It’s nearly graduation time around the country, which can only mean one thing: Boring commencement speeches to indifferent students. The “Coronavirus Commencements” will be different, however, because graduates will not go through a public processional of pomp and circumstance.

With the COVID-19 crisis upon us, many of the rhythms of regular life have been paused. But not for high school seniors, most of whom are still making plans to head to college in the fall. And along with azaleas and allergies, early April still brings news about acceptances and rejections from selective schools.

Amid the plague that surrounds us, essential attention is properly getting paid to the education challenges of out-of-school kids: What can their parents, their schools, and their districts do to compensate for missed classroom time and the learning loss that’s bound to occur between now and the resumption of something resembling normalcy.

In the years after A Nation at Risk, conservatives’ ideas to reform America’s lagging education system gained much traction. Key items like school choice and rigorous academic standards drew bipartisan support and were put into practice across the country.