Investing in the Future

North Carolina policymakers say the path to improved test scores and a revamped image of the state's education system has been easy as following the ABCs.

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

It may have seemed a bit pie-in-the-sky a decade ago to envision North Carolina as a national model for school improvement. But with a history of floundering near the bottom of the 50 states on most education indicators, and a realization that the state’s future prosperity rested heavily on the quality of its public schools, state leaders agreed they needed a bold vision for turning the troubled system around.

To then-Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., that meant clear and rigorous academic standards, school-based accountability, incentives for administrators and teachers to help students meet higher expectations, and a larger state education budget to pay for the changes.

In a political feat not easily achieved in the Tar Heel State, Hunt rallied a bipartisan group of lawmakers, as well as educators, business leaders, and citizens’ groups, to commit to a long-term plan for testing students, gauging school performance, improving teachers’ skills and salaries, and intervening in...