Solving big, systemic problems often requires big, out-of-the-box thinking. This is true in education where issues like stagnant achievement and chronic absenteeism seem intractable at the district level. A new op-ed in The 74 makes a compelling case for why it’s time for Congress to champion an effort to improve, modernize and expand the nation’s research and development around education to help local districts tackle big problems like these.
The authors, Penny Schwinn and Carey Wright – one a former “red state” education commissioner, the other a current commissioner in a “blue” state – know it can be done because they did it. They detail how they used research findings to drastically improve literacy in their states, and they point out flaws in the current system that prevent similar breakthrough innovations.
The authors argue that big challenges are rarely solved with old ways of thinking. “The status quo isn’t sufficient,” they write. “Education leaders and policymakers need to move with urgency.”
Federal investments in education R&D have never been sufficient given our reliance on schools to prepare young people to be productive members of society.
Among other ideas, Schwinn and Wright urge Congress to pass the bipartisan New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act, which was introduced in the House late last year, and just this week in the Senate on July 30. The legislation would create a National Center for Advanced Development in Education at the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The center would strive to solve the biggest, most complex challenges in education and develop innovations that could fundamentally transform teaching and learning.
ALI and its coalition members wholeheartedly support this idea. It’s long overdue. Federal investments in education R&D have never been sufficient given our reliance on schools to prepare young people to be productive members of society. Passing the NEED Act is a great first step toward addressing this disparity and creating schools where every child thrives.