Stanford—Ranging far afield from its usual analytic research, the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education today released a new e-book, American Education 2030. This e-book takes a peek at what American education will look like by 2030—when today’s babies will be in college and entering the workforce.

In describing the e-book, Chester E. Finn Jr., the project editor and task force chairman, notes that “some of it could be termed wishful thinking but none of it is fanciful and all of it would result in a more responsive, efficient, effective, nimble, and productive K–12 education system than we have today.”

American Education in 2030 contains fifteen articles written by task force members (and two guest contributors), each of whom puts forward insightful and frequently provocative views. Some head into the technology frontier; others predict bold institutional change, offering differing predictions and prescriptions of what is to come.

The timing of the e-book’s release could not be more critical, as controversial education reforms are in play across the United States, with the federal government investing billions in programs such as the Race to the Top and School Improvement and in innovation.

The opening essay by Paul Peterson explains the dire fate that awaits American education if current trends continue unchanged.

Grover Whitehurst describes the instructional revolution that he foresees, emphasizing the impact of technology on curriculum and learning.

Dan Willingham shows how some of the heavy burden now placed on teachers will be eased, freeing them to become far more effective and focused on instruction.

Caroline Hoxby shows how teacher compensation—and effectiveness—will be transformed; outlines fundamental changes in how America will pay for public education; and, ultimately, how the payment schemes affect academic performance.

John Chubb dramatizes the powerful impact of technology on inner-city schools and their pupils.

Tom Loveless examines the crucial role of the time that youngsters spend learning and how this will change—both in school and at home.

Bill Evers shows why today's push for national education standards will be replaced by an array of high-quality academic standards.

Eric Hanushek shows how changes in assessment, and the data resulting from them, will be productively applied to boosting student performance.

Martin West examines the changing roles of the federal government, states, and school districts amid ongoing centralization of funding for public education.

Paul Hill describes how local school systems will be transformed from staid bureaucracies into high-performance organizations.

Terry Moe describes the new politics of American education as technology permeates the system and school choice becomes ubiquitous.

In her second essay, Hoxby states that schools will be financed by a portable, per-child budget funded through payroll and sales taxes. Bad schools will be driven out of the market as students leave to go to better schools.

Herb Walberg shows—and applauds—the transformative effects of privatization and vouchers on the education system.

Finally, Finn describes the expansion of school choice, shows how obstacles to still greater expansion can be overcome, and illustrates the extent of education change that can occur in twenty years.

About the Authors

• Chester E. Finn Jr. is chairman of Hoover’s Koret Task Force on K–12 Education, a senior fellow at Hoover, and president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
• John E. Chubb is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a distinguished visiting fellow at Hoover, and CEO of Leeds Global Partners.
• Williamson M. Evers is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a research fellow at Hoover, and former U.S. assistant secretary of education.
• Eric Hanushek is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at Hoover, and chairman of the Executive Committee for the Texas Schools Project at the University of Texas at Dallas.
• Paul T. Hill is a member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a Hoover distinguished visiting fellow, and professor and director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington.
• Caroline M. Hoxby is a member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a senior fellow at Hoover, the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor at Stanford University, and director of the Economics of Education Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Tom Loveless is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
• Terry M. Moe is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a senior fellow at Hoover, and the William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.
• Paul E. Peterson is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a senior fellow at Hoover, and the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University.
• Herbert J. Walberg is member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a distinguished visiting fellow at Hoover, and chairman of the board of directors of the Heartland Institute.
• Martin West is an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
• Grover “Russ” Whitehurst is a member of the Task Force on K–12 Education, a senior fellow in Governance Studies and director of the Brown Center on Education at the Brookings Institution, and former director of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education.
• Dan Willingham is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.

To read American Education in 2030 online and to watch five-minute videos by authors providing a glimpse of the K-12 education landscape in 2030, visit AmericanEducation2030.com.

The Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K–12 Education focuses on education policy as it relates to government provision and oversight versus private solutions (both within and outside the public school system) that stress choice, accountability, and transparency. For more information on the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education, visit hoover.org/taskforces/taskforces/education.

For further information
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