Articles

Many policymakers—including some in Oklahoma—insist on applying 20th-century accountability constructs to a 21st-century education system, a system which includes vouchers, tax credits, and education savings accounts. But the world is changing, and many analysts are recognizing the need to adapt.

By eliminating some of this unnecessary spending, Oklahoma could pay teachers what they deserve without raising taxes or jeopardizing funding for roads, bridges, public safety, or the social safety net. That’s a better path – one Oklahoma lawmakers should take in the upcoming 2016 legislative session.

When Oklahoma’s new A-F report cards were released last month, many in the education community were quick to pronounce the grading system “flawed” and “unfair” and to insist that the grades don’t accurately reflect student performance. Tulsa World columnist Jay Cronley noticed the defensiveness and remarked (sensibly, I thought) that “if people focused more on improving themselves and their families than complaining about everything from the headline in the newspaper to the testing procedure, maybe more schools would improve their grades.”

For the United States as a whole, we see that there are fewer pupils per teacher today than at almost any time in the past 50 years. Put the other way, we currently have more teachers per pupil than we’ve had in the past.

Talk of a pending teacher shortage comes every decade. While the talk rarely has translated into disaster, there’s no question that it causes districts and school boards to panic.

The government school monopoly is one of the most important factors undermining the family unit; universal school choice would be a big step toward strengthening the family.

ESAs are the latest advance in educational choice, fostering an unprecedented level of personalized learning opportunities for students customized by those who know and love them best: their parents.

What is it that is distracting from teaching well the core foundations of reading, writing and arithmetic? How can common education, higher education and lawmakers better align resources and incentives so students and teachers have the best opportunity to succeed? If we really care about children, their families and teachers, then we will answer the tough questions.

All the ideas discussed in this article are within state officials’ control. While policymakers cannot remove the risk of Oklahoma’s weather, the state can provide a more stable market that also provides a higher return to the state’s farmers by having the state’s elected officials and agencies act in concert for the benefit of all Oklahomans.

Those faced with the challenges of autism deserve our cooperation and innovation – not mandates and the assault on programs that already prove effective.