(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
Oklahoma lawmakers adopted a policy to curtail the social promotion of children failing to acquire basic literacy skills by the end of the 3rd grade. Oklahoma lawmakers adopted a special needs choice program last year, and are considering a scholarship tax credit program and other far-reaching reforms this year. Oklahoma has got major K-12 reform mojo!
The Foundation for Excellence in Education will be releasing a policy brief on retention soon. Congrats to Oklahoma’s K-12 reformers in joining Florida, New York City, Arizona and Indiana in adopting this tough-love policy. Now comes the hard part: policy implementation. The Devil is in the details on this reform, and others have botched it in the past. Yes, I’m looking at you Georgia…
I spent a few days in Oklahoma recently, and their reformers struck me as resolved, fearless and capable. That’s good, because that is what will be needed to see this policy through.
Posted by matthewladner 
Jay P. Greene's Blog 