Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Innovation

Michigan earns Bs and Cs when it comes to reforming its education system and allowing for needed innovations. This, according to a new report, "Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Innovation," issued by members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for American Progress, and Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies for the American Enterprise Institute. It is billed as a call for action in response to how poorly states fared on key indicators of educational innovation.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who gave the keynote address at the Chamber of Commerce's annual Education and Workforce Summit Nov. 9, agreed that states and districts have the authority to reform education, saluting the researchers for focusing on state performance.

"The authority for reform is at the state level," he said. "And the ability to drive change is at the local level."

The state-by-state report card evaluates educational innovation, which the researchers defined as "the process of leveraging new tools, talent, and management strategies to craft solutions that were not possible in an earlier era."

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• Michigan's profile can be found at http://www.uschamber.com/assets/icw/09reportcard/states/Michigan-report-card.pdf