We believe that getting state policy right can transform the way we educate Maryland’s children. This does not mean trying to write every best practice into state law, but instead advancing three fundamental principles that work together to reward success, punish failure and raise the quality of everything in between:

• Greater Choices. Our calcified education system is resistant to the innovations of educators, the desires of parents and the realities of the global economy. Expanding options for families injects innovation, competition and a grassroots level of accountability into the system. These choices should be supported by school finance systems that fund students based on their learning needs at the public schools of their choice.
• Greater Accountability. Over the past 20 years we made significant strides in developing rigorous state standards and aligned student assessment systems. We must now use the information collected through these systems to drive instruction and curriculum, expand public awareness of school performance, ground teacher evaluations in student results and close chronically failing schools.
• Greater Flexibility. For greater choices and accountability to translate into greater student achievement, our educators need greater flexibility to run their districts and schools. This means expanding alternative pathways to serving as a teacher or a principal and providing principals with greater control over staffing, instructional strategies and budget.