Tragic Practices: Why Public Education Is Not Designed to Prioritize Efficiency, Innovation, or Results
The changing landscape of education under new federal legislation places heavy responsibility on states to create policies that ensure better student outcomes amid tight fiscal realities. States are rightly focused on how to improve reading, math, and career readiness in K-12 schools. They cannot do that, however, without a firm understanding of why making such […]
Request for Analysis: Unlocking Potential Data Center
More students than ever are being identified for special education. CRPE invites you to explore why using our new Unlocking Potential Data Center. In early 2025, the National Center on Education Statistics reported a record 7.9 million public school students identified with disabilities under IDEA. This continues a decades-long rise in students placed in special […]
Why School Choice Needs Market Enablers, Not Just Policies
Imagine a family—let’s call them the Carters—navigating their state’s school choice options. They live in a blue-collar, inner-ring suburban neighborhood with decent schools, but their second-grade son is struggling socially and academically at their public elementary school. The Carters are desperate to make a change. They wonder if a charter school, a nearby private school, […]
Announcing CRPE’s Inaugural Think Forward Fellowship Cohort
The Center on Reinventing Public Education has announced its inaugural AI Fellowship Cohort, a group of visionary policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and tech experts who will collectively work to address the toughest challenges around AI in education. Education systems are at a critical crossroads with AI. New tools are emerging every day in […]
School Choice Without Sacrificing Education Quality: Experts Weigh In
Each spring, when families across Florida have the opportunity to apply for an education savings account—as more than 220,000 did this year—they’re met with an onslaught of options for how to use the state school choice subsidy. Suddenly, instead of their in-district options, they have more than 2,000 private schools at their fingertips, as well […]
America’s Students Need More Math Instruction Each Day
In the United States, most students graduating from high school don’t know what compound interest is before they sign up for a credit card. But in Singapore, Japan, and Finland, students have a better understanding of foundational mathematical concepts as they enter young adulthood. All three of these high-performing countries have one thing in common: […]
Reflections on Rebuilding New Orleans’ Education System, One School at a Time
This was originally published in The 74. Twenty years ago tomorrow, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, including its schools. Students and teachers fled the city — nobody knew how many would return, or where they would live. The post-Katrina reinvigoration of public education in New Orleans is one of the great stories of that city’s recovery. […]
Beyond the Headlines: What Civics Education Looks Like Right Now
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, debates over democracy, rights, and free speech dominate headlines. At the same time, school districts face growing pressure to decide what kinds of civic learning opportunities to offer. Do districts consider a foundational understanding of the U.S. government and its functions enough for […]
It’s Time for the Left To Come to the School Choice Table
Our Phoenix Rising series aims to elevate diverse perspectives and enable informed debate on urgent topics. For too long, the political Left has allowed the debate over school choice to be defined and dominated by conservatives. In doing so, we’ve neglected the most dynamic lever for equity and innovation in American education while alienating the […]
Pension Costs Are Draining School Budgets. Here’s What States Can Do
Student enrollment is falling at public schools across the country, impacting funding streams and threatening financial solvency, as schools continue to be on the hook for considerable fixed costs like loans or debts. Having to pay out teacher pensions (mostly using current revenue to pay retired teachers) is contributing to this growing problem. But even […]