Full-Spectrum Education Choice
The new state education-choice initiatives have the potential to address the nation's elementary- and secondary-school learning crisis.
Historic changes are underway in American elementary and secondary education. As of this writing, 19 states have established K-12 education-choice programs for all resident children. Altogether, nearly half of the nation's school-aged children will be eligible for publicly funded programs that give their parents the freedom to choose the best learning environment for them.
These changes come at an opportune time. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results revealed historically poor test scores among the nation's students. Nearly one-in-three American 12th graders scored "below basic" in reading, while almost half scored "below basic" in mathematics. The average reading scores were the lowest reported since the government began administering the NAEP exam in 1992. All of this raises alarming questions about students' readiness to attend college, join the workforce, and participate in civic life in adulthood.
It also suggests that, all too often, the time and resources invested in many young Americans' elementary and secondary schooling are being squandered. The average student in the high-school class of 2023 had over $200,000 spent on his public schooling and the opportunity to attend school for more than 2,300 days. Nonetheless, most of these high schoolers did not attain proficiency in reading or mathematics.
The adults who control the nation's public-school systems decided how those days and resources were spent. Some of their choices undermined students' interests. The most visible was many public-school districts' decision to close during the Covid-19 pandemic, sometimes well into the 2020-21 school year when many schools had safely reopened without endangering students' health. Alarmingly, many school districts also ignored the overwhelming scientific evidence about the best ways to teach children how to read. Their failure to employ effective pedagogies based on this evidence delayed or denied millions of students the chance to master this foundational skill at a young age.
The new state education-choice initiatives have the potential to address the nation's elementary- and secondary-school learning crisis. Unlike past school-voucher or scholarship programs, which only allowed parents to choose where their children attend school, these new account-based education initiatives let parents choose where, when, and how they learn.
Politics
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Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.
Parliament, Country, and Friendship
James Grant’s delightful Friends Until the End also has much to tell us about the character of statesmen and the power (and limits) of rhetoric.
Why Can’t We Have a Real Filibuster?
The history of congressional reform is the history of unintended consequences.
