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Educational opportunity for all has always been a defining progressive value, but in recent years, as the economic benefits of education have skyrocketed, living up to this ideal has taken on greater urgency.¹

As America’s economy has become more knowledge-based over the past several decades, there has been a hollowing out of the middle class.² In 2015, for the first time ever, less than half of American households were middle class.³ Real wages have been stagnant since the 1960s, particularly for those in the middle- and lower-income brackets.⁴

The modern economy has left behind the nearly two-thirds of workers without a college degree.⁵ Over the past 50 years, job creation has mainly been in industries such as health care; business and financial services; education; and government services, where a large proportion of jobs require some postsecondary training or college degrees.⁶ Meanwhile, the share of jobs in industries that historically have not required any postsecondary training has shrunk dramatically. These industries include construction, manufacturing, and natural resources—such as oil, gas, and forestry—and even they are increasingly seeking to hire skilled workers with higher educational attainment.

Job creation during the post-2008 recovery widened the gap between workers who are college-educated and those who are not. Of the 11.6 million jobs created during the recovery, nearly all—11.5 million—went to those with at least some college education and 73 percent went to workers with at least a bachelor’s degree.⁷

While 36 percent of non-Hispanic white adults have a bachelor’s degree, 23 percent of black adults and 16 percent of Hispanic adults—of any race—have obtained the same.⁸ Because black and Hispanic adults were less likely to have a college degree, the recession hit their families the hardest and the recovery has benefitted them the least. Black adults still face a 7 percent unemployment rate, while the rate for white adults has declined to 3.4 percent.⁹ As a result, racial wealth inequality is at its highest point in nearly 30 years.¹⁰

Though America still has far to go, pathways leading to high-wage jobs and careers that will enable workers to provide for themselves and their families are still important goals for our education system. Just as important, schools must support parents rather than acting as a barrier to work.

The U.S. economy is increasingly perceived as a zero-sum game in which only those who are already well-off reap the most benefits. And as the American ideal of a country in which economic mobility and opportunity are accessible to all seems to be moving further and further away, disillusionment with the political system grows. Embracing a progressive agenda for educational equity—detailed below in seven innovative policy ideas—is key to reclaiming the promise and once again putting the American ideal within reach.

Seven progressive education policies to revitalize the American dream

1. Provide a tutor for every child performing below grade level

The research supporting the effectiveness of tutoring is extensive and stretches back more than a dozen years. Spurred in part by meta-analyses published at the time demonstrating tutoring’s positive effect on student achievement, tutoring was incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in a program known as Supplemental Educational Services (SES).¹¹

While good in theory, SES had many implementation problems,¹² including low participation rates and lack of quality control.¹³ In some districts, there were scandals involving providers overcharging districts, hiring tutors with criminal records, or violating federal regulations.¹⁴ In all districts, SES siphoned off Title I funds, leaving less for other important Title I programs.¹⁵ The tutoring program was eventually phased out as the Department of Education began implementing “ESEA Flexibility,”¹⁶ also known as waivers, and it was scrapped all together under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).¹⁷

Yet despite the problems with SES, the research base for tutoring has continued to grow. One of the many examples of great programs is the SAGA Innovations program, which trains and places full-time tutoring fellows in high-needs schools in Chicago and Lawrence, Massachusetts. Chicago students who received high-dose math tutoring gained more than two and a half years of math learning in one year. In Lawrence, the schools that implemented the SAGA tutoring program went from the lowest-performing in the state to the top 7 percent of all schools in Massachusetts.¹⁸

A 2011 paper that investigated the effects of tutoring provided by teachers found that students who received tutoring in either reading or math performed significantly better on the state standardized test than a control group of students with similar prior scores who did not receive tutoring.¹⁹ Even when programs are less structured and instruction is not provided by trained teachers, tutoring can have a notable effect on student performance. In one study, students tutored by minimally trained community volunteers increased their grades and were more likely to pass their classes.²⁰ And many studies have demonstrated the positive academic effects of peer tutoring, where students are tutored by classmates or older students.²¹

The research results on the effectiveness of tutoring make intuitive sense. High-quality tutoring can meet each student at his or her individual level,²² a level of differentiation that is impossible for even the most dedicated of teachers to provide.²³ Essentially, every student with an educated, engaged parent has access to one-on-one tutoring at home, which is perhaps one of the reasons why homework compounds the advantages enjoyed by middle-class children.²⁴ For students who, for a variety of reasons, may not have access to that kind of academic assistance at home, receiving more tailored instruction from their schools can help to level the playing field and close achievement gaps.²⁵

In addition to the academic benefits of tutoring, there are social-emotional ones as well. Research has shown that developing a close relationship with a role model is an important determinant of engagement in school, and a tutor that a student sees regularly can provide such a relationship.²⁶

To reap the benefits of tutoring but avoid the problems of SES, tutoring initiatives should grow from the ground up rather than as a result of a blanket mandate. Piloting and then a paced scaling of programs such as SAGA could ensure that tutoring programs work with local school communities instead of burdening already limited resources. In order to contain the costs of tutoring, tutors could be found and compensated by recruiting community volunteers, undergraduates interested in teaching careers, recent college graduates, or through the expansion of AmeriCorps. Teachers who want to participate could also be reimbursed for their additional time.

Another way to contain costs would be through appropriate use of computer-based tutoring. There is evidence that computer-based tutoring can yield results similar to one-on-one tutoring in certain subjects, such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields,²⁷ or when certain principles of the cognitive science of learning—such as self-explanation—are embedded in the program or software.²⁸ While these programs cannot replace the need for human interaction and relationships, they may be effective for some students and allow for greater targeting of resources toward students who most need traditional one-on-one tutoring.

Since it is known that receiving low grades in elementary school is a predictive factor for dropping out during middle school and that receiving more than one failing grade in a core academic course during ninth grade is a predictive factor for dropping out during high school, tutoring can make a difference.²⁹ Providing access to tutoring to improve students’ grades before they are at risk for dropping out could help them to complete further schooling, which, in turn, increases their likelihood of finding employment and earning a family-sustaining salary in adulthood.

2. Offer free breakfast and lunch for all students, regardless of income

Forty-one million Americans, including 13 million children, do not reliably have enough food to eat.³⁰ Meeting all children’s nutritional needs could keep students healthier, which would keep them at school and support their learning while there.

It is not always obvious who is experiencing hunger, and the face of hunger in America is changing. While it remains most acute in urban core neighborhoods with intergenerational poverty,³¹ hunger is increasing in suburban locales and is most prevalent in rural Southern locales.³² Since wages have been stagnant or eroding in many industries, two-thirds of families experiencing food insecurity have at least one working adult, and many might initially appear to be maintaining a middle-class lifestyle.³³

Children who are hungry are less healthy; they experience more colds and stomach aches and have a greater likelihood of chronic health problems. They also experience mental health consequences such as chronic stress and anxiety because persistent hunger sends the body’s stress management system into overdrive.³⁴ Unsurprisingly, these children’s learning and academic achievement also suffer.³⁵ The reverse is also true: When children have access to healthy lunches, they perform better in school.³⁶ Even families that have the means to feed their households may not have access to nutritious, healthy foods, and access to these foods is associated with lower risk of obesity and greater fruit and vegetable consumption.³⁷

Of households that experience food insecurity, less than two-thirds participate in one of the main federal anti-hunger programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the National School Lunch Program; or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).³⁸ In part, this is because many food insecure households are not eligible for nutrition assistance or because certain barriers exist, such as the stigma associated with participating in programs designed to benefit low-income families.

Moreover, this stigma can be exacerbated by school policies. For example, there have been instances of schools refusing to give the regular hot meals to students in the free and reduced-price lunch program or forcing them to get in a separate line.³⁹ Worse is the abhorrent practice of “lunch shaming,” where schools publicly call out students for their parents’ unpaid lunch bills, for example, by marking their hands to embarrass them or even by throwing away their lunches.⁴⁰ The stigma of free lunch can feel especially strong for high school students—one reason they currently utilize the program at low rates.⁴¹ This is worrisome since in very low-income families, despite the fact that adolescents have the greatest calorie needs of any age group,⁴² teens sometimes forgo food at home in order to ensure that younger siblings have enough to eat.⁴³

Expanding the federal school breakfast and lunch program in order to provide free meals to all students—including in the summer months—would reduce childhood hunger and improve children’s health and academic outcomes. For states and localities where universal access is unrealistic, an expansion of the community eligibility program, which allows schools and districts in low-income areas to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting applications, would be an interim step to consider.⁴⁴ Making free meals universal would ensure that all students experiencing food insecurity have access to healthy, nutritious meals; end the stigma surrounding school lunch; and eliminate administrative barriers to accessing the program. All families—even those who could otherwise afford lunch—would benefit from this change. For instance, having healthy lunch options at school would alleviate the worry of packing lunch or parsing out lunch money on busy mornings. Absent federal action, states could embrace this policy by supplementing federal funds with state dollars in order to implement a universal school meal program.

3. Ensure opportunities to combine college preparatory academics with technical training and workplace experience

Not every student has the same academic needs, interests, and goals, but many schools still offer courses and provide instruction that treat students as if they are the same. Far too many schools are not preparing students for the world which they will enter after their K-12 education, instead relying on sit-and-get direct instruction and leaving students feeling disengaged from the real-world contextual challenges that they will eventually face. With each passing day, technology advances in previously inconceivable ways; climate change alters coastal lines; distant wars and international trade shape relationships with foreign governments. All of this has enormous effect on America’s increasingly global economy. Yet many high schools are not preparing students for any of these realities or for professional experiences that could help them get jobs upon graduation.⁴⁵

Preparing students to confront and contribute to a rapidly changing world beyond their K-12 schooling means providing coursework that addresses these challenges; allows students the space to uncover and express their interests; and then provides them with the necessary resources to tailor their educational experiences to those interests. Many schools are redesigning the high school experience by implementing various models, such as career and technical education (CTE); personalized learning, apprenticeships; early college and dual enrollment; and language immersion programs—all of which can work for students’ individual needs.

CTE and dual enrollment programs, specifically, provide students with options for coursework that will best meet their postsecondary and career goals. Under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, states are provided with funding to develop the technical skills of secondary and postsecondary students who elect to enroll in CTE programs.⁴⁶ Currently, 12.5 million high school and college students are enrolled in CTE programs.⁴⁷ These programs help keep students in school; the graduation rate of CTE students is about 90 percent, 15 percentage points higher than the national average.⁴⁸ However, research on their effectiveness is still in the preliminary stages.⁴⁹ The best and most effective CTE programs are linked to and supported by local business or industry; provide real-world experiences or work opportunities; give students tangible outcomes such as an industry credential or college credit; and create pathways for pursuing college or career after graduation.⁵⁰

Programs such as Linked Learning, which according to its website, “integrates rigorous academics that meet college-ready standards with sequenced, high-quality career-technical education, work-based learning, and supports to help students stay on track,” have seen positive outcomes for students.⁵¹ A seven-year longitudinal study comparing students who participated in Linked Learning to those who did not showed that the program completers were less likely to drop out and more likely to graduate from high school. Linked Learning students also reported better jobs that were more likely to offer paid vacation, sick time, and health insurance. Black students who completed the program were also more likely than their traditional high school peers to enroll in a four-year college.⁵²

Another example of a program that successfully combines academic and real-world experiences comes from DuVal High School in Maryland. There, students are enrolled in an aerospace engineering and aviation technology course in partnership with NASA and the College Park Aviation Museum, giving them exposure to exciting career options.⁵³ Another innovative program is the Washington Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C., which uses a combination of individualized online courses, project-based learning, and in-person classes, which are rooted in various forms of technology, such as virtual reality and coding, to inspire students to make new advances in the tech world.⁵⁴

In order to increase the number of schools willing to experiment with such programs, states should incentivize school districts by creating or expanding grant programs that offer flexibility for students to learn outside of traditional school hours and beyond school buildings. States should also provide additional funding for apprenticeships and use grant programs to incentivize districts to form partnerships with local employers to offer summer internships or a semester of credit. Blending traditional instruction with advanced postsecondary courses and real-world career preparation prepares high school students for their next steps and helps them gain practical skills in growing fields.

States should also seek to study and authorize charter schools that promote innovative high school designs with quality control systems in place or establish what is termed “innovation status” for traditional public schools. Innovation status, which provides a package of waivers to public schools to implement new school designs, has been enacted through legislation in states such as Colorado and Massachusetts.⁵⁵ In addition, states should reform their systems of graduation requirements in order to reflect students’ comprehension of material instead of how many hours they attend a course. Such reform could also require local school boards to adopt graduation requirements that better reflect college and career-ready standards and provide credit for nontraditional courses.

Lastly but critically, the federal government should increase its support for states in this work and leverage improvements to the quality of CTE programs through Perkins Act reauthorization. Federal policymakers should also allow for the integrated use of funding streams and incentivize states to target federal funding toward communities that are unable to provide these options through other means.

4. Transition to a 9-to-5 school day to better fit parents’ needs

Currently, the average school day is less than seven hours and the median school day ends at 2:50 p.m.⁵⁶ The average workday, however, does not align, requiring parents to make tough choices about their income, parental involvement, and child care. Nearly half of all U.S. workers report not having any form of flexibility in their work schedules, and almost 40 percent of all workers do not even have paid vacation time.⁵⁷ Public school schedules are not based on student achievement but on an antiquated system that relies on two-parent, one-income households.

Between school vacations, professional development days, summer recess, and after-school time, most working parents who have school-age children face many gaps in child care and may even be forced to leave their children in unsafe care. According to a Center for American Progress report examining the largest school districts in the country, schools are closed for an average of 29 days each school year—not including summer recess—which is 13 days longer than the average private sector worker has in paid leave.⁵⁸ Not only do days off increase the cost of child care, but the short length of the school day also decreases economic productivity when parents have to take time off from work or when parents with elementary school-age children opt out of full-time employment in order to accommodate their children’s schedules.⁵⁹

The length of the school day is also an equity concern. Only around 45 percent of all public elementary schools offer before- and after-school care, and low-income schools are actually less likely to offer after-school programs.⁶⁰ In fact, only 24 percent of children living in communities of concentrated poverty participate in an after-school program, although 56 percent of children not in an after-school program would be enrolled in one if it were available to them.⁶¹ Extended days and after-school programs also provide opportunities for students to encounter enrichment activities, arts education, and real-world learning that might not be embedded in the regular school day and that not all parents can afford to provide for their children privately. Access to after-school programs improves academic performance, decreases dropout rates, reduces drug use, and improves classroom behavior.⁶²

Academic gains, economic productivity, and equity concerns should incentivize the federal and state governments to better align work and school schedules. However, teachers, already strapped for time and pressured by myriad responsibilities, cannot be expected to work several extra hours each day for nothing in return. Changing school schedules will require new and creative uses of time, personnel, and money. States could incentivize a longer school day by compensating teachers who want to work longer hours and by increasing requirements on public schools’ instructional hours. At the federal level, the Department of Education could promote the use of ESSA funding for expanded school schedules, encouraging high-poverty schools to use funds from Title I, Part A to pay for longer school days as part of a larger effort to boost student achievement. Congress could also increase funding for programs—such as Promise Neighborhoods, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and AmeriCorps—that provide students with longer school days and access to after-school programs. Furthermore, the federal government could implement a pilot program under the university-assisted community model in order to partner graduate schools in social work with neighboring public school districts to develop a 9-to-5 schedule.

5. Support, train, and pay teachers like professionals

In the United States, new teachers only make an average of about $36,000, and the average salary for all teachers is just over $58,000—which, in today’s dollars, is lower than the average salary during the 1989-1990 school year.^{https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/03/28/448156/7-great-education-policy-ideas-progressives-2018/}