Disruptions to learning during the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened the problem. Coming off the pandemic in 2022, Oklahoma’s students scored lower than 43 other states on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card. Achievement levels in math and reading for 8th grade students plummeted to levels not seen in over 25 years. On state assessments, only about one-third of Oklahoma’s students scored at proficiency levels in reading and mathematics
Students graduating with poor academic skills are expected to have reduced opportunities in higher education and the workforce. Similarly, students remaining in the K-12 education system are ill-equipped for advanced coursework that can prepare them for high-demand college majors in health, science, engineering, and technology.
Oklahoma's K-12 public education system is not delivering the results we need nor want. And most Oklahoman’s believe that improvements are needed. In a statewide poll in 2024, Oklahoman’s offered the following information:
41%
of respondents gave their local school(s) a C grade; 19% gave their local school(s) a D or F grade.
76%
say teacher salaries need to increase or greatly increase.
73%
say school funding should increase or greatly increase.
Democrats and Republicans alike showed substantial agreement on issues such as teacher salaries and school funding.
90%
of Democrats support increases in school funding and teachers’ salaries.
64%
of Republicans support increased funding for schools.
72%
of Republicans support increasing teachers’ salaries.
Oklahomans across party lines seem to acknowledge that our state’s public education system is not performing at optimal levels. And while increasing teacher salaries and school funding may help improve outcomes, there are many other issues affecting Oklahoma’s public education system that are hindering student achievement.
It’s not new news. US News and World Report recently ranked Oklahoma’s public schools near the bottom of the 50 states in virtually every measure of public education.
Why are students in Oklahoma’s public education system underperforming?
And what can be done about it?
No Oklahoman should be satisfied with how low our state ranks in public education nationwide.
The Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to rapidly transforming Oklahoma's public education system. The initiative is undertaking a comprehensive research effort conducted by an independent team of leading scholars from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University. This research team is surveying representative samples of Oklahomans, including:
-
School Principals
-
School Board Members
-
Teachers
-
Staff
-
Parents and Family of Students
-
General Public
About OEII
The primary research objective is to understand what the groups above consider to be the main problems – and solutions – affecting the K-12 public education in the state.
Primary Research
The secondary objective is to elicit information on potential solutions (i.e., resources, practices, and policies) to these problems.
Secondary Research
The Initiative
This data will be analyzed by leading minds in education in Oklahoma and will result in the creation and formulation of OEII’s comprehensive education initiative. The results of the initiative will be brought before the Oklahoma Legislature in the 2025 session. OEII will work to lobby for the adoption of policies that Oklahomans themselves have identified.
Oklahoma must have a systemic transformation of its public education system if we’re ever to climb out of the bottom of the barrel nationwide.
For any questions or comments, please contact the Oklahoma Educational Impact Initiative at: