Delaware’s educational performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) peaked in 2013. Since then, proficiency scores for 4^th and 8^th grade math and reading have plummeted, underscoring the urgent need for improvements in student achievement. 

 

Delaware is among the top ten states in the country in spending at  $20,231 per student and yet has a performance ranking in the bottom five states on the NAEP at 46 out of 50.

 

This poor performance exists due to the influence of a Delaware “Iron Triangle” consisting of:

 

• The legislative and executive branches, including the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
• The Delaware State Education Association
• The district administration and school boards

 

These policy-making groups have resisted meaningful education reform for decades. Delaware’s education system is in a serious crisis and requires emergency intervention–an issue that started well before the COVID-19 school closures.

 

Shortly, we will elect a new Governor of Delaware. To make the needed reforms, the Governor should declare a State of Emergency in Education and order the implementation of a four-part program as described below:

 

    I.        Accelerate the “Science of Reading” Implementation: The Evidence-Based Reading Bill (passed in 2022) requires all districts to fully implement Science of Reading instruction by 2028. This implementation date should be moved forward to 2025. Delaware is behind other states in fully implementing a Science of Reading curriculum. This change is critical to ensuring that Delaware students learn to read now.

 

  II.        Require Reading Proficiency for Promotion to 4^th Grade: As has been successfully implemented in Mississippi, Delaware needs to require that students be able to read at grade level in order to move from third to fourth grade. In kindergarten through third grade, students learn to read. In fourth grade and beyond, they read to learn. If they are promoted to fourth grade without being able to read, it puts the student at a significant disadvantage, leading to struggles throughout the rest of their education and life.

 

 III.        Grant Superintendents Authority Over Spending: The DDOE contracted with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to assess Delaware’s public school funding system. This report, released in December 2023, assessed what would be necessary for the state to provide an equitable and adequate education for all students.

 

I disagree with the AIR recommendation to increase education funding. Delaware is already in the top ten states in spending and yet performs 4^th from the bottom in outcomes.

 

NOTE: The per-pupil spending amount used in the AIR study was $17,000 while the actual spending was $20,231, which is an increase of more than $3,000 per student. If this amount is multiplied by the total number of students in the state (142,000), this amounts to $426 million, which is nearly the amount the AIR study recommended for increasing spending and yet produced no improvement in outcomes.

 

Additionally, a common complaint of superintendents in the AIR study was the inability to reallocate funds once assigned by the DDOE. The current patchwork funding system includes a main funding formula and multiple side formulas that allocate staff and funding, each with its own formulas and rules. This dramatically limits how these funds can be spent for the benefit of the students.

 

Superintendents should have the authority to reallocate funds based on immediate student needs, rather than being constrained by outdated and rigid formulas.

 

 IV.        Restore Preventive Discipline Measures: Since the passing of SB 85 in 2018, which encouraged the use of restorative justice, the occurrence of discipline problems and violence in Delaware schools has increased. Delaware must return to preventive discipline measures that impose consequences on students, such as in-school detention. Restorative justice can be helpful when applied to first offenders. It generally is not effective when dealing with chronic offenders.

 

To address this crisis, Delaware’s next Governor must declare a “State of Emergency in Education” and swiftly implement the “four-part program” mentioned above.

 

Without immediate action, Delaware risks failing another generation of students and jeopardizing the future of our state’s educational system.