2024 – 2025 NGA Chair’s Initiative

Let’s Get Ready!

Educating All Americans for Success

“All Americans should have access to education that prepares them for success in life. As the world changes and technology evolves, ensuring all students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary for success is so important for U.S. economic competitiveness. Our initiative will explore how to better evaluate outcomes from state investments in education, and help drive improved outcomes for learners at all stages of their education journey.”

NGA Chair Colorado Governor Jared Polis

As Governors, we lead states facing economic opportunities but also challenges, shortages in workforce, skills mismatch, and widening opportunity gaps that limit true economic mobility for Americans. We must take these indicators as a call to action.

As our economy continues to evolve, our education and workforce systems remain fragmented without direct alignment to outcomes. As leaders responsible for improving outcomes across a wide array of sectors, stewards of state budgets that make significant investments in our education systems, as well as our state’s economic competitiveness, Governors are uniquely positioned to lead this conversation.

While previous conversations about education have led with solutions – this conversation leads with questions. Working with educators, parents and families, students, researchers, and community and business leaders, Governors will consider:

  • What do learners need to know at every step of their educational journeys to achieve success in life and to ensure that our nation continues to be competitive?
  • How are we currently measuring outcomes to ensure that education systems are effectively delivering for students and our economy?
  • How can we do more to shift resources and change policies and practices to do more of what works to achieve these outcomes, and hold ourselves accountable for achieving success?

A year from today, based on the learnings from this initiative, we will release a roadmap to support Governors and states to drive innovation, bolster our capacity to measure what works and what doesn’t, and most importantly, prepare our students for successful futures and our economy for greater success.

For example, based on state context and research, Governors may examine outcome-based measures and optimization for topics including, but not limited to:

  • Early literacy, numeracy, and high-quality curriculum;
  • Afterschool, summer, and expanded learning;
  • Work-based learning and apprenticeships;
  • Dual and concurrent enrollment;
  • Skills-based learning and non-degree credentials;
  • Technology and artificial intelligence in the classroom;
  • Educator development and support; and
  • Data systems and roles of state agencies.

In addition to more effective accountability and implementation of priority initiatives, Governors will explore how to build a truly P-20 system that incentivizes collaboration, reduces fragmentation, and helps Governors drive improved outcomes for learners across their states.

The Plan

  • Develop and release a roadmap that both supports a Governor’s ability to drive innovation and program development, including identifying outcomes, measuring success, and holding ourselves accountable for results, regardless of the specific research-backed initiative.
  • Elevate best practices through ongoing videos, webinars, and commentaries.
  • Host six convenings, including:
    • NGA Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City in July 2024;
    • Two regional convenings in fall and spring 2024-25;
    • Winter Meeting in Washington, DC in February 2025;
    • One international convening in March 2025; and
    • NGA Summer Meeting in Colorado in July 2025.