The Center for Education Reform

2025 PISA and PDK Results Two indicators of the state of American schools have been released this week – Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and PDK’s annual poll of the public’s opinion of the education system. One an international spotlight, the other inwardly focused. OECD’s triennial PISA measures student proficiency of 15-year-olds in Science, Reading, and Math in 91 countries.

As you probably noticed, Forza has been a little less reliable this summer. And the question is, why not? It’s summer, after all. Like many of you, it’s a very busy time, whether you’re enjoying a little more downtime or, like me, preparing for some of the fall’s biggest activities—the Yass Prize, the Power of Innovation Summit, a book launch, to name just a few. So I have been a little less able to put pen to paper, as they say.

Within ten days of one another, Americans celebrate Independence Day and the French celebrate Bastille Day. Both began with a simple conviction: that power belongs first to people, not to institutions. (Though this photo I’ll admit seems incongruous to that point!T) French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille to secure liberation and freedom, influenced by our own American revolutionaries.

Subject AllAmerican GovernmentHistoryCivics Topics AllProtestDemocracyRights and ResponsibilitiesFoundingCitizenshipBranches of GovernmentConstitutionElectionsBill of RightsDeclaration of Independence1776SlaverySuffragePeaceful Assembly Resource Type AllOnlineBook/Physical MaterialVideosGamesActivities/Project IdeasOriginal DocumentsOnline PlatformTechnologyArticles/JournalismLesson Plan Grade Level AllElementaryMiddleHigh SchoolHigher EducationK-12 Search

Students learn about the Constitution as a contract between the new government and the American people, why it was instituted, and how it works. They are introduced to the drafting and ratification process of the Constitution, including why the Articles of Confederation were not sufficient to hold together the new United States of America and why a new contract was necessary.

This week, thousands of educators, school leaders, parents, advocates, and entrepreneurs are gathering in New Orleans for the National Charter Schools Conference. They aren’t riding the Celebratory Freedom Truck, but they might as well be! More than three decades ago, the charter school movement introduced the concept of freedom to public school teachers and parents who wanted independence for and excellence in American education.

Skip to main content Skip to footer The simple and original principle of charter schooling is that charter schools should receive enhanced operational autonomy in exchange for being held strictly accountable for the outcomes they promise to achieve. When charter school laws honor this principle, innovative, academically excellent charter schools flourish. In turn, schools that fail to produce strong outcomes close.

The pictures above, like most pictures, tell a thousand words. Watching the flyover overhead and waiting with someone very special to our family after nearly a year serving his country with the United States Navy, it is hard to be cynical about America when you witness something like that — the joy, the pride, the sacrifice, the gratitude. Ours is a nation that still puts duty first. A nation that values freedom.

The Yass Prize Roadshow For Opportunity saved this one for last. Traveling to Long Island, our final stop for 2026 brought Yass Prize alumni, the team, and co-founder Janine Yass together at The School House – the 2025 Yass Prize finalist that has become a distinct reference point for how a school can be built around a child rather than the other way around. That sense of community is what keeps drawing alumni back on these roadshow visits.

Just leaving Denver, where I was with extraordinary leaders, advocates, and supporters of educational opportunity in Colorado who—more than 25 years ago—launched the ACE Scholarships program. They did so after poorly litigated laws failed to reflect a constitutional right: that full and fair funding should be directed by families’ to their education preferences, not the status quo.