School Reform: Answers Exist but They Are Not Simple

Copied from Comments on Roland Fryer's September 23, 2026 article in the Wall Street Journal: "The Education of Nikole Hannah-Jones: School choice is necessary for all children to reach their full potential. But it isn’t sufficient."

I retired from teaching in racially and ethnically diverse suburban ring schools. I was a student in an economically diverse, mainly lower-middle-class school in a mill town in a rural area. Your topic is one in which I am deeply emotionally invested.

Your article focuses on evidence-based results: "Five practices distinguished the most effective: more instructional time, high-dosage tutoring, frequent teacher feedback, data-driven instruction and a culture of high expectations." "My research team and I tested them in 20 struggling Houston schools serving nearly 20,000 students. We lengthened the school year, brought in hundreds of tutors, replaced 95% of principals and nearly half the teachers while retraining the rest, and embedded data-driven instruction and high expectations into daily practice. The schools were no more integrated afterward than before. The math results were extraordinary. Elementary students gained four additional months of learning each year; secondary students gained nearly eight months in a nine-month school year. Effective schools are made."

I quoted you extensively because so many of the other comments did not engage with what you wrote and merely repeated tired tropes about school choice or getting rid of unions as the solution to all our educational woes. They failed to address your powerful evidence and arguments.

We need all kinds of schools for parents to choose from and we need them all to be effective in educating children. Change is possible. You highlight the difficulties in doing this well. One issue is that too many of us think in terms of simple solutions. I thank you Professor Fryer.