Chris Torres participates in New York Times panel of education experts to discuss ideas for lifting student achievement

The New York Times reports that student test scores in math and reading have declined over the past decade, but changing the trajectory of student achievement is “notoriously difficult.” The Times convened a panel of 37 top academics and researchers to evaluate a number of ideas that might help improve students’ learning. Among them was Marsal School Associate Professor Chris Torres, whose research focuses on the educator workforce and how districts, schools, educators, and students are impacted by and respond to educational policy.

The 30 improvement ideas that were up for discussion included cell phone bans, restricting the use of AI in the classroom, increased per-student funding, and universal pre-K. The interventions the panel thought would be most effective were making small group tutoring available to students who need it and implementing the science of reading, a systematic approach to teaching reading that puts a focus on phonics and other evidence-based practices.

When asked for ideas that were not on the Times’ list, some members of the panel suggested that schools should think beyond test scores and focus instead on making learning active—rather than listening to lectures and memorizing facts for tests, engaging students in open-ended research and project-based learning. In a follow up interview with a Times reporter, Torres discussed how a narrow focus on test score effectiveness can obscure the lived realities of students, teachers, and communities and implementing a reform that improves academic achievement may have other kinds of costs or consequences to consider. In light of this, he posed a different question, “How do we get an education system that promotes high academic achievement, but is also a place where kids really want to be?”