Hearing Wrap Up: Expanded School Choice Boosts American Students’ Academic Performance

WASHINGTON-Today, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing on "Opening Doors to Opportunity: The Promise of Expanded School Choice and Alternatives to Four-Year College Degrees." During the hearing, members examined the benefits of expanded school choice programs and students' academic performances. Members also assessed the current state of post-secondary education institutions that fail to produce college graduates who are prepared to meet the U.S. economy's needs.

Key Takeaways:

American K-12 education had been declining for decades before the expansion of school choice programs among U.S. states which have improved student academic performance and lifetime outcomes, all while lowering costs for taxpayers.

• Shaka Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children, testified that "[The] evidence is clear school choice improves outcomes for students who participate and for those who remain in traditional public schools. In fact, 27 out of 30 studies have shown positive or neutral effects on the achievement of students who stay in their local public schools. Perhaps the most striking data comes from Ohio's Ed Choice program. Students in that program were not just more likely to graduate high school, they were 32 percent more likely to enroll in college and 60 percent more likely to earn a bachelor's degree than their peers. For the lowest income students, the effect was even greater. They were 175 percent more likely to graduate from college. These aren't incremental gains. These are life changing outcomes. And behind every statistic is a student."
  
• Rachel Greszler, Fellow at the Economic Policy Innovation Center at The Heritage Foundation, testified that "Florida and Arizona have led the way in demonstrating school choice success. And now, as more states are following suit. We're seeing increasing numbers: Half of U.S. students are eligible for some form of private choice program. Also, over just the past two years, a majority of states have passed laws limiting cell phone use in schools. When students aren't glued to screens, they learn better, they feel safer, and they can become more conscientious. In Alabama, the West Alabama Partnership brings schools and employers together. Ninth graders are required to attend a Worlds of Work career expo, and seniors can attend these expos and leave with a guaranteed job after graduation."

Post-secondary education institutions are failing to produce college graduates who meet the U.S. economy's needs, instead creating millions of young Americans with decades of student debt many of whom are in jobs which do not require a bachelor's degree. Alternative secondary and higher education programs provide early career learning, income, and futures absent of student debt. The employment needs of the dynamic U.S. economy are simply not being met by mass adherence to four-year degrees.

• Dr. Cody Hirschi, Superintendent of the Reeds Spring School District, testified that "[In the Reeds Spring School District], students build homes, repair cars, and serve in nursing homes and on ambulances, among several other real world learning opportunities. Each program is guided by an advisory team of experts working in our community in those related fields. Not only do our students gain incredible experience, but they are also earning industry recognized credentials, growing from 28 earned when I arrived to 226 earned last year, 88 percent of our students who attend table rock career center and are in an internship have a positive placement in a career path in the related field or post-secondary institution offered to them through our portrait of a graduate framework. We emphasize durable skills such as communication, critical thinking, adaptability, integrity, perseverance, and emotional resilience. We are implementing student pathways, strength-based assessments, and competency-based learning, giving students voice and agency in their education."
  
• Todd Dillender, Chief Operating Officer of Caliber Collision, testified that "Tech Forest estimates we need nearly 100,000 new technicians between 2024 and 2028. And the reality is, our traditional pipelines, high school and trade school graduates simply aren't producing enough people to keep up. This shortage ripples across the economy. When repairs are delayed, costs rise. Insurers feel it, consumers feel it, and road safety is at risk. And the challenge is only growing. Vehicles are more complex than ever, with advanced safety systems that must be calibrated and tested before they go back on the road."
  
• Ms. Greszler testified that "Washington has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into federal higher education subsidies. They've created a near monopoly on student lending. But instead of better outcomes for students, they face higher tuition, ballooning debt, and too many degrees that don't pay off. More than a third of undergraduate programs today have a negative return on investment, and only 60 percent of students who enter a college graduate with a degree within six years. Meanwhile, red tape is holding back proven alternatives like apprenticeships. A Harvard study found that we could be using apprenticeships to fill three times as many occupations, and eight times as many job openings."

The One Big Beautiful Bill creates new investment in students across the U.S. and boosts academic opportunities for students across economic backgrounds.

• Ms. Greszler testified that "We need more of these bridges from education to work. Congress has already taken significant steps in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, expanding 529 accounts, creating workforce Pell grants, limiting federal subsidies for low value degrees, and imposing work requirements in SNAP and Medicaid. But more can be done. Policymakers should expand apprenticeships, phase down federal subsidies that fuel higher tuition, replace failed federal job training programs with employer led initiatives, and make welfare more work oriented."

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) asked about students' lack of preparedness for careers post-college.

Subcommittee Chairman Burlison: "The research that was quoted earlier suggests that one out of every two college graduates in the United States is working, is employed, in a job that does not require a degree. With that, is it fair to say that the post-education, you know, post-secondary education system is not meeting students' needs?"

Ms. Greszler: "I think in many instances it is not. And that's due to this massive amount of subsidies that are pushing too many people into college, four-year degrees, and also graduate degrees, but also a lack of awareness about what is the outcome of those degrees. And that's why I think it's been a good thing that congress has instituted those restrictions, so that funding [is] not going to go to programs that don't produce an outcome of earnings that are higher than a high school graduate. And that's exactly what we need more of, is more of these market-based solutions. But we're lacking that with the enormous amount of federal money that is in higher education."

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) inquired about the success rates of students if the U.S. increased options for alternative pathways in education and careers.

Rep. Higgins: "We got so wise at the federal level and so unionized throughout our education system that we decided 'that's it, you have to have a four-year degree.' It's going to cost more and more and more. Now we're crippling young Americans with debt for degrees that they don't use. And in many cases, when they do get their degree, they come out of school after interviewing for a job with somebody that never went to college because that's going to be their supervisor. So, we have to address this. We have to train our young people. Mr. Mitchell, if we shifted back to the way we did things before, what would happen for young Americans in our country?"

Mr. Mitchell: "Thank you, Congressman, for the question and for, you know, the information about what our education system used to set our children up for. And I think you are right to acknowledge that we have become too fixated on four-year college degrees today. One of the things that I believe school choice actually helps with, is showing families that there's a menu of options for their students, because what we know, and I know this as a parent of three girls, there is range diversity. Even among the daughters in my own household, they have different have different affinities and talents and skills. It would be crazy to think that the exact same path is going to work for each one of them. So we've got to have an environment where we are allowing families to access a pathway that best meets the needs of their unique children. For some kids, that's going to be college. For some, it can be career. Maybe getting into the trades of some of the other witnesses up here have discussed graduating high school with, um, certifications that allow you to get right into the workforce is a tremendous thing, and [it] means that you don't have to go into debt pursuing a degree that you may not be interested in in the first place. And choice really opens up the aperture widens the aperture so that families have options."

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) asked if graduates of four-year college programs are more focused on pushing political agendas than they are developing real world skills.

Rep. Boebert: "Mr. Mitchell, would you say that today's four-year colleges are more focused on, pushing political agendas than preparing our students for real world, marketable skills?"

Mr. Mitchell: "I think, unfortunately, what you see across the educational spectrum is that much of education, whether or not that's K-12 or even at the higher [education] level, it's not yielding the results for students that they need to be productive citizens, right? So, the [National Assessment of Education Progress] scores that were just released show that our graduating seniors are performing academically at the lowest levels in history. Now, many of those are matriculating still into colleges. And we've got to ask the question, 'where did all of that money get used?' Because the dollars have been, you know, have increased over time. The academic results are decreasing over time. And as we've heard from other members of this panel today, kids are leaving with more debt than they are opportunity. And so, we've got to ask some really hard questions, I think, about the entire education system and how we give families and kids more options."

Rep. Boebert: "Yes. And would you say that many of today's college graduates are more ideologically rigid than they are job ready after leaving?"

Mr. Mitchell: "Yeah. One of the things that is really interesting, some research [that] comes out of the University of Arkansas shows that students who participate in choice programs when they are in K-12 are actually more civically engaged, right? They have greater exposure to civil discourse, for instance, which we are in dire need of, especially on campus. And so, I'm hopeful that as we increase choice among K-12 students, that those young adults will be more prepared to engage with the world, to engage even with others who have different views from themselves in a civil manner."

Click here to watch the hearing.