Transforming State Systems for Students

The average student is now exposed to 48 different education tools in a single year, often with no connection among them. This isn’t just inefficient. It’s a system-design problem that creates real costs: wasted time, inconsistent instructional quality, and initiatives that never fully reach the classroom.

At Cognia, along with our friends at Watershed Advisors, we know the path forward should not be just grabbing the next new trend. For state leaders, the work of building an aligned system starts with a clear state-level policy vision that connects to daily classroom instruction and is supported by policies, resources, and measurement at every level.

For state leaders, the work of building an aligned system starts with a clear state-level policy vision that connects to daily classroom instruction and is supported by policies, resources, and measurement at every level.

Connecting Policy to Classrooms

For state-level policy to have a material impact on the classroom experience of a student, it must survive layers of implementation. Often, well-intentioned legislation morphs and looks different by the time it hits the teacher’s desk.

Watershed Advisors was founded by former leaders of the Louisiana Department of Education, who use their experience driving nationally recognized systems changes to help more leaders to take good policies from the state house to the student. The most essential driver? A clear, explicit “implementation chain” which outlines who must do what differently, by when, with what new supports, and how we will measure or know that it is happening.

Watershed’s work frames effective state-level systems around four connected components: a coherent student-centered vision; an explicit implementation chain between the statehouse and the student; aligned levers (assessments, funding, accountability, reporting, support, communications); and measurement data that enables course correction.

Effective state agencies align four critical components:

• A coherent vision for an improved student experience shared among everyone in the state, along with rigorous standards that are aligned with that vision.
• An implementation chain naming every player between the statehouse and the student that describes the most important behavioral changes that must be made to achieve the student vision.
• A plan for using the state’s levers—standards and assessments, funding, accountability, regulations and guidance, support and training, and communications—to elicit behavioral shifts from everyone in the implementation chain.
• Data collection designed to drive improvement, specifically about what changes are and are not happening at the classroom level and what’s getting in the way.

If we want outcomes to change, behaviors within these educational institutions must change, and the system must be designed to support and measure those shifts.

The Myth of Local Control

One of the most significant hurdles to making improvements stick is the long-standing belief among state education leaders that their job is to manage compliance, not write policy for school districts to promote improvement. Many state agencies do not believe they have a role in instructional policy and point towards providing “local control” to districts as their reasoning. This version of “local control” leaves thousands of districts to independently navigate complex challenges like curriculum selection and teacher training, without a clear vision from the state. To these districts, this can feel a lot more like abandonment than local control.

The truth is that state leaders can both respect local control and improve the classroom experience through policy. Districts and schools decide how they will reach the goals set by the state, but it’s the role of state leaders to provide a clear, state-led vision.

Districts and schools decide how they will reach the goals set by the state, but it’s the role of state leaders to provide a clear, state-led vision.

Measurement for Transformation, Not Compliance

Measurement is both a signal for what matters most to a state and a tool for driving behavior.  As the adage goes, “What gets measured gets done.” If we measure only for compliance, we get only compliance. But if, instead, we measure for improvement, we get better decision-making and better outcomes.

A strong measurement system should align with a state’s vision and enable data-driven decision-making that improves student outcomes.

This requires asking tough questions:

• Are we collecting information that is useful at scale?
• Is our measurement system simple enough for every parent to understand and act on?
• Does the measurement drive tangible improvements in the classroom?

Ultimately, the transition from compliance to transformation happens when measurement results in a surge of support rather than a stack of reports. After asking these questions, districts must try to translate data into actionable classroom strategies. Maintaining a transparent flow of information down the implementation chain empowers educators to move away from the “next big thing” and toward a sustainable system focused on the student experience above all else.

Maintaining a transparent flow of information down the implementation chain empowers educators to move away from the “next big thing” and toward a sustainable system focused on the student experience above all else.

States Moving in the Right Direction

The good news is that we don’t have to wonder if coherent system change works.  Mississippi’s decade of improvement, called the Mississippi Miracle (or “Marathon” if you talk with Mississippi leaders) started by treating literacy as a system-wide priority rather than a suggestion. They aligned every lever:

• Signaling Quality: They provided a list of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) so districts didn’t have to guess what worked.
• Providing Support: They deployed literacy coaches directly into low-performing schools to work alongside teachers.
• Measuring Progress: They required universal screening starting in kindergarten to identify and support struggling readers early.

As a result, Mississippi’s 4^th graders rank #1 nationally for NAEP gains in reading and math since 2013 and have been outpacing the national trend in fourth grade reading over the last decade.

Many other states are making similar changes:

• Ohio is making significant strides toward a more balanced system, utilizing “Readiness Assessments” and clear math plans to bridge the gap between state vision and classroom instruction.
• Virginia and Missouri are currently moving to overhaul their report cards and accountability models, focusing on transparency and simplicity so parents and educators can finally speak the same language regarding school quality.
• Kentucky has engaged a multi-year task force and district pilot model to explore changes for accountability, assessment, and reporting that integrate locally designed and relevant metrics to inform and lead to greater flexibility statewide.

These moves differ in design but share a common premise: the system should send clearer signals, reinforce strong instruction, and make improvement easier to lead at the local level.

A Future Built on Fundamentals

The era of “random acts of improvement” must end. The path to better outcomes requires commitment to the fundamentals: a clear state-led student-centered vision, aligned policy levers, a balanced system of accountability and assessment that drives improvement, using the influence of the state to drive meaningful action, not just compliance.

The states currently leading the way prove that when we clear out the noise, remove the mixed signals, and align actions to a shared vision, student outcomes follow.

Brad Wever brings nearly 20 years of expertise in policy development and the legislative process to his role as Vice President of Policy at Cognia. Throughout his career, he has been a key architect of education policy in Michigan, having served as Policy Director for the Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives and Chief of Staff for the Senate Education Committee. Prior to joining Cognia, Wever led public policy and external relations for The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, where he was instrumental in establishing authorizer accreditation. His experience spans from the halls of the Michigan Legislature to the private sector as a lobbyist in Lansing and Washington, D.C. Committed to the community he serves, he was elected to the DeWitt Public School’s Board of Education in 2018 and currently serves as its Vice President. He holds a bachelor degree from Michigan State University’s James Madison College and a Master of Public Administration from Central Michigan University.  

Jill Pinsky is a Managing Director at Watershed Advisors, leading a team dedicated to helping state governments and their partners to advance K-12 state education systems that clearly define what learners need, measure impact, and hold leaders accountable. With over a decade of experience in K-12 education, Pinsky is known for her unique ability to leverage data to drive strategy and innovation and for her deep commitment to success for all students. A founding member of Watershed Advisors, she has supported education leaders and policymakers in at least six states to build effective state assessment, accountability, and data systems; design high-accountability school choice programs that maximize access to quality education for all kids. Previously, she served as Deputy Assistant Superintendent at the Louisiana Department of Education, where she overhauled the state’s accountability system under ESSA, significantly raising expectations for educators and designing the state’s first student growth measure used in school accountability. She also helped launch LouisianaSchools.com, the nation’s first comprehensive, birth-12 website to inform parent choice and to engage educators in order to improve student outcomes.