Smart, Bold Reform for Powerful Schools

By Michele Cahill

Over the past 10 years, I have spent time in hundreds of high schools—mainly in New York City, but also in many others in a dozen or more urban districts—reviewing data, observing classes, learning about interventions and whole-school reforms, and speaking with principals, teachers, counselors, and students. I have also been a district leader in New York City responsible for high school reform that has achieved promising results in raising the graduation rate and increasing college-going.

My experience as a funder of school improvement efforts and in government suggests some lessons that I believe are germane to the conversation about what the “next generation” of accountability should include to drive significant gains in high school graduation and college readiness.

We will need smart, bold reform that ends failed policies and practices, and generates and fosters improvement, innovation, and invention to solve persistent problems of achievement gaps. In short, we need to reorient our systems to become...