Fixing America Starts with Fixing our Public Schools

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressional-mandated program administered by the U.S. Department of Education every two years, and is the largest assessment of what students are learning in our public schools. Started in 1969, the NAEP reading assessment is done with grades 4 and 8 and it measures students’ reading comprehension skills.  

A few weeks ago, the 2019 results were published, and they are disturbing. Only 34% of eighth and 35% of fourth graders were proficient in reading, a drop from the previous 2017 study and about the same as 2009. At 34%, the math scores remained about the same from the previous study. The bottom line is that our nation’s public schools are failing in their basic mission for 60-65% of its students.

And yet, according to the US Census, between 2012 and 2017, average per-student spending increased by 15%.  In fact, from 1970 through 2015, nation spending per public secondary school student, increased from $6,411 to $14,013 in inflation-adjusted dollars according to the U.S. Department of Education. That’s a 118% increase.

One might be tempted to say that the population is growing so we have more kids in schools so of course the spending is increasing to match the increase in population. While it is true that our population has grown, (203 million in 1970 to 321 million in 2017, a 58% increase), according to the U.S. Dept of Education, the number of school age children (5-17 years old) has remained nearly constant (52.5 million in 1970 and 53.7 million in 2016). Given the ever-diminishing fertility rate in the U.S., this isn’t that surprising.

Even more stark is that the average achievement scores for 17 year old students has remained virtually unchanged since 1970 as we can see from the chart below, again from the U.S. Department of Education.

So let’s review.  For the past nearly half-century, the U.S. has more than doubled spending on nearly the same number of public school students and has made no progress in the basic mission of education.  More than 60% of students still are not proficient in reading and math after nearly 50 years of continuously increasing spending. Let that sink in for a moment.  Unfortunately, education at all levels in this country has become quite politicized and, from teachers to administrators to politicians to parents, we are all guilty of tolerating this level of underachievement.

What’s the root cause of the problem? Certainly, it’s not a lack of money. When public-sector retirement benefits are included with salary, teachers are well-compensated compared to their private sector counterparts. A 2011 study, Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers, by Jason Richwine, Ph.D., and Andrew G. Biggs, Ph.D., concluded that public school teacher total compensation is 52% greater than the equivalent private sector job with comparable education and skills requirements.  In the private sector, companies and employees that under perform for a fraction of this 50 year duration, almost always go bankrupt or are fired.  However, public schools function like a monopoly where the power of government is routinely used to suppress competition or parents who demand better. We can speculate on other root causes but a civil function so vital to the future of our nation that has under performed for so long should no longer be tolerated.

Thankfully, there are solutions out there that yield better results. Charter schools are also publicly-funded and are organized by specific state laws and are exempt from some state and local laws. In exchange for the flexibility and autonomy, charter schools must meet certain accountability criteria as well as abide by the same rules as public schools. These include being open to all children, not requiring entrance exams, not charging tuition, and participating in state testing and federal accountability programs. One of the big advantages for charters is that they are not obliged to hire only teachers who are members of a union. They can hire anyone they want and create teacher performance criteria and work rules that aren’t governed by collective bargaining agreements. Also, at $7,131 average per student, charters receive significantly less public funding than their district school counterparts.

Despite smaller budgets and operational handicaps put in place in some jurisdictions by politicians protecting the monopoly, charter schools typically outperform their traditional public school counterparts. While performance can vary by geography, a 2017 study by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes titles found that all charter schools showed statistically significant better outcomes than their district school peers on a national basis. Large charter school networks—such as Achievement First, Basis Schools, and KIPP—generate extraordinary outcomes compared to their non-charter counterparts. Some of these charters achieve student results equivalent to an additional 125 days of learning in math and 57 days in reading. These are incredible outcomes, which explains why there is such high demand and waiting lists for charter schools, especially in lower-income communities. In fact, charter school enrollment comprises significantly more African-American and Hispanic students than traditional public schools (57% vs 39%)

In my home state of Florida, you can make a strong argument that education policy decided a very close gubernatorial election in 2018.  Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum opposed school choice and Republican candidate Ron DeSantis was a vocal supporter of school choice.  DeSantis beat Mr. Gillum, an African-American, by winning 18% of the female African-American vote (100,000 votes) in an election that was decided by 40,000 total votes.  These school choice moms voted for a better future for their kids, at a rate that was 250% higher than African-American females vote for the GOP nationally.  Governor DeSantis is making good on his campaign promise to increase school choice by expanding the state voucher program and the winners are Florida kids.

I think this is powerful evidence that educational outcomes are not as much a function of money as school choice opponents contend. It’s about methodology, accountability, and empowering teachers. Kids are sponges and will emulate good or bad examples in society. Parents are the first role models, and millions of low-income minority families are showing the courage to vote with their feet and enroll their children in charter schools to increase the odds of success. On the other hand, if kids see teachers constrained by poor curriculum and work rules that prioritize adult interests over the student’s interests, they will be less motivated to do their best work. Great teachers are inspiring and can change lives. I have witnessed this with my own kids. But there is more than ample room to raise the bar for everyone. The unfortunate result is that many under performing kids in public schools are simply passed on to the next grade, where they become someone else’s problem. We can and must do better for our kids. The future of this country depends on it.