Apr 29, 2014, 9:09 PM ETPanel

K-12 Education Reform: Forward or Faltering?

Panelists: The discussion features Kevin Huffman (TN Education Commissioner), Ruslan Ali (Emerson Education Fund Chair/former U.S. Asst. Sec.), Lowell Milken (Knowledge Universe/National Institute for Excellence in Teaching), Patricia Levesque (Foundation for Excellence in Education), and Bruce Reed (Broad Foundation).
Reform Timeline: The modern reform movement began 31 years ago (April 26, 1983) with A Nation at Risk, followed by the standards movement (1990s) and No Child Left Behind (2000s).
Current Status: The landscape is characterized by a complex mix of Common Core advancement and backlash, stalemates over federal law renewal, and a divergence between high graduation rates and persistent achievement gaps by income and race.

Gaining Ground: Kevin Huffman asserts reform is gaining ground as the sector knows what works (standards, accountability, choice), but warns the U.S. is improving slower than the industrialized world.
Losing Momentum: Ruslan Ali argues the "rising tide of mediocrity" continues due to a lost national imperative, citing that 51% of Black and 50% of Hispanic 4th graders could not read in 2013.
Political Fragmentation: Patricia Levesque identifies a "perfect storm" where the far left and far right are uniting against standards, measurement, and charters.
Coalition Challenges: Bruce Reed notes that while the "accountability genie is out of the bottle," political will remains insufficient to close gaps with the world.
Business Community: Kevin Huffman states the business community supports reform but lacks organization and political muscle compared to unions and administrative associations.

Resistance: Common Core faces a unique coalition of opposition: unions (fearing accountability for adults) and the far right (demanding local control/curriculum freedom).
Implementation vs. Measurement: The consensus is that the standards themselves will likely survive, but the "anti-testing" fatigue threatens the measurement systems required to enforce them.
Political Rollbacks: Kevin Huffman notes that accountability consequences trigger rollbacks in standards, citing No Child Left Behind and current struggles in California and Tennessee.
Cut Scores: There is a critical debate over setting meaningful "cut scores" (proficiency levels); current state scores often sit much lower than the NAEP national standard.
Communication Failure: Lowell Milken argues the public views testing as punitive rather than professional growth, creating a communication gap that opponents exploit.
Parental Reaction: The panel acknowledges that some parents (specifically "white suburban moms") resist new assessments when they reveal their children are not "all above average."

Inequitable Distribution: Ruslan Ali highlights the Vergara case in California, arguing that tenure and "last in, first fired" policies disproportionately place ineffective teachers in low-income and minority schools.
Constitutional Claim: The Vergara suit is groundbreaking as it asserts that teacher quality is a "constitutional right" and that current laws violate the right to an education.
Union Opposition: The panel notes that opponents argue one cannot be "pro-civil rights" and "pro-Vergara," framing the lawsuit as an attack on equity.
Solution Proposed: Ruslan Ali suggests that winning the case is not enough; the practical solution requires attracting top talent to high-need schools via higher pay and leadership roles.
Alternative Model: Lowell Milken (TAP Initiative) counters that the model of paying more to effective teachers in high-need schools (97% of TAP schools) is already working and scalable.
Generational Shifts: Milken data shows teachers with 1–10 years of experience are significantly more receptive to evaluation and performance-based pay than veterans.

Growth: Bruce Reed reports charter school enrollment has doubled in the last decade, reaching 6,500 schools.
Success Cases: High-performing charters in New Orleans, parts of New York, and Los Angeles are driving significant gains, creating a political toehold for parents.
Political Pushback: Charter schools face resistance from both the left (viewing them as privatization/cost centers) and the right (misinterpreting "local control" as district monopoly rather than parent choice).
Quality Control: The panel agrees the reform priority must be aggressively closing low-performing charters while opening high-quality ones.

Demographic Shift: The 2014 graduating class is the last in which white students will form a majority of public school enrollees.
Gap Trajectory: At current growth rates, the achievement gap will not close until 2030, with 75 million additional children passing through the system in the interim.
Segregation Trends: Communities are more segregated today than in 1968; 75% of Black students and 66% of Hispanic students attend schools where the majority live in poverty.
Florida Model: Patricia Levesque cites Florida as a success story where reforms (accountability, choice, effective teachers) narrowed gaps despite a high population of low-income/minority students.
Poverty vs. Policy: The panel agrees that while concentrated poverty makes reform harder, it is not insurmountable; Florida and Texas examples show "monolithic" high-poverty schools can succeed with rigorous policies.

Sufficiency of Funds: The consensus is that sufficient money exists but is spent inefficiently, with most funds tied to seniority-based salary schedules rather than effectiveness.
Universal Pre-K: Bruce Reed and Lowell Milken emphasize that early literacy is critical; however, universal Pre-K must be outcome-based and connected to a K-12 system that sustains gains.
Federal vs. State: Kevin Huffman and Bruce Reed agree that federal legislation is unlikely to pass; the federal role should remain catalytic (e.g., Race to the Top waivers) while states drive implementation.
Efficiency Needs: Bruce Reed notes that reforms like universal Pre-K and better teacher prep will require additional investment, but current inefficiencies (e.g., a 20-year PE teacher earning more than a 5-year chem teacher) are the primary drain.

Biggest Leverage: To close attainment gaps, all panelists agree the single biggest investment must be teacher quality and effectiveness (paying more for performance, improving preparation, and creating career ladders).
Technology: Technology must move from a peripheral reward to a core tool for customization and personalized learning.
Parental Empowerment: Reform requires shifting decision-making power to parents regarding school choice and customization to drive engagement.
Union Role: Unions have a role, but any organization protecting the status quo or failing to reflect teacher needs regarding student success is incompatible with reform.
Scalability: The primary barrier to success is not a lack of knowledge on "what works," but a lack of political will, leadership continuity, and the ability to scale successful models.