[…]
Rachel Canter, founder and former longtime executive director of Mississippi First, said states must be honest about the depth of learning loss and declining achievement — trends she noted predated the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been six years since the pandemic, and student outcomes are still not where they should be,” Canter said. “And to be honest, we were already on the decline before COVID.”
Canter argued that meaningful improvement depends on revisiting foundational education policies.
“What is the standard of expectation?” she said. “Is the bar high enough? Are we being transparent with the data, and are we truly using accountability to improve student learning?”
[…]
