To break the cycle of failure, school districts need the freedom to innovate

Much attention has been paid to the ever-increasing cost of a college degree. But only one-third of Americans go to college, and they do so by choice. There’s another area of our education system that has an even worse return on investment: our K-12 public education system.   

Most families lack options other than their local public school, where 90 percent of students are enrolled.  And way too many are getting almost nothing out of it. We are spending record amounts of money on students, yet they are falling behind, increasingly unable to read or perform math at anything near grade level. These students not only face a lifetime of lower earnings and increased poverty, but our nation is growing poorer as a result. 

We know there are ways out of this mess, but we’ll need to confront powerful special interests and entrenched party dogma to bring new and innovative approaches to our education systems. 

Over the last 60 years, the total inflation-adjusted money spent on K-12 education has dramatically increased in the U.S. while these schools have seen significant declines in enrollment (over 1.4 million since the beginning of the pandemic). One might think that more money spent on fewer students would lead to better outcomes, but that’s not what we’re seeing.

Compared to the other countries, our students are several grade levels behind. The problem is even more pronounced in our major cities, and especially for communities of color with lower incomes, where test scores are low and schools face constant safety issues.

Just look at Boston, where $27,000 is spent per student, and yet only 25 percent of Black students are at grade level in English. In Detroit, $15,510 per student buys a college readiness rate of just 8 percent. New York City’s $38,000 per student translates to a pass rate of around 50 percent on reading tests in grade three through eight. 

In Philadelphia, part of which one of us (Anthony Williams) represents, school district spending increased spending by 37 percent from 2016 to 2022, while enrollment declined by 12 percent. These two trends together raised average spending per student to roughly $25,000. This resulted in math proficiency falling to 15 percent, with more than one school at a proficiency rate of 1 percent or less.

Similarly, in Chicago, $29,000 per student has translated to single-digit proficiency rates in both math and reading.

How is this happening?  In part, schools are hiring the wrong people. In Philly, 3,400 new hires were made during that time period, but only 500 were teachers. The other 2,900 jobs were administrative and support staff. 

The cost of these failures to our children is incalculable, but it’s a burden that this country bears as well. We are seeing the results play out in real-time, with staggering consequences. Our workforce is no longer the innovative, educated envy of the world. Our military branches can no longer find qualified recruits to pass the necessary test to serve and protect our nation.

Instead of working together to find solutions, however, our leaders debate along politically defined tribal boundaries. If you are an elected member of a particular party, you are supposed to repeat that party’s script on public education, regardless of your constituents’ true situation. 

All the while, parents just want what is best for their children.  

One solution is to tie increased teacher pay to increased responsibility and accountability. The Equity Project in New York City, founded by a former business partner of one of us (Andrew Yang), has done just this, minimizing the number of administrators and transferring those duties to teachers. Accountability is high, but so are salaries, with teachers starting at $125,000. By moving away from tenure and salary tracks and towards rewarding positive outcomes, the school has had great success.

In other words, we should take the opposite approach to the one Philadelphia has taken.

Another solution would be to let parents control the money that funds their children’s education, tying that money to the children themselves. This would allow us to drive toward competition, innovation, and reform without needing to raise taxes or cut education spending. 

Imagine if such a program were implemented in Chicago. If parents choose district schools for their child, the district receives the $29,000 per child as normal. If they choose a charter school, the charter school would receive that funding. If the parent chooses a private school that costs less than $29,000, the leftover funds would be automatically deposited into an investment account for the child, from which he or she could someday pay for college, start a business, buy a franchise, or purchase a house.

We can achieve a program like this that maximizes flexibility for families while still ensuring accountability for taxpayers and our communities by ensuring continued government oversight through standardized testing, auditing of the program, and other benchmarks.

A third solution is to move away from abstract education and toward vocational training. Most schools have done away with classes such as auto and wood shop, though these classes teach skills that translate directly to in-demand, stable, high-paying trade jobs. A smooth pipeline from high school to apprenticeship programs would create clear career paths for students who aren’t interested in pursuing college. Mike Rowe, the television host and executive producer of “Dirty Jobs,” has been a huge proponent of this reform, and we agree with him. 

School districts need the freedom to try these innovative solutions to the education crises we are facing, especially in our cities. If not, we will continue to see costs per student climb while outcomes continue to decline.

We must not overlook the aspirations and potential of any individual in our country. It is imperative that we include and empower every American in this battle for progress and equality.

Anthony Williams is a Democratic state senator representing the 8th district in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties. Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur, was a Democratic candidate for president in 2020 and for New York City mayor in 2021.