Americans coming up with solutions for education

Learning that works. Seventy percent of eighth graders are not proficient in reading. Nearly 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year, and many that do graduate are unprepared for college or a career. Here are ten proposed solutions so that every student can get ahead in the 21st Century.

World-class national education standards
Education everywhere should prepare a student for life anywhere, so America must set a rigorous, common state standard that says that every student everywhere will have mastered the same skills in their education. Allow for local innovation to implement these standards and measure progress with carefully developed testing.

Better pay for better teachers
We must reward the best teachers. The best educated and most capable teachers are the most likely to leave, so we must allow them the opportunity to advance their careers. We must objectively judge the best teachers using student test data and outside performance reviewers. Recruitment of the best teaches is also essential. We are seeing more and more evidence that suggests the greatest correlation between student success and teachers is the basic achievement level of the teacher and that placing a student with a first year, high achieving teacher gets you better results than placing a student with an average experienced teacher. We must find ways to recruit teachers from the top tier of graduating classes regardless of their major. Top teachers turn into innovators, a lesson we have seen with Teach for America.

Allow parental choice in schooling
Develop solutions that put choice in parents’ hands. Parents should be allowed to choose which school their taxpayer dollars will support to educate their children. More choice also allows for greater innovation and higher standards.

Charter Schools that lead innovation
Charter schools are publically funded tuition-free schools that serve as an alternative to traditional public schools. To be successful, charter schools should not have caps on the number of students attending, should be funded equitably with other public schools, should have effective governance, and should be held accountable for performance.

Scholarships for those who graduate early
Incentivize achievement for our students. Allow students who have mastered tough standards in less than the normal four years of high school to graduate early and use the money the public school saved to help pay for the students’ tuition at the college of their choice. Allow flexibility in coursework so students can accomplish this.

Education offerings that match a student’s ability
Every student should graduate with the skills needed to make a productive living. Not all students will be bound for college, but all students can learn to succeed. We should ensure that every student graduates from high school with a workforce skill that has been measured.

Excellent education for our most gifted students
Our brightest students will drive our future. We must identify gifted students and allow them to move as fast as they are able. If a third-grade student can read at a sixth grade level, we cannot leave him or her bored while learning third-grade material.

More hours for learning
To succeed, students must have more time for in-depth instruction, one-on-one practice with their teachers, and a chance to explore more subjects like music, art, and more. Extending the hours in a school day to more closely match a normal work day and extending the length of the school year will help give students the opportunity to succeed.

Information Technology to track success and identify failure
To prepare students for the 21st century, school boards will need massive sustained investment in Information Systems to manage talent. The systems must be used to track test scores, identify trends that reveal where improvement is needed, and to reward the best teachers. The systems must be implemented at the school district or even state level to identify broad trends across schools.

Tools to lift up low-performing schools
Problems that lead to low and underperforming schools must be identified and corrected. The best teachers should be rewarded with incentive pay to teach in failing urban or rural schools. Schools should also be empowered to provide an orderly and safe environment for learning.

Bookmark and Share