Tired of Federal Gridlock? Take a Look at Education Reform in the States

As the government shutdown continues (with no end yet visible), it’s easy—and wholly understandable—to get cynical. If we can’t manage basic stuff like funding the federal government, it’s hard to expect any sort of meaningful, exciting, education (or otherwise) policy reforms. In times like these, it’s good to keep an eye on the states.

So, if you’re looking for evidence for the potential of new education policy reforms, take a look at the National Governors Association’s recent report, “A Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy: Getting All Students Reading By Third Grade.”

Proficient third-grade reading is enormously important. Late third-grade readers should be sufficiently effective at decoding text that they can move on to higher-order content comprehension skills. To use the more familiar formulation, by the end of third grade, students are beginning to transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” In the introduction to Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, the National Research Council noted, “A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is quite unlikely to graduate from high school.” (For more, see “Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters,” from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.)

What’s to be done? The NGA’s report sets out five steps that states can take to support better third-grade reading:

adopt comprehensive language and literacy standards and curricula for early care and education programs and kindergarten through third grade (K-3);

1. expand access to high-quality child care, pre-kindergarten, and full-day kindergarten;
   
2. engage and support parents as partners in early language and literacy development;
   
3. equip professionals providing care and education with the skills and knowledge to support early language and literacy development; and
   
4. develop mechanisms to promote continuous improvement and accountability.
   

We might suggest a sixth area for action: explore ways to support strong student health and development during the Birth–3rd Grade (B–3rd) years—but otherwise, these five steps pretty much cover the waterfront. It’s encouraging to see the NGA articulating such a comprehensive vision of how to productively reform early education.

The rest of the document expands on each of these actions and offers examples from various states that have already taken them. For example, New York is aligning its curricula to the Common Core and developing “supports that help teachers better serve dual language learners.” Connecticut now “requires candidates for a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education to take an early language and literacy course.” There are dozens of other examples of states pushing innovative education reforms.

There’s little question about the effects of efforts in any of these five action areas. For instance, the research on public investments in full-day kindergarten is clear. Highlighting the research is the easy part.

The challenge, as the report notes, lies in bringing policy in line with the research consensus on what works best for students. While education debates are frequently as polarizing as any other issue, the fault lines dividing opponents sometimes cross ideological boundaries in unpredictable ways. In some cases—consider debates over the Common Core, for instance—Republicans like former Florida Governor Jeb Bush find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with the Obama Administration.

Political ideology is often especially unconventional at the state level, and that can conduce to creative, impactful reforms. The NGA’s report is particularly attentive to the need for governors to use their prominent positions “to promote a B-3rd agenda” in public debates. It also calls for governors to foster inter-agency collaboration to improve policy implementation in the early years.

This is critical work. As we noted in our recent event on comprehensive education reform in Delaware, these efforts require both a compellingly articulated vision and effective implementation. It’s easy to talk about what must be done, and quite another to ensure that it actually happens. Just take a look at Congress!"