How the top four experts would rank the fixes

What changes

• Tutoring and the science of reading stay on top. The four experts' research backs both, as long as tutoring is delivered often and in small groups.
• Accountability jumps to third. Dee and Hanushek wrote two of the main studies showing that rating schools and requiring fixes raised test scores.
• Teacher quality moves up. Higher pay for strong teachers in high-poverty schools and removing the weakest teachers both rise.
• Money alone moves down. Bigger budgets, across-the-board raises, smaller classes and new textbooks without training all drop, because this group's research finds that how resources are used matters more than how much is spent.

The ideas, re-ranked

Effect (1–7)Cost (1–7)Panel's rating

Higher effect is better; lower cost is better. Filled circles mark the 8 ideas whose ratings changed. An idea can move down without a rating change when others move up.

1. 1

   Small group tutoring

   Same place
   Effect 5.7 (panel 6.0)
   Cost 5.2

   Kraft co-wrote the leading guide to high-dosage tutoring, and his research finds effects shrink as programs grow and sessions thin out. Kane has argued recovery efforts reached too few students at too low a dose. Still the top idea, but only when done at full strength.

2. 2

   Science of reading

   Same place
   Effect 5.3
   Cost 3.2

   Dee's research with Sarah Novicoff found gains from California's early literacy reforms, which supports the panel's rating. No change.

3. 3

   School accountability

   ▲Up 5
   Effect 5.0 (panel 4.3)
   Cost 2.8

   Two of the strongest studies on this question come from this group: Dee and Brian Jacob found No Child Left Behind raised math scores, and Hanushek and Margaret Raymond found state accountability raised NAEP gains.

4. 4

   Higher pay in high-poverty schools

   ▲Up 1
   Effect 5.0 (panel 4.8)
   Cost 4.1

   Dee and James Wyckoff found that large bonuses under Washington, D.C.'s IMPACT system improved teacher performance and kept strong teachers. Hanushek has long argued pay should reward effectiveness.

5. 5

   Fire teachers for underperformance

   ▲Up 4
   Effect 4.8 (panel 4.3)
   Cost 3.5 (panel 3.0)

   Hanushek estimates large gains from replacing the lowest-performing teachers, and Dee and Wyckoff found IMPACT's dismissal threat pushed low performers to improve or leave. Cost rises because Kraft found tougher evaluation rules shrank the supply of new teachers.

6. 6

   Universal pre-K

   ▼Down 3
   Effect 4.8
   Cost 5.9

   No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

7. 7

   Expand access to advanced classes

   ▼Down 1
   Effect 4.7
   Cost 3.2

   No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

8. 8

   Student attendance data

   ▲Up 2
   Effect 4.0
   Cost 1.9

   No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

9. 9

   High-quality curriculum

   ▼Down 2
   Effect 4.0 (panel 4.5)
   Cost 3.0

   A Harvard study Kane co-led, Learning by the Book, found little average difference in math scores between textbooks when schools adopted them without training and support. The materials alone aren't enough.

10. 10

    Increase per-student funding

    ▼Down 6
    Effect 4.0 (panel 4.8)
    Cost 6.5

    Hanushek's decades of research conclude that how money is spent matters far more than how much. Extra dollars raise scores only when spent on proven strategies.

11. 11

    Screen time limits

    Same place
    Effect 3.9
    Cost 1.6

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

12. 12

    Restrict A.I. use

    Same place
    Effect 3.9
    Cost 1.7

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

13. 13

    Ban cellphones

    ▲Up 2
    Effect 3.7
    Cost 1.7

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

14. 14

    Increase mental health spending

    ▲Up 2
    Effect 3.5
    Cost 5.0

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

15. 15

    Increase all teacher pay

    ▼Down 2
    Effect 3.5 (panel 3.9)
    Cost 6.3

    Hanushek argues across-the-board raises are costly and don't target the teachers who make the biggest difference.

16. 16

    Require full books

    ▲Up 1
    Effect 3.4
    Cost 1.6

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

17. 17

    Smaller class sizes

    ▼Down 3
    Effect 3.3 (panel 3.8)
    Cost 6.5

    Hanushek's reviews of class-size research find inconsistent gains outside of very small classes, at a very high cost.

18. 18

    Private school vouchers

    Same place
    Effect 2.4
    Cost 5.1

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.

19. 19

    Allow A.I. use

    Same place
    Effect 2.2
    Cost 2.6

    No direct research from the four, so the panel rating stands.