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If re-legislated, the DOE can become a powerful national asset—specifically focused on K–12 student performance. (Click the U.S. Department of Education link for guidelines for Congress to consider.)
Congress can rewrite the U.S. Department of Education to end decades of K–12 student underperformance, as reflected in results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—the most high-profile metrics example.
For example—and as part of the dual focus of this explainer site—upon re-legislating the U.S. Department of Education, Congress could assign it responsibility for implementing and testing the free-access HSe4Metrics platform.
Alternatively, Congress could designate another federal agency—such as the U.S. Department of Labor or NASA—to serve as the funding sponsor for the HSe4Metrics platform.
The reality: with innovation, outcomes are not known until the solution is implemented, tested, and verified through hard-number results. Perhaps the most well-known metric affecting the nation’s K–12 population is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—but there are many others.
The societal innovation highlighted in this explainer site is the HSe4Metrics platform—free access and singularly focused on improving K–12 student performance across multiple metrics.
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.
Taken as a whole, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—often reported by major media—suggest that the states collectively leave roughly half of the nation’s K–12 students below proficiency in reading or math.
Although 50% is arguably catastrophic, the reality may be even worse—click the NAEP link.
Even states that perform well on NAEP may still fall short on other critical measures, such as cap rate (the extent to which individuals fully capitalize on their abilities), potentially placing students at a lifelong disadvantage.
A “forever” K–12 failure by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE)—but one that can be structurally corrected.
A time for Congress.
Congress can unleash an extraordinary level of pent-up K–12 student performance across the United States simply by re-legislating the founding documents of the U.S. Department of Education. (Click the link.)
Such a rewrite would position the DOE as an unparalleled national asset–singularly focused on advancing K–12 student performance.
The U.S. Department of Education (herein, the 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.
Theoretically, any of the federal agencies—whether the DOE, the Department of Labor (DOL), one of the cabinet-level executive departments, or an independent agency such as the National Science Foundation—could serve as sponsor of the HSe4Metrics platform. However, aside from the DOE, none could make K–12 student performance its sole focus. Ironically, even the DOE does not currently do so—but it could if re-legislated by Congress.
If housed within another agency, K–12 student performance would necessarily be secondary to that agency’s primary mission, creating a risk of mission dilution in efforts to improve national student outcomes.
In sum, the sponsoring agency’s singular focus should be K–12 student performance.
K–12 student performance drives everything in the U.S., so consider the example of the national workforce.
A critical hard-number metric for the HSe4Metrics innovation is the nation’s skilled worker deficit.
Keep in mind that the untapped population required for massive homegrown workforce transformation already exists—the nation’s forfeited bottom 50% of students identified by NAEP assessments, along with those barely above minimum proficiency.
To reach that untapped population, consider a Congressional rewrite of the DOE’s founding legislation—with a preeminent focus on innovation. (Click this U.S. Department of Education link to see guidelines for Congress to consider.)
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon advocates the pursuit of societal innovation to solve the unsolvable—innovation that serves the public good, distinct from industry-focused efforts.
The HSe4Metrics platform—part of the dual focus (or mission set) of this explainer site—represents such an opportunity, with results verifiable through hard-number metrics.
Courage needed: In innovation, success is not guaranteed. The outcomes of innovation remain “unknowable” until tested through implementation.
For innovation, costs may appear frighteningly prohibitive—even though they may represent only a rounding error relative to potential GDP gains. One additional requirement for the HSe4Metrics innovation: access must be free; students and parents cannot be expected to fund the platform.
Arguably, every federal agency and top-tier corporation has an obligation to support societal innovation for K–12 student performance nationwide.
Help HSe4Metrics connect with 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 this explainer site’s outreach does not identify such an agency or congressional leader, a fundraising campaign may be launched—potentially supported by Google—to retain a professional presentation team.
That team would be tasked with identifying and approaching appropriate federal leaders. Rather than relying on volunteers and parents, it would consist of experienced Washington-based policy consultants and government-relations professionals.
A significant share of U.S. K–12 graduates fall below proficiency in reading and mathematics, as reflected in national assessments such as NAEP. Many are viewed by advanced industries as insufficiently educated to be trained for skilled roles.
These outcomes developed without access to a tool like the HSe4Metrics platform—during both the early childhood years and throughout K–12.
The HSe4Metrics innovation is designed to address this gap. If validated through disciplined, large-scale testing, it has the potential to significantly expand the nation’s qualified, homegrown workforce—while better preparing students for success in higher education.
This approach stands in contrast to conventionally structured efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act, which did not produce sustained national gains in student performance.
Jamie Dimon advocates for societal innovation.
He notes that implementing innovation—even for a societal good such as K-12 student performance—can require uncommon courage.
Two scary risks. First, innovation costs–including cloud infrastructure—can be extremely high. Second, innovation outcomes are not “knowable” until implemented.
The CEOs of industry giants face the same agonizing implementation decision as the leaders of the nation’s major federal agencies.
Will an innovation work? How much money would be lost if it doesn’t?
Consider Xerox (noted in the Jamie Dimon link), or General Motors (mentioned in the Rivian link). Each confronting a high-cost innovation. Catastrophically, each CEO refused to implement.
Let’s now add a degree of difficulty: societal innovation. Dimon calls on new generations of Corporate leadership—apply this to federal leaders as well—to support a societal innovation, do their due diligence, implement the innovation when warranted—and fund it.
Every traditional, administrative, and “white paper” approach to K–12 student performance has left results from NAEP where they stand today. (Click NAEP.)
Can the Marshall Plan model be applied to K–12 student performance?
Yes. The Marshall Plan proved highly effective in 1948 when launched by George C. Marshall to help rebuild Western Europe. Today, that model is often invoked for high-cost, high-impact investments addressing systemic challenges, including infrastructure and climate.
The question is simple: does K–12 student performance warrant that level of national importance?
Adding to the challenge—regardless of the high cost to operate the HSe4Metrics platform, no K-12 student should be left out due to fees. Access must be free.
Free access must further include pre-K-students and younger—all at the platform with parents and guardians.
A slide above notes that “the 50 states—as a whole—leave roughly half of all K–12 students behind in reading and math.” Unfortunately, results from NAEP are similarly concerning across other subjects periodically assessed, including science, writing, U.S. history, civics, and geography–and the arts.
Just over a decade ago, Mississippi brought intense, legislated focus to one of those NAEP categories—reading.
Over that ten-plus-year period, Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading results improved from near the bottom nationally to among the top performers. (Click the Mississippi Miracle link.) However, eighth-grade NAEP results have thus far remained largely unchanged.
The reality: that progress consumed ten-plus years. What about all the other metrics that require similar gains?
As Jamie Dimon stresses, the needed change must be sudden, fast, and inclusive—this calls for innovation. His warns that slow, incremental change will leave much of our K–12 population behind.
Parents asking that the federal government study this HSe4Metrics platform and meet with them have long been rebuffed.
However, lobbyists and top Washington, DC law firms specialize in doing what these parents cannot—meeting with federal leaders and getting results.
Lobbyists and law firms are being asked if they will work pro bono. Thus far, none have accepted.
Lobbyists and a legal team would compose a presentation team.
Click to see the $5 fundraising example midway down the Funding (By the Sponsor) page.
NO CAMPAIGN AT THIS TIME. NO DONATIONS ACCEPTED AS HSE4METRICS AWAITS PRIVATE FOUNDATION STATUS.
Pro bono works fine. The HSe4Metrics platform has secured an additional form of pro bono support: a top-100 U.S. law firm 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 public fundraising efforts aimed at retaining a lobbyist or professional presentation team.
No donations are being accepted, but there is something you can do right now to help identify a national sponsor for the HSe4Metrics platform.
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: