Why Education Reform Is Needed for Next Generation Students

The U.S. education system unfortunately still reflects a one-size-fits-all model built for a different era. Many public schools remain shaped by an outdated factory model focused on rote memorization and standardized tests rather than the critical thinking, creativity, and real-world problem solving today’s students need. At the same time, school funding disparities, teacher shortages, and rising student mental health needs are widening inequities and putting new strain on school districts across the country.

The pandemic further exposed weaknesses in the U.S. education system, from enrollment declines and uneven access to technology to unfinished learning and concerns about student well-being. Students also face widening opportunity gaps, unclear career pathways, and the growing influence of social media. Together, these realities make it clear why the U.S. school system needs to change and why meaningful education reform can no longer be delayed.

Why Do We Need to Transform Education?

Traditional schools no longer reflect what learners need to thrive in today’s world. If we want to understand why the education system needs to change, we must look honestly at a set of interconnected challenges affecting K–12 education and 21st-century students nationwide.

Key reasons the U.S. school system needs to change:

• An outdated one-size-fits-all approach that prioritizes memorization and standardized testing over critical thinking and creativity.

• Widening inequities driven by school funding gaps and unequal access to quality education, especially for low-income students and students with disabilities.

• Weak alignment between K–12 education, higher education, and career pathways.

• Post-pandemic pressures, such as teacher shortages, enrollment declines, and rising student mental health challenges.

• Rapid shifts in technology, demographics, and the future of work, including artificial intelligence.

• Persistent gaps in academic achievement, graduation rates, and student outcomes across U.S. schools.

Schools and districts can’t solve these challenges alone. But they raise urgent questions for education leaders and their communities. What are the problems with our school system? What are the biggest issues in education today? Why is the U.S. behind in education in key measures of student success?

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, persistent disparities in test scores, enrollment patterns, and graduation rates reflect deep structural challenges across the U.S. education system. Addressing these challenges, therefore, requires educators and their communities to focus on the systems they operate in so that student outcomes, learning experiences, the conditions for learning, and school culture all work together to better serve their diverse students and communities.

What Needs to Change in Education

Our K–12 education system was designed for stability and conformity and can’t keep up with how rapidly the world is changing. If we want meaningful education reform, public education systems must move beyond surface-level fixes and actively redesign how learning works so it is more equitable, responsive, and effective. That means:

• Modernizing curricula to align with essential skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.

• Embracing learning innovation through next gen learning practices like project-based learning, personalized instruction, and student-led inquiry.

• Addressing inequities through culturally responsive instruction, increasing student input in school decision-making and learning design, creating a school culture of belonging, worth, safety, and justice, and demanding an excellent education for every child.

• Supporting the whole child with social-emotional learning, mental health services, and consistent adult support.

• Using broader measures of success and assessments beyond test scores and standardized tests alone to move learning forward.

• Strengthening pathways between high school, higher education, and careers.

• Investing in educators beyond traditional professional development, through professional learning that mirrors next gen learning for students, and better, more sustainable, and joyful working conditions.

• Creating schools that are ‘learning organizations’ where everyone has the opportunity to do their best work and can take action to make next gen learning a reality.

Young people have tremendous potential when schools offer engaging learning experiences, meaningful relationships, and clear pathways into higher education and the workforce. Unlocking that potential requires education reform that prioritizes equity, student well-being, and deeper learning.

Real transformation happens when school districts and communities engage with these questions together, not as abstract ideals, but as practical challenges to redesign learning experiences for all learners.

Stories and Evidence That Bring Reform to Life

When education leaders clearly articulate these complex, common challenges alongside specific reasons why their schools need to change, NGLC has found that families and communities become more supportive of and involved in the work of creating new designs for schools. These stories matter. They may include students falling further behind when they can’t keep up with the expected pace of a course, capable students disengaged by repetitive instruction that holds them back, and educators frustrated by rigid policies and accountability systems that don’t reflect how people actually learn.

The MyWays™ project from Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) provides evidence about how the world is changing and what that means for student learning. It brings together research and real-world examples to help communities explore education reform, academic achievement, and what a quality education should look like in practice.

This resource helps school districts, educators, and their partners understand why the American school system needs to change and how learning innovation can better support diverse learners. It also offers practical tools for communities ready to move from discussion to action.

Education went through massive changes during the pandemic, showing that deep change is possible, even in large, complex school systems. For educators and leaders seeking connection and support to take learning forward, NGLC offers the Bravely network, a professional learning community focused on reimagining education together.

Bringing Your Vision for Student Success to Life

A popular way school and district communities are responding to today’s student challenges is by creating a community-defined vision for student success, often called a Portrait of a Graduate, Graduate Profile, or Portrait of a Learner.

These visions describe the skills and mindsets students need to thrive in learning, work, and life. But adopting a vision is only the beginning. Communities must then ask:

“How might we redesign teaching and learning to ensure all students have high-quality learning experiences that help them develop the competencies in our Portrait of a Graduate?”

NGLC asked five school and district sites across the U.S. how they answered this question. After nearly 50 interviews and collecting student work, teacher tools, and examples of learning experiences, we painted a picture of how five different communities are aligning teaching and learning with their visions of student success.

These examples show how schools are redesigning curriculum, improving student outcomes, and implementing initiatives that move beyond test scores toward deeper learning.

Understanding why the U.S. school system needs to change is only the first step. Lasting education reform requires collaboration among educators, policymakers, and community leaders who are ready to turn insight into action. At NGLC, we work alongside schools and their partners to redesign learning, advance equity, and support student success through research-informed tools, networks, and real-world practice. If you are working to reimagine education in your community, we invite you to connect with us and explore how we can move this work forward together.