What a day it was! Yesterday, the Partnership, OSPI and the State Board of Education brought together a group of educators, policymakers, business leaders and community members for “Tackling the Tough Choices”—a conference aimed at raising student achievement and closing gaps in Washington. The conference took on many themes, but when I walked out of the meeting room all I could think about were EdTrust’s Executive Director and keynote speaker Kati Haycock’s words: “We need to focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t.”

Kati’s talk offered significant new information proving that no matter how you slice it—and she sliced it many ways (see slides 32-46)—not only is our nation afflicted by one of the world’s largest achievement gaps, our students are steadily slipping behind when it comes to preparation for success in the future. You’ve heard it before, but I guarantee you’ve never seen this much solid evidence!

She even debunked some common myths about where American students really rank internationally. Think that even if it may be true that the U.S. as a whole is falling behind, that at least our top five percent of students are still at the top when compared to other countries? Wrong! Actually we’re 23rd in the developing world (slide 40). Think, as Americans, we’re still the best at problem-solving? Sorry, we’re 29th (slide 43).

Sound like bad news for the world’s richest nation? It is. But true to her words, Kati offered seven steps and supporting case studies (slides 125-198) proving that when schools, districts and states start focusing on what they can do (holding both students and teachers to high standards in the their work, putting all high school students—not just some—in rigorous courses), instead of what they can’t (though we will never be able to control the percentage of children born at a low-weight or to single-parent mothers, we can ensure that struggling students receive quality and rigorous teaching that is proven to close achievement gaps), real positive change occurs.

These are precisely the steps other countries and many districts have already taken to raise their achievement. Hopefully, in Washington, we can use this information to see our national challenge as an opportunity.

Download Kati's full Courageous Choices Washington presentation for more.