our nation’s reading and math scores continue to stagnate. There was virtually no change in overall performance levels from the 2015 assessment, leaving nearly twothirds of fourth- and eighthgraders below the proficient level in reading. The numbers are similar in math.
Pause and consider those statistics: Only one out three of America’s students score above average in reading and math.
More alarmingly, the gap between the highest and lowest achieving students has grown — despite directing billions of federal dollars targeted to close the achievement gap. Sadly, the achievement gap has also grown for minority students and disadvantaged youth.
These results are simply unacceptable in the United States. Families deserve better. It is time for state, local and federal leaders to put partisan politics aside and commit to meaningful reforms designed to improve student outcomes.
Rather than simply advocating for increasing funding for the same ineffective programs and expecting a different result — a notion Einstein deemed to be the definition of insanity — perhaps it is time for us to rethink that money is used and whether it can be used more effectively to improve outcomes for individual students.
The nation’s report card shows higher marks for one state that has embraced such an approach: Florida. Students in Florida demonstrated improvement across the board. More important, students with lower achievement levels showed encouraging gains. Florida’s African-American and Hispanic students also made notable gains compared to their peers, another positive trend not seen in other states.
It should not come as a surprise that students achieving at higher levels are in the state that has undertaken the most systemic approach to reform its education system.
Florida offers the most expansive menu of school-choice options available to students and families in the country, with many high-quality traditional public and charter schools, education savings accounts, opportunities for children with disabilities to attend the school that meets their unique needs and nearly $700 million awarded per year in scholarships to low-income children to attend a school of their choice. But school choice alone does not account for rising scores.
Driven by strong leadership at the state and local level, Florida has taken a holistic approach to reform. The state gave parents a new level of transparency into their schools by pioneering the nation’s first A-F rating system for every public school. To assist struggling schools, the state increased flexibility and funds in exchange for the school providing a detailed plan of how it intended to improve student achievement. And the state invested in attracting and rewarding high-performing teachers.
Every state is different, and Florida’s specific reforms may not work for every state. But states should look to Florida’s unwillingness to accept the status quo and the state’s determination to implement reforms that will benefit the educational pursuits of every student.
As a parent, I continually challenge my children to do better and to reach higher. As secretary of education, I want nothing less for every student in America — a chance to succeed academically and be prepared to achieve his or her full potential.
As a nation, we are failing to provide an opportunity to achieve the American Dream for far too many students.