Successful Education Reform Needs Parent Power to Work in the Long Term

Mississippi House Speaker Jason White has introduced what may be the most consequential education legislation in a generation, and on Thursday, the legislation passed in the State House and will now move on for consideration by the State Senate. If enacted, his Mississippi Education Freedom Bill (HB 2) would represent the pinnacle of conservative education reform in the United States. And most importantly, it shows a deep understanding that to be truly successful, education reform requires parental involvement.

The Magnolia State has made some great progress in recent years on the education front. To tackle persistently poor literacy standards, Mississippi began to require teachers to teach using phonics from 2013 with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act. Third-graders who cannot read have since been required to repeat the year. Mississippi’s fourth-graders now read better than those in New York, California, or Minnesota, according to National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores. You read that correctly: A state that barely a decade ago ranked near the bottom for fourth-grade reading now sits near the top of the NAEP tables.

DC

About the Author

Douglas Carswell

Douglas Carswell is the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He was previously a member of the British parliament for twelve years.

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Mississippi House Speaker Jason White has introduced what may be the most consequential education legislation in a generation, and on Thursday, the legislation passed in the State House and will now move on for consideration by the State Senate. If enacted, his Mississippi Education Freedom Bill (HB 2) would represent the pinnacle of conservative education reform in the United States. And most importantly, it shows a deep understanding that to be truly successful, education reform requires parental involvement.

The Magnolia State has made some great progress in recent years on the education front. To tackle persistently poor literacy standards, Mississippi began to require teachers to teach using phonics from 2013 with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act. Third-graders who cannot read have since been required to repeat the year. Mississippi’s fourth-graders now read better than those in New York, California, or Minnesota, according to National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores. You read that correctly: A state that barely a decade ago ranked near the bottom for fourth-grade reading now sits near the top of the NAEP tables.

DC

About the Author

Douglas Carswell

Douglas Carswell is the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He was previously a member of the British parliament for twelve years.