This document discusses the need to move away from the traditional "unified" school district model and toward a 21st century school system model. It outlines some key features of the traditional model like centralized decision making and lack of school choice or performance accountability. It then discusses features of the 21st century model like school autonomy, accountability for performance, family choice between school models, and competition between schools. The document cites research showing improved student outcomes in districts that have implemented aspects of the 21st century model, like New Orleans, DC, Denver, and Memphis.

1. Reinventing America’s Schools:
Creating a 21st Century School System
David Osborne
Progressive Policy Institute
www.progressivepolicy.org
dosborne@ppionline.org
@OsborneDavid

2. The Industrial-Era’s “Unified”
School Districts
• Centrally run school districts; everyone an employee.
• Hierarchical decision-making; central office controlled
school budgets, hiring, pay, etc.
• Students attended school they were assigned to; no
choices.
• All schools taught roughly the same thing in the same
grade; students marched through based mostly on age.
• Control was exercised through rules.
• No one measured school or teacher performance.
• If schools performed poorly, there were no consequences
(for the adults).

3. What Is a Charter School?
A public school that operates relatively independently
and doesn’t have to follow all state & district rules
• It is publicly funded; it can’t charge tuition
• It is open to all comers & can’t select its
students; if it doesn’t have enough seats to
meet demand, it holds a lottery of some kind
• It is free to design its own learning environment
and run its own show
• It is accountable for performance: if the kids
aren’t learning, it is closed or replaced
• Most are not-for-profit organizations
• Most are schools of choice

4. Charter Authorizing
• The authorizer grants a charter to a non-profit (or
for-profit, in some states) organization, after
deciding it has a good chance of success
• The charter acts as a “performance contract”
between the school and authorizer, guaranteeing
autonomy and accountability
• Upon review, the authorizer ensures accountability
by shutting down failing schools; can also
recommend that they expand or open a new school
• Who are the authorizers? That varies, depending
upon state charter laws

5. Louisiana Statewide
Orleans Parish
Recovery School District
(New Orleans)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Percent of Students at Basic (Grade Level) or
Above on Standardized Tests 2007-2014

6. New Orleans’ Most Important
Outcomes
• Before Katrina, 60% of students attended schools
performing in the bottom 10% in the state
• A decade later, only 10% did
• Before Katrina, half of students dropped out
• A decade later, 76% graduated—higher than the
state rate
• Before Katrina, fewer than 20% went to college
• In 2016, 64% of graduates went to college—6
points higher than the state rate

7. Charters Outperform DCPS
• 46 percent of students attend charters
• Charters have fewer white students, but they
outperform the district on:
– Standardized test scores (when comparing
demographically similar students)
– Attendance rates
– Graduation rates
– College-going rates
– Demand from families

8. WARD 7 SCHOOLS - 2017 PARCC Performance ELA
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding
Expectations

9. WARD 7 SCHOOLS – 2017 PARCC Performance Math
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding
Expectations

10. WARD 8 SCHOOLS - 2017 PARCC Performance ELA
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Expectations

11. WARD 8 SCHOOLS – 2017 PARCC Performance Math
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Expectations

12. Results in Denver
• Four-year graduation rates have risen from 39% in
2007 to 67% in 2016
– 74% for those who entered DPS high schools in 9th grade (and
82% 5-year rate)
• 15 percentage point increase in students scoring at or
above grade level in reading, writing, and math, 2005
to 2014—far faster than state
• Tripled the number of students passing AP exams
• ACT average score up from 16 to 18.6 (2007-16), more
than twice as fast as the state average

13. Denver Students Are Approaching or Exceeding the
State Average on Test Scores
15.1
17.2
14.6
16.7
18.7 17.5
42.4
48.9
51.4
43
41
56
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Elementary ELA Elementary Math Middle School ELA
Percentile Ranking of Denver Schools Performance on
Standardized Tests Compared to Colorado Schools, 2013-16
TCAP 2013 Percentile
TCAP 2014 Percentile
PARCC 2015 Percentile
PARCC 2016 Percentile

14. 2017: Innovation Network Schools Are
Improving the Fastest
51.6%
25.3%
15.0%
34.8%
9.4%
51.5%
24.5%
21.2%
34.3%
12.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
State IPS Innovation Schools All Charter Schools State Takeover
ISTEP+ - Students Passing Both ELA and Math
2015-16 2016-17

15. Results in Memphis
• District-authorized charters: gained more than 2/3 of
a year in reading and half a year in math, every year,
according to Stanford’s CREDO
• ASD charters: By years 2 & 3, academic growth was
at the highest of 5 levels
• Innovation Schools: academic growth higher than
ASD in years 1 & 2; lower in year 3
• But Innovation Schools took the strongest principals
and teachers, and the schools they left declined in
performance

16. The Basics of 21st Century School
Systems
• A network of schools, independent of authorizers.
• Operating authority decentralized to the schools.
• Control through fewer rules, more accountability
for results.
• Different kinds of schools for different kids.
• Parents have choice and dollars follow children,
so parents have leverage.
• No monopoly: schools compete for students.

17. Why Does This Work So Well?
• Autonomy: the people who run the schools make the key
operational decisions. Rules are minimized; schools are
mission-driven.
• Accountability: schools face consequences for performance.
Those that succeed grow and replicate; those that fail are
closed.
• Choice: families can choose between different school
models to find the best fit for their children.
• Schools are accountable to parents, and they have to
compete for students and dollarS

18. The Final Reason
• School authorizers focus on steering, not rowing. They don’t
operate schools.
• This is the toughest success factor, politically, because it
means public schools have to be independent of districts,
operated as non-profit organizations.
• But it’s critical, for two reasons:
1. It’s extremely difficult to steer well when rowing
2. In unified districts, those who steer are politically
captive of their employees. In 21st century systems,
they are free to do what is best for the children.

19. For More Information
www.progressivepolicy.org
http://reinventingschools.t
he74million.org
@OsborneDavid
Dosborne@ppionline.org