Left, right and center, political reporters are knee deep in covering the impact and controversy over conflicting calls and demands to open school or limit everyone to learning remotely. Community, parent and teacher responses have been fast and furious. It’s hard to keep up. Nearly every hour of the day there is a new story about another system announcing new opening plans, unions standing in their way, or parents losing faith. 

It wasn’t the decade-long decline in student achievement that got our attention—that just one-third of all students are actually reading, writing, performing math, science or demonstrating knowledge of history and civics at grade level, across nearly every demographic. It wasn’t the fact that college entrance exam scores among even high achievers have plateaued or fallen drastically as well that commanded our attention.  No, because the media’s minute-quick coverage of our academic predicament consistently fails to impart the right amount of gravity on its audience, the public has until now been tragically under-informed about the condition of public education, which Covid-19 has now brought into full focus...

Keep reading Jeanne Allen's latest column for Forbes... 

Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.