Even if you made it through the slides, be honest with yourself: Did you feel like the lost NAEP 50% of K-12 students is someone else’s problem? (Shhh!—only you will know if that’s how you feel.)
But the reality is this: the K-12 issue directly impacts every aspect of your life—and the lives of your future generations.
The unfortunate 50% and their families share this country with you and yours.
This website uses the informal abbreviation “DOE” for the U.S. Department of Education, rather than the official “ED.”
Click the + to see more. Click the – to only see the title
The nation’s K-12 teachers are not at fault. In fact, the U.S. public K-12 system, along with its teachers, is regarded by other top industrialized nations as the best in the world. The global community recognizes the system’s remarkable ability to prepare a diverse range of students for success in U.S. colleges and universities.
And no, COVID did not cause the NAEP assessments crisis. Before COVID (in late 2019), only ~37% of K–12 graduates could read at minimum NAEP proficiency, and only ~25% could do math. The post-COVID reality is worse—but even at the 50% figure sometimes cited by Big Media, the blow to the nation’s socioeconomics, GDP, quality of life, and human capital is staggering.
Today the rates are even lower—approximately 25% for reading and 24% for math (click the NAEP link).
A “forever” K–12 failure by the states. NAEP results indicate that states (taken as a whole) forfeit roughly 50% of the nation’s K–12 students—many leaving school unable to read or perform math at minimum NAEP proficiency.
Caveat: States that perform well on NAEP may still fall short on other critical metrics, such as cap rate, potentially placing students at a lifelong disadvantage.
A “forever” K-12 failure by the federal government, despite creating the U.S. Department of Education (referred to as “DOE” throughout this explainer site).
Congressional stroke of the pen excellence. Congress can transform perhaps the nation’s most tragically misused asset into national excellence. Click the U.S. Department of Education link. Re-legislate the DOE to become one of the nation’s most consequential federal agencies—an unparalleled asset for advancing K–12 student performance.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE), created nearly 17 years after President Kennedy’s assassination, did not carry forward Kennedy’s urgent call to improve nationwide K–12 student performance. Click the John F. Kennedy link for his vision. In terms of Kennedy’s focus, the subsequently created U.S. Department of Education fell short from its inception—an outcome Kennedy might have viewed as inconsistent with his objectives.
Theoretically, any of the federal agencies—whether the DOE, the Department of Labor (DOL), one of the 15 cabinet-level executive departments, or one of the many independent agencies, such as the National Science Foundation—could serve as the sponsor of the HSe4Metrics platform. However, aside from the DOE, none has K–12 student performance as its sole focus; in each case, student performance would be secondary—creating the risk of mission dilution in the effort to improve national K–12 outcomes.
In sum, the sole focus of the sponsoring agency should be K–12 student performance.
In fact, only innovation can make that possible. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon advocates for the pursuit of societal innovation to solve the unsolvable—innovation that serves the public good, distinct from industry-focused efforts. The HSe4Metrics platform represents such an opportunity, and results can be verified with hard-number metrics.
Keep in mind, the untapped population required for massive workforce transformation already exists—the nation’s abandoned bottom 50% of students repeatedly identified by NAEP assessments, along with those barely above minimum proficiency.
CAVEAT: In innovation, success is not guaranteed. As Dimon cautions, the outcomes of innovation remain “unknowable” until tested through implementation.
Because the operational, implementation, and cloud costs of the HSe4Metrics platform may be significant—even if a rounding error compared to the resulting GDP gains—and because access for students and parents to the platform must be free, a sponsor with a vested interest is needed, whether federal or corporate. The national benefit would be shared by all.
For example, if the Department of Education (DOE) were the sponsor, the Department of Labor (DOL) would stand to benefit profoundly as the HSe4Metrics innovation puts the nation on a measured, hard-number trajectory to double its homegrown workforce—a workforce sufficiently educated during K–12 to be industry-trainable for manufacturing—including precision jobs from ships to chips.
Moreover, every federal agency and top-tier corporation has an obligation to support societal innovation.
A non-violent board game, Go is played not with checkers but with a simple cupful of stones.
Whereas checkers is an aggressive game—built on attacking and destroying one’s opponent—Go is passive. The object of Go is to gradually surround an opponent and end their control—without firing a single shot.
For thousands of years in China, Go has been associated with what HSe4Metrics calls a “Go culture”—surround, take control, and repeat the process across the entire board until the game is won.
At the Go Culture link, see how this ancient mindset helps explain China’s massive naval buildup—designed not necessarily for hard warfare, but to add yet another layer to its scheme of surrounding and increasingly dominating more of the world—including, as it has openly put the world on notice, the United States.
Written for the general public, this site seeks a sponsor
A connection to a federal agency (click the link Federal Agencies) willing to conduct due diligence and evaluate sponsorship of the HSe4Metrics platform—or a member of Congress prepared to lead on strengthening K-12 student performance nationwide.
If public outreach does not succeed in identifying such an agency or a member of Congress, a fundraising campaign may be launched—potentially supported by Google—to retain a professional presentation team to identify and approach appropriate federal leaders. That team would consist of experienced Washington-based policy consultants and government-relations professionals.
Parents MUST have the HSe4Metrics innovation for their toddlers—years before K-12. A good start is to become familiar with cap rate
The HSe4Metrics innovation (or sponsor name) will stick with families from the toddler tantrum years all the way to high school graduation
With parental oversight, the innovation will help young people excel well beyond grade-level expectations
John F. Kennedy would likely have been appalled by the DOE’s misguided legislation
A presentation team or a lobbyist can secure a sponsor—whether a leading corporation like P&G, a federal agency like the Department of Labor—or even the underperforming DOE (if restructured)
Introducing the HSe4Metrics platform—free access to rescue K-12 student outcomes(click the + to see more and the — to see less)
Innovation means doing something never done before. Until tested through implementation, results remain unknown. In the case of what parents refer to as the HSe4Metrics platform, the significant cost of implementation—think of it as a national-scale experiment—must be covered by a funding sponsor.
Free access is a must. Students, parents, teachers, daycare providers, and others must have free access to the HSe4Metrics platform. A limited version will be available to the general public (also free).
Operational costs (tens of millions) and cloud costs (potentially in the billions) must be covered by the sponsor.
Lobbyists and law firms are being asked to assist—without pay—to help identify a sponsor.
In this explainer site, such a team of lobbyists and a law firm is referred to as a “presentation team.” The team would reach out to elected officials—including Senators and Members of the House—for their help in presenting the HSe4Metrics innovation to federal agencies and perhaps to Congress.
If no lobbyist is able—at no cost—to contact federal agencies and Congress regarding sponsorship of the HSe4Metrics platform, this explainer site may initiate a limited fundraising campaign. The sole purpose would be to retain a qualified lobbyist or law firm to engage federal agencies and Congress.
To view an example of a fundraising campaign designed to hire a professional presentation team, see the “$5 Example” halfway down the Funding by the Public page.
(No campaign at this time. Instead, YOU are asked to reach out and seek help from policymakers—or fellow policy makers—lobbyists, law firms, and federal agencies.)
A Technical Note
Pro bono works fine. The HSe4Metrics platform has secured an additional form of pro bono support: a top-100 U.S. law firm (ranked in the mid-50s) is assisting with the conversion of HSe4Metrics from its current SCC status (held since April 2000) to a 501(c)(3) private foundation.
Until this conversion process is complete, HSe4Metrics intends to delay any fundraising efforts aimed at retaining a lobbyist or professional presentation team.
Are YOU motivated to act?
No donations are being accepted
But there is something you can do right now to help identify a national sponsor for the HSe4Metrics platform.
- Maybe a public official you know can suggest a government or corporate sponsor
- Maybe you can place a simple cold call to a major company — for example, contact General Motors and ask that a decision-maker review this explainer site
- Maybe you can personally call a federal agency — such as the U.S. Department of Labor — and request that a responsible official review the site
One thoughtful person — one successful connection — is all it takes
If a sponsor is not secured through volunteer outreach or through HSe4Metrics’ direct engagement with major corporations and federal agencies, only then would a limited fundraising campaign be considered.
If that point is reached:
- A modest, carefully structured $5 campaign would be launched
- Its sole purpose would be to retain a qualified Washington presentation or lobbying team
- That team would work to secure formal meetings with Members of Congress and appropriate federal agencies