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The report also contends that the U.S. cannot regulate its way to educational excellence, drawing on research and NAEP results.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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Meaningful Accountability: A Brighter  \nFuture forK–12 Education  \nMatthew Ladner, PhD  \nKEY TAKEAWAYS  \nOver the past two decades, all 50 states increased per-pupil funding and adopted academic standards and accountability exams—with very little success.  \nState school rating systems have become increasingly irrelevant: private firms developed information platforms that are much tougher graders than state systems.  \nThe success of education choice programs will rely on three crucial elements: formula funding, expansiveness of uses, and universal eligibility.  \nThe United States cannot regulate its way to educational excellence.  \n—Tom Loveless, education researcher  \nFranklin Roosevelt served as Assistant Secre  \ntary of the Navy during the Woodrow Wilson  \nAdministration. As President, Roosevelt quipped that he served as his own Secretary of the Navy. The leaders of the Navy did not appreciate what they viewed as presidential meddling, engaging in a variety of tactics ranging from passive resistance to outright refusal to follow Roosevelt’s direction.  \nAfter the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt’s hands-on approach found vindication. Roosevelt had ordered the Navy to convert light cruisers into makeshift aircraft carriers over the sustained objections of the admiralty—a decision that proved both wise  \nThis paper, in its entirety, can be found at [https://report.heritage.org/bg3913](https://report.heritage.org/bg3913)  \nThe Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) [546-4400 | heritage.org](546-4400 | heritage.org)[ ](546-4400 | heritage.org)Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.  \nand desperately needed as the United States found itself down to a single functional large carrier for long periods ofthe Pacific War. Along the way Roosevelt noted to a friend:  \nThe admirals are really something to cope with—and I should know. To change anything in the navy is like punching a feather bed. You punch it with your right and you punch it with your left until you are finally exhausted, and then you find the damn bed just as it was before you started punching.1  \nThe interwar Navy has nothing on America’s public education system. Presidents, Members of Congress, Governors, philanthropists, and those who run non-profit organizations have been punching the feather bed of public education for decades. Even before the calamity of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Americans had little to show for their effort.  \nThe Dismal Results of K–12 Reform  \nOver the past two decades, all 50 states increased per-pupil funding and adopted academic standards and accountability exams. Chart 1 shows the spending trend (inflation-adjusted) per pupil by state between 1999 and 2000. Increases ranged from a low of 5 percent in Idaho to 101 percent in Vermont. The average state increased funding by 37 percent above inflation.  \nResearch established long ago that funding increases do not automatically translate into improvements in academic outcomes.2 Did states, however, see any return on investment for their increased spending in the form of improved academic performance?  \nThe National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a widely respected set of academic exams given to representative samples of students in all 50 states. Tests include fourth-grade and eighth-grade reading and math for all states between 2003 (the year when federal law required states to participate in those tests) and 2019 (the last NAEP data before the COVID-19 pandemic) . A large majority of states also participated in fourth-grade and eighth-grade science exams between 2009 and 2015, with the next science exams scheduled for 2028. Federal law does not require state participation in the science exams, and for non-partic","cbCaimC6iEuILson","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimC6iEuILson","pdf",673441,24,"English","# Key Takeaways\n## The Dismal Results of K–12 Reform\n## Chart Evidence and NAEP Trends","[{\"question\":\"What major issue does the paper identify with K–12 reform over the past two decades?\",\"answer\":\"It finds that states increased per-pupil funding and adopted standards and accountability exams with very little success in improving outcomes.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper say state school rating systems are becoming irrelevant?\",\"answer\":\"Private firms created information platforms with much tougher graders than state systems, reducing the value of state ratings.\"},{\"question\":\"What elements does the paper say determine the success of education choice programs?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights formula funding, expansiveness of uses, and universal eligibility as three crucial elements.\"}]","Backgrounder - No. 3913 - From Mass Deception to Meaningful Accountability | PDF",1792053796]