DENVER - As 2024-2025 Chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), Colorado Governor Jared Polis launched the Let’s Get Ready! Initiative to explore education solutions that empower students with the skills, knowledge, and competencies they need to thrive after graduation. This week, the Washington Post Editorial Board commended the Let’s Get Ready initiative, writing:
“What are the best ways to measure whether an education system is preparing students for life after high school? That’s a difficult question to answer because of a lack of quality data. Thanks to the National Governors Association, that could soon change.
“Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) focused his year-long term as chair of the bipartisan association on reframing how states measure and track educational readiness from kindergarten through 12th grade. He convened seven meetings around the country to hear from experts on which metrics, beyond literacy and math, matter most to prepare children for long-term success. The result is a report that he will unveil next week in Colorado Springs at the annual summer gathering of governors, which he shared with The Post’s Editorial Board.
“The governor’s view is that states value what they measure; therefore, they need to more carefully track whether young people are getting the tools they need to thrive. “We don’t want states to achieve success by reducing standards,” Polis said.
“The NGA plans to launch a pilot project this fall to help five states build out customized dashboards over 18 months, with hopes that others will follow. Applications will open after next week.
“Polis, who is halfway through his second term as governor, issued a data-focused executive order earlier this year to compel five state agencies to share data so that Colorado can create a cradle-to-career coordination system that tracks how kids are doing, longitudinally, from pre-K through high school into higher education and the workforce.
“At a time when the Trump administration is seeking to eliminate the federal Education Department to return as much power as possible to the states over setting standards, governors feel a sense of urgency to better track student progress. Knowing which states are doing the best job will allow for easier imitation and for the scaling up of good ideas. Competition between schools, districts and states will lead to more students being ready for whatever the future might hold.”
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