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The 74 published an opinion essay arguing that parents and communities need more accurate information about student achievement and whether education programs improve learning. It points to outcomes-based contracting as one possible accountability tool, while citing research and a literacy contract in South Bend, Indiana.
The 74 has published an opinion essay arguing that efforts to improve U.S. literacy must address a gap between what families are told about student achievement and what assessments show. The piece calls for clearer reporting on learning and wider use of outcomes-based contracts, which tie some provider payments to agreed measures of student progress.
The essay contrasts a Gallup poll finding that roughly 88% of parents believe their child performs at or above grade level in reading and math with National Assessment of Educational Progress results showing 31% of fourth graders proficient in reading. Those figures come from different sources and measure different things; the essay uses them to illustrate a perceived gap, not to establish why it exists.
The author argues that families need understandable, candid information about whether children are meeting academic expectations, and that districts and communities should be able to judge whether purchased programs are improving learning. The essay says contracted educational services account for about 11% of school expenditures, or roughly $100 billion a year. It also says national reading and math results remain below pre-pandemic levels, without providing specific assessment years or score comparisons in the supplied material.
As a proposed response, the piece describes outcomes-based contracting: districts and providers set goals, decide how progress will be measured and reviewed, and agree on how to respond if expected gains do not occur. The essay says a WestEd evaluation found stronger collaboration and shared accountability under the model and reported that participating districts did not spend more than they would under traditional contracts. It also points to a recently signed literacy contract in South Bend, Indiana, which ties a portion of payment to measurable student results.
Why Contract Terms Affect Learning
The argument connects student achievement with the way schools buy services. If providers are paid mainly for delivering a product or carrying out activities, the essay says, districts may have limited evidence that those services improved reading or math. Linking some payment to agreed results could give districts a reason to monitor outcomes and providers an incentive to show their work.
The proposal also has implications for families and taxpayers. More candid reporting could help parents recognize when a child needs support and help communities evaluate how public education funds are being used. The essay frames transparency as a tool for improvement, rather than a way to assign blame. Whether a contract model can produce consistent gains across districts is not established by the examples summarized in the source.
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The Case for Outcome-Based Purchasing
The essay’s central distinction is between tracking what schools spend or implement and measuring whether students learn more. Districts may adopt curricula, buy technology, hire tutors, or launch interventions, but implementation alone does not show that students’ reading or math skills improved.
In the approach described, a district and provider define measures and expectations before work begins, then review progress during the partnership. The author cites WestEd research as support for the model, but the source material does not provide the evaluation’s date, sample size, specific student-outcome measures, or the conditions researchers identified for successful implementation. The South Bend example is presented as an early local application, not as evidence of a nationwide shift.
“Families cannot address challenges they do not fully understand, and schools cannot solve problems they are unwilling to name.”
— The 74 opinion essay
Evidence and Implementation Questions
The source does not identify the author of the opinion essay or provide its publication date. It also does not name the Gallup poll’s date or exact question wording, or specify the NAEP assessment year behind the fourth-grade proficiency figure. The two percentages therefore should not be treated as directly comparable measures of the same population.
Details about South Bend’s agreement—including its provider, contract value, timeline, payment share tied to results, and outcome measures—are not included. The WestEd evaluation’s methods and limits are also absent from the supplied text. It remains unclear how often outcomes-based contracts lead to improved student performance, which students or subjects benefit most, and how districts should account for factors outside a provider’s control.
Tracking Results in South Bend
The next meaningful test for the South Bend agreement will be whether the district and provider report implementation and student results against the measures they set. The source does not state when those results are due or whether they will be made public.
The opinion essay urges schools and communities to focus on whether programs improve reading and math, rather than on whether activities were completed. No new national policy, deadline, or expansion of outcomes-based contracting is announced in the piece. Further evaluation and clearer reporting would be needed to show whether the approach delivers the gains its advocates seek.
Key Questions
What is the opinion essay arguing?
It argues that families need more accurate information about student achievement and that school districts should better assess whether purchased programs improve learning.
What does outcomes-based contracting mean here?
It is a contract approach in which a district and provider set goals and measures in advance, with a portion of payment tied to student results or other agreed outcomes.
What evidence does the essay cite?
It cites a Gallup poll about parents’ perceptions, NAEP fourth-grade reading proficiency, a WestEd evaluation of outcomes-based contracting, and a literacy contract in South Bend. The supplied material does not include full methods or dates for each item.
Does the source show that outcomes-based contracts improve literacy?
Not conclusively. The essay says a WestEd evaluation found the model could contribute to improved outcomes under the right conditions, but the supplied material does not provide detailed findings or evidence that the South Bend contract has produced gains.
Source: the74million.org
