Articles
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Education
GOP voters back expanding Oklahoma’s school-choice tax credit, poll shows
A new poll shows Oklahoma Republican voters overwhelmingly support the Parental Choice Tax Credit program—and want lawmakers to eliminate the current $250 million cap that risks shutting out families as demand spikes.Ray Carter | November 18, 2025
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Education
A $250,000 state superintendent? Oklahoma’s pay-raise panel triggers scrutiny
Oklahoma’s Statewide Official Compensation Commission has drawn criticism after voting to double the state superintendent’s salary to $250,000—making the position the highest-paid statewide elected office in Oklahoma and among the highest-paid education chiefs in the country.Ray Carter | November 17, 2025
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Education
At many Oklahoma schools, very few students are proficient readers
In the Oklahoma City and Tulsa school districts, the vast majority of third-graders are not proficient in reading. Even in districts such as Edmond, Deer Creek, Broken Arrow, and Bixby, most students are failing to achieve proficiency.Ray Carter | November 13, 2025
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Education, Law & Principles
School-produced illiteracy crisis gets Oklahoma lawmakers’ attention
Oklahoma’s fourth-grade reading levels are among the worst in the nation. It appears our state lawmakers are beginning to take notice.Jonathan Small | November 10, 2025
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Education
Lawmakers hear claims OSSAA applies rules unevenly, denying students fair play
State lawmakers heard emotional testimony accusing the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) of applying its eligibility rules inconsistently and unfairly, depriving students of the chance to play high-school sports. OSSAA officials defended their process.Ray Carter | November 5, 2025
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Education
States with little or no school choice are pushing homeschool regulation
Despite claims that school-choice programs would lead to government control over homeschoolers, Oklahoma’s experience shows otherwise. Meanwhile, aggressive homeschool regulations are being proposed in New Jersey, which doesn’t have private-school choice.Ray Carter | October 30, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma should build on 2024 draft social-studies standards, not return to the flawed 2019 model
As new State Superintendent Lindel Fields restarts Oklahoma’s social studies standards review, policymakers and citizens should ensure the process preserves the solid foundation of the December 2024 Draft Standards—not the flawed 2019 model infused with Critical Race Theory and action civics.David Randall, Ph.D. | October 29, 2025
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Education, Good Government
Experts urge Oklahoma to reinstate third-grade reading law
Oklahoma’s fourth-grade reading scores have collapsed to near the bottom nationally. In a recent legislative study, literacy leaders urged state lawmakers to reinstate Oklahoma’s once-successful third-grade reading law, which required early intervention and retention when necessary.Ray Carter | October 22, 2025
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Education
If Oklahoma’s public schools are ‘accountable,’ why are all these high-school graduates illiterate?
“One in four young adults across the U.S. is functionally illiterate—yet more than half earned high school diplomas,” says a new report. It’s time for the Oklahoma Legislature to put an end to social promotion in our state’s unaccountable public schools.Brandon Dutcher | October 17, 2025
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Education
New test results expose deep reading crisis in Oklahoma classrooms
Newly released 2025 state test results show a staggering 73 percent of Oklahoma third-graders are not proficient in reading—a finding that mirrors national NAEP data. Despite record school funding in Oklahoma, student performance has steadily declined.Ray Carter | October 7, 2025