The Real Education Debate

Editor’s Note

William McKenzie

The real education debate should be over how best to improve student achievement.

Education, Free Enterprise, and American Prosperity

Anne Wicks

The United States has enjoyed decades of relative prosperity, thanks in large part to the quality of our schools. But our campuses are now leaving too many children behind, while some countries are better developing their talent. We need to speak the truth about our children’s progress and potential so adults can advocate and act on their behalf.

We Know What Works for Kids. Let’s Do It.

Holly Kuzmich

The most recent data from the Nation’s Report Card shows an alarming decline in student achievement in math and reading. Schools and teachers need to respond with strategies that research shows works in educating students. If we don’t improve student outcomes, nothing but the country’s future is at stake.

Getting and Keeping Talented Teachers is the Way Forward

Eva Chiang, Eva Chiang

Across the country, stories abound of teachers burning out and leaving the profession. Fortunately, talent retention strategies can help school districts keep their talented instructors. A growing body of evidence shows how they can attract, support, and retain effective teachers.

How Mississippi Reformed Reading Instruction

Kymyona Burk

By passing education reform legislation, Mississippi took an important first step toward prioritizing reading achievement. But full support – adequate infrastructure, capacity, and funding – is critical to ensuring success.

“Attagirls” Help, but Engaged Learning Helps More

Malika Anderson

Students want more than “attagirls” and “attaboys.” They want teachers to challenge them with their classroom instruction. Unfortunately, that doesn’t often happen.

What Students Need for Successful Adult Lives

The Catalyst asked two parent activists, two experienced school leaders, and a recent college student body president to answer this question: What do students need from schools to lead successful adult lives? Their answers are contained in the videos below.

Train Teachers Well to Spark the Joy of Learning

Kate Walsh

Teachers need quality training that prepares them for igniting the minds of young students. The preparation should include being well-versed in the content they are teaching in their classrooms. Those fundamentals, unfortunately, are not always a given.

Only Wholescale Change Will Work

Mike Miles

Tweaking a system that doesn’t work will yield only qualified results, if even that. The same is true for broken public school systems. They need “wholescale” change if they are going to prepare students for the skills they will need by 2035.

Public Education Is an Essential Public Service, Like Electricity

Pete Geren

School districts run campuses and educate a city’s students. But an entire city’s leaders and citizens are responsible for the success of their students. The current and future health and welfare of the city depend upon their progress. The collective responsibility starts with knowing whether our children are learning at grade level – and taking action to make sure they do.

Achieving Success in Rural Schools

Elisabeth Avila Luevanos

Urban and suburban school districts garner most of America’s attention. Still, nearly 10 million students are enrolled in the nation’s rural schools. Their districts are building partnerships with colleges, developing curricula that address their students’ needs, and, importantly, opening students up to unforeseen possibilities.

Will College Be Worth the Investment for My Son?

Crystal Cazier, Crystal Cazier

Two realities play themselves out in many families’ minds: A college education offers greater economic and social mobility, but the costs of college education are staggering for many families. Across the country, Americans wrestle with these competing realities.

Myths, Facts, and the Qualified Case for College

J.H. Cullum Clark, J.H. Cullum Clark

The case for earning a postsecondary degree is as strong as ever for most young people – and so is the case for renewing America’s commitment to expanding college access. Reaching higher college attainment levels requires dismantling barriers to opportunity and transforming America’s higher education sector.