Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. 

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

• On the issues: The debate over NAEP scores
• In your district: Reader responses to top challenges in 2025 
• Join us on Ballotpedia’s Virtual School Board Listening Tour!
• School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
• Three candidates running in Feb. 18 nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
• Candidate Connection survey

Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

On the issues: The debate over NAEP scores

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

What’s the background?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—also called the Nation’s Report Card—is a nationwide, standardized test that measures student achievement in reading and math for fourth and eighth graders. The assessment is conducted every two years and helps track long-term educational trends.

The 2024 results, released last month, show reading scores declined for fourth and eighth graders since 2022. Eighth-grade math scores remained steady, with top students improving while lower-performing students fell further behind. Fourth-grade math scores rose, but only for those at and above the 50th percentile.

For more perspectives on what the NAEP scores mean, see here, here, here, here, here, and here. 

Share your perspective on the NAEP scores in our survey, here. We may share your response with fellow subscribers in an upcoming newsletter.

What are the arguments?

Tommy Schultz writes that changes are needed to reverse falling standardized test scores and growing achievement gaps. Schultz says school choice and competition are necessary to spur improvement.

Alison Baulos and James Heckman write that policymakers and educators shouldn’t focus on falling NAEP test scores. Baulos and Heckman say standardized test results don’t give a full picture and distract from more important issues like developing socioemotional skills that help students succeed in adulthood. 

Read on

American education facing an undeclared emergency with some scores reaching 30-year lows — school choice now a moral imperative | Tommy Schultz, New York Post

“For K-12 students, America is in an undeclared state of emergency. And learning loss compounds over time, as students struggle to catch up while lacking foundational skills. Put simply, this will not be the last time we see devastating NAEP scores. It should be the last time we accept them. This week’s scores are another reminder of why so many states have passed or expanded school choice in the last few years — and why bringing real competition in education nationwide is a moral imperative. The data on school choice outcomes is clear: It not only leads to dramatically better results for beneficiaries — who are likelier to graduate high school, go to college, and participate in civic life, while being less likely to commit crimes — it also improves public schools by injecting sorely needed accountability and competition. For families whose schools do not improve — or simply don’t meet their unique needs — school choice offers a chance to find a better fit, such as in the nation’s high-quality Catholic schools, where the pandemic learning loss did not happen. … There is a desperate need to right the ship, but the system has no incentive to fix itself. Expanding school choice — at scale, and across every state — is a critical solution going forward.”

Instead of panicking over test scores, let’s rethink how we measure learning and student success | Alison Baulos and James Heckman, Hechinger Report

“Last week’s reaction to the dismal scores on the nation’s report card, also known as NAEP, was familiar: panic and calls for reform. Here’s an alternative response: Just say nope to NAEP. For decades, education policy has lurched from one test score panic to the next, diverting resources from what we know matters — building students’ socioemotional skills, fostering strong relationships with teachers and peers and supporting enriched home environments that drive long-term success. Rather than obsessing over fluctuating scores, we should focus on unlocking the full potential of our students. … Beyond financial costs and declining motivation, standardized testing also leads to other negative consequences. In the pursuit of higher scores, many schools have cut recess to increase instructional time, contributing to rising obesity rates and behavioral challenges. Subjects not covered by standardized tests — such as music, art and dance, which promote learning and creativity — are often marginalized or eliminated entirely. And yet, current education policy treats test scores as both the problem and the solution, using them to justify top-down curriculum reforms that crowd out curiosity, engagement and socioemotional development. This focus on standardized testing reduces education to a technocratic exercise, overlooking the complexity of how students truly learn and grow.”

In your district: Reader responses to top challenges in 2025

We recently asked readers the following question:

What are the top challenges facing your district in 2025?

Thank you to all who responded. Today, we’re sharing a handful of those responses. We’ll return next month with another reader question. Click here to see all responses to this question, as well as to view older surveys. 

A school board member from New Hampshire wrote:

The cost of education is outpacing the ability of taxpayers to take on additional financial burden. As a relatively small district with smaller class sizes we are not able to level students and what happens is our teachers “teach to the lowest level, which hurts the middle and high achieving students. Parental expectations, many parents feel no responsibility for their children’s educational performance.

A parent from Washington wrote:

The headlines are the $100 million dollar deficit. Bigger story is the why (and there’s disagreement along party lines in the state legislature about amply funding schools in the state.) Why includes the cost of special education service delivery, transportation with students who qualify under McKinney-Vento support, and the inflation or profit-taking of insurance and material costs.

A school board member from Pennsylvania wrote:

Declining enrollment.  Factors include smaller families, parents deciding to home-school due to concerns with the current school environment and/or public school curriculum; Or also moving to cyber charter school, or private school if wealthy enough.  State funding is primarily based on the number of enrolled students, so then our funding declines while all the expenses keep increasing, especially the staff’s pay and benefits, which will force difficult budget decisions this year.

A school board member from Arizona wrote:

Our most pressing challenge has been parents not satisfied with the schools for various reasons and wanting to move their children to another district. We are used to school choice in our state, but this goes a step further. The parents want to have them go to a close district in our neighboring state and have us negotiate a IGA contract with them and thus pay for their tuition from our state education funding.

A school board member from Illinois wrote:

Lack of available staff is the single most important challenge this calendar year – bus drivers, teachers, substitutes, paras, cooks, etc. Always have a plethora of administrators, however.

Join us on Ballotpedia’s ​​Virtual School Board Listening Tour!

In 2024, Ballotpedia set out to better understand the vital role school board members play in public education governance. While many have written about school board members, we wanted to take a different approach—one that focused on listening to school board members. 

Over the last year, Ballotpedia staff held virtual listening sessions with school board members from districts large and small about their service, the challenges they face, and how they see their role in the broader conversation around public education. The interviews, conducted virtually and lasting roughly 50 minutes, are not recorded. Ballotpedia staff take notes on basic information, such as how long the interviewees have been in office, but otherwise refrain from recording any personally identifying information.

Once we conclude the tour, we will publish a paper on trends and patterns we identify, as well as what we learned in the conversations more generally.

If you are a school board member, we’d love to talk with you! Click here to learn more about the Virtual School Board Listening Tour and to register for a time to talk with a Ballotpedia staff member.

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

This year, Ballotpedia covered elections for more than 25,000 school board seats in 36 states. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.  

Upcoming school board elections

Wisconsin

Next week, on Feb. 18, Ballotpedia will cover 23 primaries across 23 districts, including the state’s two largest. These elections will occur in DeForest Area School District, Madison Metropolitan School District, McFarland School District, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, Sun Prairie Area School District, and Verona Area School District.  

General elections for these districts are scheduled for April 1.

Three candidates running in Feb. 18 nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction

In addition to deciding school board elections on Feb. 18, Wisconsinites will also decide a nonpartisan primary for the state’s highest elected education official—the superintendent of public instruction. 

Incumbent Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser, and Jeff Wright are running. The two candidates with the most votes will face off in an April 1 general election. 

Context: The position of superintendent exists in all 50 states—it is elected in 12 and appointed in the remaining 38. State superintendents oversee and coordinate elementary and secondary schools in their states.

Here’s the story: PBS Wisconsin‘s Steven Potter wrote, “Although the position is described as non-partisan, the job of running the state’s public school system is anything but apolitical. This is largely because of school system funding battles between the governor and the state Legislature, but also due to high-profile contemporary political issues that include transgender student policies, school library book access and bans, police in schools, and other contentious matters.”

Meet the candidates: 

• Underly: Underly was first elected in 2021, defeating Deborah Kerr 57.6% to 42.3%. Underly is campaigning on getting more funding for Wisconsin schools and increasing teacher recruitment. Underly said: “Our state has been underfunding schools for a long time, and we need to make the necessary investments so Wisconsin kids get a great education, and are able to compete in the global economy.” The Wisconsin Democratic Party endorsed Underly.
• Kinser: An education consultant, a former special education teacher, and a nonprofit executive, Kinser is campaigning on changing the state’s curriculum and publishing test scores earlier. Kinser said: “We must prioritize reading, writing, math and science to provide the foundation for meaningful careers and a bright future.” Kinser said she does not align with either party. The CEO of the conservative think tank the Institute for Reforming Government, CJ Szafir said: “I don’t think there’s any real daylight between what conservatives want in the DPI and what Brittany wants to do at the DPI.”
• Wright: Wright is the superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District, northwest of Madison. Wright’s website says he will “make sure the DPI has a clear and collaborative strategic vision built on solutions that bridge regional, economic, and political divides.” The political action committee of the Wisconsin Education Association Council endorsed Wright. Wright ran as a Democrat for Assembly District 51 in 2016 and 2018. 

Dig deeper: Following similar changes to standardized tests in other states, in 2024, the Department of Public Instruction revised how the state measured student performance with its Forward Exam. The department modified the terms used to describe student performance and lowered the threshold for students to receive a positive evaluation. Test scores subsequently increased compared to past years after the Department implemented the new standards.

State Republicans have supported a bill to restore the old standards.

• The changes faced criticism, including from Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R).
• Underly says the changes were necessary, writing in an opinion piece, “In recent years, Wisconsin’s standards in various subjects were updated to better reflect what students should know and be able to do in the classroom…This meant the Forward Exam needed to be updated to accurately assess students on those learning goals.” Kinser supports the proposal to restore the old standards, while Wright has been critical of the changes.

Click here to learn more about this election. 

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

• Double the teens using ChatGPT for schoolwork | K-12 Dive
• Hundreds of thousands of students are entitled to training and help finding jobs. They don’t get it | Hechinger Report
• Report: Nevada’s reading, math levels are a ’cause for concern.’ Will policy change that? | NPR
• Eve L. Ewing examines how the education system is designed to hurt Black and Indigenous students | The Triibe

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from two candidates running for school board in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Incumbent Margo Bellamy and Alexander Rosales are running in the April 1 general election for Anchorage School District Board of Education Seat A. 

Anchorage School District is the largest in Alaska, with around 44,000 students. Two seats are on the ballot on April 1. 

Here’s how Bellamy answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I am deeply passionate about public education policy, particularly when it comes to ensuring every child—regardless of their background—has access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success. I’ve dedicated my career to improving student outcomes, and making sure our schools have the resources they need to serve all students effectively.

I also believe strongly in policies that support educators, from recruitment and retention efforts to professional development and fair compensation.

Beyond the classroom, I am committed to policies that address student wellness, including mental health services and wraparound supports that help students overcome challenges and stay engaged in learning.”

Click here to read the rest of Bellamy’s responses. 

Here’s how Rosales answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I cannot focus on just one main area outside of education and what affects our next generation. I believe that we need to teach them right and prepare them for life after 18. I think we are not doing a good job of that and need to refocus our attention for the sake of our kids’ mental health and lifelong success.

I respect how the School Board, Anchorage Assembly, and Alaska Legislature all work together towards one goal; educating our kids. I believe that I have a strong voice in that vision, and I am confident we can get a better return on investment to produce better results for our kids. 49th is embarrassing.”

Click here to read the rest of Rosales’ responses. 

If you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey.