K-12 Education
States provide more funding for education than any other government service. On average 1/3 of state budgets are devoted to supporting K-12 education alone. K-12 education is the largest and one of the most important investments states make and it is no wonder why K-12 policy dominates state legislative agendas.
State constitutions give state legislatures the responsibility of providing citizens with a free and public education. Yet providing an adequate and excellent education for all students is one of the hardest goals for states to achieve. First, it is difficult to define an adequate education and it is even harder to figure out what it costs. Also, students enter school at many different places -- with different early childhood experiences; different parent and family support; and speaking many different languages.
Currently states are interested in offering more choices for students and families. This includes home schooling, charter schools, magnet schools, differently configured schools, specialized high schools, and even virtual schools. All of this makes the demand for accountability more important. States want to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed. Recently, the federal government has developed accountability parameters under No Child Left Behind. This law requires states to regularly test students, disaggregate test scores to understand how all students are doing, and take measure to improve low performing schools.
State legislators are constantly looking for "what works" to improve student achievement. While we know some things that work -- for example quality teaching, strong school leadership, and smaller class sizes in the early grades -- policymakers continue to search for effective models and good practices that are successful for students.
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