Education Reform: Don’t Ditch Accountability

For decades, conservatives have generally followed two principles when it comes to federal K–12 education policy: Respect state and local control of schools, and demand improved academic achievement in exchange for federal funds. Because of the Obama administration’s seven-year education overreach, the Right has rightly emphasized the first of those principles during the current debate over reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the nation’s main K–12 law. (It’s also known as “No Child Left Behind,” the title of its last reauthorization.)

But we’ve paid too little attention to accountability. This could jeopardize the hard-fought progress made by previous leaders, including many conservatives, and turn this 50-year old law back into a directionless stream of federal funds with dubious influence on student learning.

About the Author

Andy Smarick

Andy Smarick is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He writes about conservatism and public service at his Substack Governing Right.

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For decades, conservatives have generally followed two principles when it comes to federal K–12 education policy: Respect state and local control of schools, and demand improved academic achievement in exchange for federal funds. Because of the Obama administration’s seven-year education overreach, the Right has rightly emphasized the first of those principles during the current debate over reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the nation’s main K–12 law. (It’s also known as “No Child Left Behind,” the title of its last reauthorization.)

But we’ve paid too little attention to accountability. This could jeopardize the hard-fought progress made by previous leaders, including many conservatives, and turn this 50-year old law back into a directionless stream of federal funds with dubious influence on student learning.