Advancing Accountability

Video · Aug 25, 2026

Back to School: Getting to know your teacher

Explainer · Aug 21, 2026

Two Minute Take: 2026 Texas School and District Report Cards

A look at how school and district ratings, what they tell us, when scores can lead to a state takeover, and you can learn more.

May 21, 2026

Hot topic: Education Scorecard – three things you need to know

Video · May 1, 2026

Texas students win when policy, data, and incentives create real support in schools

Resource · Jan 13, 2026

George W. Bush Institute experts comment on the implementation of the new federal tax credit for individual contributions to Scholarship Granting Organizations under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill

Bush Institute experts Robin Berkley, The Ann Kimball Johnson director of education, and Nina Rees, senior fellow, wrote a letter to the United State Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service to comment on the tax credit for individual contributions to Scholarship Granting Organizations under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

Resource · Dec 18, 2025

A Republic of Readers

Rooted in a belief that reading opens every door, this book charts a path toward stronger literacy outcomes nationwide. Inside, you’ll find the insights, partnerships, and strategies guiding the Governors Forum on Reading and the movement it represents.

Apr 29, 2025

An Overview of School Choice: Charters, Magnets, Educational Savings Accounts, and More

Mar 27, 2025

Transformative change in education requires leadership at every level of government

Across the country, states and local school districts make most of the decisions about what is taught and who is teaching in local public schools. Many of the real challenges facing our education system sit with these localities, which often lack access to best practices, innovative new ideas, and promising research.

Video · Mar 11, 2025

Two Minute Take: Department or not – the federal role in education

The conversation around the future of the U.S. Department of Education has skyrocketed in recent weeks. Anne Wicks, the George W. Bush Institute's Don Evans Family Managing Director of Opportunity and Democracy explains what role the federal government has and should continue to have in education.

Video · Mar 3, 2025

Two Minute Take: School Choice and the 2025 TX Legislature

School choice is an issue that has been in the news lately. The George W. Bush Institute's Ann Kimball Johnson Director of Education Robin Berkley explains what it means for families here in Texas.

Feb 26, 2025

After dismal test scores, lawmakers must give Texas students real tools to succeed

Policy Recommendations · Jan 12, 2025

Strong Public Schools Need Strong Accountability Policy

Policy Recommendations · Jan 12, 2025

Assessments Play an Important Role in Serving Students

Jul 13, 2023

Education and workforce pipeline new data released

Video · Jun 22, 2023

Two-Minute Take: It's not too late to help our kids learn

Video · Jan 27, 2023

Two-Minute Take: Education after COVID-19

Anne Wicks, the Ann Kimball Johnson Director, Education and Opportunity at the Bush Institute discuss how students must benefit from the federal relief funds now to recover from the pandemic induced disrupted learning.

Video · Jan 18, 2023

Two-Minute Take on education accountability

Anne Wicks, Ann Kimball Johnson Director of Education and Opportunity at the Bush Institute, discusses the importance of student testing and provides recommendations for state and local leaders to enhance education accountability in our nation’s schools.

Resource · Nov 14, 2022

Principal Supervision as a Strategy for Supporting and Retaining School Leaders

This case study describes how Granite School District used one strategy – transforming the principal supervisor role – to both improve principal skills and deepen these leaders’ commitment to staying in their roles.

Oct 24, 2022

National Report Shows Unprecedented Learning Loss as a Result of Pandemic Disruption

Record breaking learning loss for our children due to COVID-19 virtual education

Oct 27, 2021

Prioritizing to Improve Student Outcomes

District leaders in Dallas, Houston, and Austin are implementing new ideas to improve student outcomes. What can we learn from these districts' innovations?

Oct 21, 2021

How Houston Lost "It," Dallas Found "It," and Austin Searched for "It"

The trajectories of student progress in three of Texas' largest school districts are pointed in different directions. What has caused this, and how can school districts' governance stay focused on the students?

Oct 13, 2021

Will the Texas Miracle Include All Texans?

There are more than 7 million Texans under 18 today who need the skills to enjoy a successful career, find purpose in their work, and contribute to the state's economy. The ability of Texas' PreK-16 schools and institutions to prepare young people for their next step will have enormous influence on the state's collective success.

Report · Oct 13, 2021

The Texas Story

Texas is booming. It is the fastest growing state in the Union per the 2020 Census. People of color account for 95% of that population growth. Looking forward, will all young Texans be offered a quality education that puts them on the path to opportunity? Will the state benefit from their collective ingenuity, knowledge, and leadership?

Resource · May 19, 2021

Prioritizing Principals Guidebook

Two sets of central office practices that enable true partnerships between central office and principals.

Policy Recommendations · Jan 14, 2021

Reimagining School: Rethink the School Day and Year to Better Serve Students and Families

With everything the pandemic is showing us in terms of new school models, it’s an opportune time to rethink and reimagine what could be.

Policy Recommendations · Jan 14, 2021

Assessments: Measuring Student Learning Can Lead to More Equitable Schools

The current pandemic has blown apart the public education system as we knew it — simultaneously exacerbating vulnerabilities for many children and forcing rapid innovation to meet this instructional moment. The adults in this system must now focus on two things in response: The first is safety for kids and educators. The second is accelerating academic progress for all kids, regardless of race, ethnicity, or disability.

Policy Recommendations · Jan 14, 2021

Schools and COVID-19: Working Through and Beyond Education’s Greatest Challenge

Federal and state governments – as well as philanthropists and foundations – are being called upon to invest millions of dollars in our public-school system to help schools and districts navigate the impact of the pandemic on student success.

Sep 30, 2020

The STAAR is Born, Thanks to Teachers

An overview of the process used to build the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam.

Sep 30, 2020

Preparing for 2030 Requires Knowing Whether Students are Ready

Mike Miles, founder and CEO of Third Future Schools, a charter school network in Colorado and Texas, explains the role of testing in preparing students for the year 2030.

Sep 30, 2020

Validity, Reliability, and Feasibility are Key to Developing Quality Tests

Jeffrey Nellhaus, former deputy commissioner of education in Massachusetts, discusses how validity, reliability, and feasibility are central to good testing programs.

Sep 30, 2020

How Teachers Help Texas Create Its State Exams

Cindy Riney, teacher in the Montgomery Independent School District north of Houston, has served on panels that review test questions for the STAAR exams. She discusses how test questions are reviewed, refined, or rejected in Texas — and teachers' role in the process.

Sep 30, 2020

Disruptions Present Opportunities to Do Something New in School Testing

Larry Berger, CEO of Amplify, spoke about the purposes of different assessments, the way textbooks are selected, and how we could use the COVID-19 crisis to think anew about testing students.

Sep 23, 2020

Demystifying Tests for Parents

Bibb Hubbard and Cindi Williams of Learning Heroes discuss the role that quality assessments play in helping parents understand their children’s academic progress.

Sep 23, 2020

High-Quality, Fair Tests Can Help Students with Disabilities

Sheryl Lazarus, director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota, discusses how students with disabilities and English learners need appropriate accommodations for standardized testing.

Sep 23, 2020

Assessments and the Building of Knowledge

John White, former state superintendent of schools in Louisiana, offers advice to educators, policymakers, and parents — and shares his thoughts on innovations in testing.

Sep 23, 2020

Education Reformers: You Need to Do More Than Take a Book Report to a Knife Fight

Keri Rodrigues, cofounder of the National Parents Union, passionately discusses public education and testing from the perspective of a parent.

Sep 15, 2020

The Evolving Lessons of Testing

Scott Marion, executive director of the Center for Assessment, details how new, richer, testing may evolve.

Sep 15, 2020

Glossary of Terms for Testing in Education

A guide to the terms used when discussing testing and assessments in the classroom.

Sep 15, 2020

We Don’t Need a “Data Vacation” During the Pandemic

Chris Stewart, CEO of brightbeam and a dedicated parent activist, discusses why quality assessments can help parents and teachers grasp the academic needs of their students — particularly students of color.

Sep 15, 2020

Looking Forward: Tests and Equity in Today's Schools

Recommendations for policy makers, district leaders, and educators will help maximize the power of tests to support all children through and beyond this school year.

Sep 14, 2020

Series Introduction to Beyond the Scantron

In this series, the expert voices of parents, educators, researchers, and policy makers discuss how assessments are built, how they are used, how they can be improved, and the critical role they play for students during the pandemic and beyond.

Sep 14, 2020

The Three W's of Testing

Andrew Ho, the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explains the importance of knowing "who" is making "what" diagnosis to inform "which" decision.

Report · Oct 31, 2017

The "A" Word

Accountability: The Dirty Word of Today's Education Reform

Oct 31, 2017

Introduction — Accountability: The Dirty Word of Today’s Education Reform

Why does accountability matter? What voices are missing from today’s debate?

Feb 5, 2015

The Big Idea of School Accountability

In a new Bush Institute report, Sandy Kress and Bill McKenzie explore how the big idea of school accountability arose. Kress, a Bush Institute.