After the 2024 NAEP scores revealed the steepest decline in reading and math proficiency in over a decade, the U.S. Department of Education issued an urgent directive on July 29, 2025, urging every state to tap into long-standing but underused flexibilities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The move, framed as a return to local control, comes amid growing public alarm and political pressure to reverse a trend that has left nearly 40% of fourth graders below basic reading levels and over half of eighth graders struggling with math. "The results are not just numbers—they’re a cry from classrooms across America," said Hayley Sanon, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. "We’re not here to dictate. We’re here to clear the way."
State Flexibility as a Response to Crisis
The Department’s letter to chief state school officers didn’t introduce new mandates. Instead, it reminded them they’ve had the authority since 2015 to waive certain bureaucratic requirements—like rigid curriculum alignment rules or uniform testing schedules—if they can prove alternative approaches improve outcomes. States like Texas, Florida, and Utah have already begun experimenting with competency-based progression and community-led curriculum councils. But most have stayed cautious, fearing federal scrutiny or loss of funding. This time, the message is different. The Trump Administration, still overseeing the Department despite the 2024 election, is betting that innovation thrives when states aren’t drowning in compliance paperwork. "We’re not asking for miracles," Sanon added. "We’re asking for courage."DoDEA’s Blueprint: A Model in Plain Sight
While states hesitate, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) has already shown what’s possible. On the same day the letter went out, Dr. Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, Director of DoDEA, unveiled the Blueprint for Continuous Improvement 2025—a five-year strategic plan that has already lifted DoDEA schools to the top of the NAEP rankings. How? Not through more funding, but through discipline. The plan rests on four pillars: Student Excellence, School Excellence, Talent Excellence, and Organizational Excellence. Each is tracked with measurable targets: teacher retention rates, student mental health screenings, and literacy growth by grade. DoDEA’s success isn’t accidental. It’s built on data collected every quarter, not annually. And unlike most public school systems, DoDEA schools have consistent student populations—military families move, but the system adapts. Their secret? A culture of accountability, not punishment.
What’s Being Measured—and Why It Matters
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is rolling out its most ambitious evaluation slate in years. For Fiscal Year 2025, six priority areas are mapped out: COVID-19 recovery, equity gaps, educator effectiveness, student needs, postsecondary transitions, and federal aid efficiency. Two evaluations stand out. First, the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) program evaluation will track reading gains in grades 3–5 across 18 states. This isn’t a survey—it’s a longitudinal study tracking the same students over three years. Second, the Preschool Special Education Practices study will examine whether early intervention for children with developmental delays correlates with long-term academic success. Early data from pilot districts suggests kids who receive targeted speech and occupational therapy before kindergarten are 60% more likely to read at grade level by third grade. Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) continues to watch. Its 2022 PISA report found that countries with the highest academic performance—Finland, Singapore, Canada—don’t just test students. They test systems. Every school must conduct self-evaluations. Every teacher’s professional development is logged. Every graduation rate is tied to student outcomes, not just attendance.Who’s Being Left Behind—and How to Fix It
The real challenge isn’t just low scores. It’s inequality. In rural Mississippi, 72% of fourth graders can’t read at grade level. In Los Angeles Unified, teacher vacancies hit 1,800 in the 2024–25 school year. Meanwhile, charter networks in Denver and Atlanta are outperforming traditional public schools by 15–20 percentage points in math. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins V) is now being re-examined. IES is evaluating whether CTE programs—once seen as "second-tier" tracks—are actually closing opportunity gaps. Early findings suggest students in high-quality CTE programs are 40% more likely to enroll in college and 30% more likely to earn a credential within two years. And then there’s health. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) isn’t a school board—but it’s now advising districts. Its research shows a direct line between student mental health support and reading scores. Schools with full-time counselors and weekly mindfulness sessions saw reading gains two to three times higher than those without.
What’s Next: The 2025 Timeline
By September 2025, states must submit their waiver requests to the Department. By December, IES will release preliminary data from the CLSD pilot. In March 2026, the first round of DoDEA’s Blueprint metrics will be published publicly. And by summer 2026, Congress will review whether to make ESEA flexibilities permanent—or roll them back. The stakes? More than test scores. They’re about whether American education can adapt—or if it’s destined to keep repeating the same failures.Frequently Asked Questions
How will state waivers actually improve student outcomes?
State waivers don’t reduce accountability—they shift how it’s measured. Instead of forcing every district to follow the same curriculum, states can tailor instruction to local needs. For example, Arizona used a waiver to replace standardized test prep with project-based learning in rural schools, resulting in a 12% increase in math proficiency over 18 months. The key is data: states must still report outcomes, but they’re free to choose how to get there.
Why is DoDEA outperforming public schools despite similar funding?
DoDEA’s success comes from consistency and culture. With no churn from housing markets or political shifts, DoDEA schools build long-term strategies. They hire teachers with military-grade vetting, offer guaranteed housing, and use real-time data dashboards to adjust instruction weekly. Their teacher turnover rate is 7%, compared to the national average of 45%. It’s not about money—it’s about stability.
What role does teacher training play in reversing NAEP declines?
The IES is finding that traditional PD workshops fail. But programs that pair teachers with literacy coaches for 12–15 hours per month—like those in Ohio’s CLSD pilot—saw students gain 0.7 grade levels in reading over one year. The most effective training is ongoing, job-embedded, and focused on specific skills like phonics instruction or text complexity analysis—not generic "tech integration" seminars.
Are these reforms politically sustainable?
That’s the big question. The current push is tied to the Trump Administration’s deregulatory agenda. But even Democratic governors in Michigan and Colorado are quietly adopting similar flexibility models because they work. If the 2026 evaluation data shows measurable gains, bipartisan support could emerge. The real test isn’t politics—it’s whether parents see their kids reading better by 2027.
How does student mental health affect NAEP scores?
The AAAHC’s research, backed by CDC data, shows students with access to counselors and mental health screenings score 18–22% higher on reading assessments. Anxiety and trauma directly impair working memory and focus. Schools in Maine that implemented weekly emotional check-ins and reduced homework loads saw a 27% drop in absenteeism and a 15-point jump in literacy scores within a year. Health isn’t a side issue—it’s the foundation.
Will these initiatives reach low-income and rural districts?
Not automatically. The Department is offering technical assistance grants to districts with the highest poverty rates, but many lack the bandwidth to apply. That’s why DoDEA’s model is instructive: they use centralized support teams to help even the smallest schools implement data systems. Without that kind of hands-on help, flexibility becomes another burden for the most vulnerable districts.
