Policy Framework: Innovation, Accountability, Choice.

U.S. K-12 education is on the decline. Scores on The Nation’s Report Card—the only nationally representative test which can compare student achievement across all 50 states—have been falling for over a decade, resulting in a “learning recession.” The nation’s alarming academic regression demands immediate action to prevent a generational loss of student potential, socioeconomic mobility, and economic productivity.

Confronted by the headwinds of political instability, a global pandemic, and fiscal pressures, districts and states have been slow to respond to this ongoing crisis. However, bright spots continue to emerge across the country—and these districts and states have leveraged evidence to drive improvements in student outcomes. They have worked to answer the essential questions: What works? For whom? And under what conditions?

Education Reform Now equips policymakers with information to drive evidence-based decision-making in local, state, and federal policy. The policy framework below organizes our policy priorities into three areas: Innovation, to help discover what works; Accountability, to invest only in what works; and Choice, to allow families to choose what works best for them.