The State of the American Student: Fall 2022

In the future, we could look back on this time as the turning point. In five years, an updated version of this report could read as follows:

In fall 2022, things looked bleak. Adults were coming to grips with mounting mental-health and academic crises facing the nation’s students. New waves of disruptions continued to hamper the nation’s schools as they struggled to stay open, hire enough staff, and sustain something approximating normal operations.

That was the moment when leaders in government, business, faith communities, and civic organizations realized a return to normal would not be possible. A new coalition rallied with parents and educators to invest in a massive retooling. It took some time, but in the end, we pushed through old barriers and built a public education system of which we could all be proud.

The community became a source of expertise and support for students. Therapists, counselors, and social workers designed programs to help students reconnect with their friends and recover from the trauma of the pandemic. Students of color had ample opportunities to learn with adults who looked like them, who understood their languages and cultures. No longer confined to classrooms, students were free to draw on the wealth of learning opportunities in local parks, farms, museums, and businesses.

Schools could focus on excellent teaching and redefined what it meant to be a teacher. Adults inside and outside schools took on a variety of educator roles—master teacher, learning guide, tutor, mentor, language specialist, counselor—and worked in tightly coordinated teams, like in the medical field. Teachers’ unions embraced the opportunity to reinvigorate the profession and to make working in education more rewarding and sustainable.

Parents fully expected to help design and support their children’s learning. Those who wouldn’t otherwise have had the means received public dollars to take time off work and help students. Some worked as tutors, helping to address academic gaps. Others shared their work or hobbies to offer art, music, and career-connected learning experiences. Still others worked as navigators who helped other parents understand their children’s learning goals and find opportunities to meet them—in or out of school. Some discovered they liked working with students so much they wanted to become professional educators, and they found accessible avenues to turn their passions into new careers.

Transparency helped build trust. Parents knew their children’s individual learning goals, as well as the content and skills all students would need to master to graduate ready to thrive as adults. They had access to timely and customized reports on their children’s progress and had access to the curricula they were using—which allowed them, or any other adult who worked with their child, to support the learning process. Parents could see their students making progress and knew that if their child were to encounter obstacles, they could collaborate with their child’s team of educators on a solution. They embraced assessments as essential tools to monitor progress, identify learning needs, and address them.

Schools became joyful and challenging. Students with disabilities no longer had to choose between class time and essential therapies, because every aspect of schools, including schedules, were designed to prioritize the students with the most complex needs. Older students could participate in internships, community service projects, or work during the day and take classes online or at night. They could sleep later if they needed to or focus on classes in the morning and exploring their interests in the afternoon.

High schools became talent-development centers, where, after mastering basic graduation requirements, every student had access to career and college courses.

Realizing the lasting harm that learning interruptions could have on a generation of students, we had no choice but to ensure that evidence drove instructional decisions. Like medical providers, school systems were required to meet a basic “standard of care” that included evidence-based curriculum and proven interventions, such as high-dosage tutoring.

Choices, options, and diverse providers became core characteristics of a resilient system and necessary tools to achieve true equity. We recognized that students have diverse needs that require diverse solutions, and we designed an education system to deliver them.

If a child has a disability, comes from a challenged or unique background, or just thinks differently, we see that child as a source of untapped potential. We guarantee ways to build their unique skills and perspectives to become our country’s next leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

As of fall 2027, we can say with confidence that we are ready for the next pandemic, natural disaster, or civic uprising, because our schools are built to respond, adapt, and innovate.

Like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, we rebuilt public education so all kids can become successful in America. In the aftermath of a pandemic, we have done something truly remarkable.