Red States Eclipse Blue States in Education as ‘Ideological’ Policies Are Blamed: Report

Sarah Holliday : Nov 10, 2025
The Washington Stand

...California also became the first state to “ban suspensions and expulsions for 'willful defiance' among K-3 students,” which was later expanded to middle and high schools, “citing the large racial disparities in infraction rates.” And in 2021, Arnold further noted, Oregon “eliminated high school graduation standards because they were allegedly harmful to minorities.”

[WashingtonStand.com] Did you know that blue states used to outperform red states when it came to education? However, a City Journal report from the summer has revealed that's no longer the case. (Image via Pexels)

Between 2015 and 2024, reading and math scores for students in fourth and eighth grades in blue states like Oregon and Washington plummeted — "worse than the national declines during the same period," the report read. Meanwhile, the red state of Mississippi "gained five points in fourth-grade reading and math and held steady in eighth-grade performance. Louisiana also maintained its scores, defying the negative national trends." So what caused this shift? According to the report's author, policy analyst Neetu Arnold, it boils down to a difference of priorities.

"Republican-led state governments have implemented evidence-based reading curricula, banned ineffective teaching methods, and improved school safety," Arnold wrote. "In contrast, Democrat-led states have undermined school discipline, reduced academic standards, and embraced policies that deemphasize achievement in favor of ideological goals." One "factor driving this divide has been the progressive push for 'equity,'" Arnold emphasized, which "in practice … has meant eliminating honors classes, lowering grading standards, and loosening classroom discipline." From his research, Arnold found that red states that have avoided this "ideological approach" have "taken the lead on evidence-based reforms."

In addition, more conservative regions of the country have also sidestepped the progressive practice of "equitable grading," which deemphasizes tests and deadlines. San Francisco and other districts have implemented these policies. In 2014, California also became the first state to "ban suspensions and expulsions for 'willful defiance' among K-3 students," which was later expanded to middle and high schools, "citing the large racial disparities in infraction rates." And in 2021, Arnold further noted, Oregon "eliminated high school graduation standards because they were allegedly harmful to minorities."

Arnold went on to address certain failed reading techniques that many blue states continue to use, even as several red states have since abandoned them. He concluded that "Republican-led states are leading on education reform by focusing on what works. The lesson here for Democrats: any educational approach that prioritizes ideology over evidence will sacrifice student success."

The Heritage Foundation's Jason Bedrick, research fellow for the Center for Education Policy, responded to the report's findings by offering policymakers a solution rooted in parental authority over their children's education. "The best thing policymakers can do to improve academic outcomes and combat the ideological capture of schools is to empower families with school choice," he told The Washington Stand. "Test scores are an important measure of academic performance, but they are far from the only important factor. Parents want schools to build character, cultivate wonder, and foster a love of learning" — none of which "can be objectively measured by a standardized test."

According to Bedrick, "Parents take a more holistic approach to education than state bureaucrats looking at spreadsheets," and "parents consider test scores among a variety of less quantifiable factors and desired outcomes." As such, it's important for parents to have a say in where their kids are learning, what they're learning, and from whom they're learning. But Bedrick went further, stating that "the research literature overwhelmingly shows that school choice boosts the academic performance not only of participating students but also the performance of traditional district schools."

He continued, "There have been 30 empirical studies on the effects of private school choice programs on the academic performance of students who remain at their traditional district schools. Of these, 27 find statistically significant positive effects, one finds no visible effect, and only two find a small negative effect." The verdict, Bedrick insisted, is that "parents are the primary educators of their children," and "the best way to restore parents' rightful role in education policy is to empower them with information and choice. The highest form of accountability is when schools are directly accountable to parents, who are armed with the necessary information about what schools are teaching and how they are performing, and the ability to choose the schools that align with their values and work best for their children."

Bedrick noted that "policymakers should advance policies that require schools to be transparent and allow public funds to follow the child to the learning environments that parents choose. The Heritage Foundation's Education Freedom Report Card details the areas in which each state can improve, and provides a list of model policies that states can adopt to expand school choice, ensure academic transparency, and protect parental rights."

In a separate comment to TWS, Family Research Council's David Closson offered encouragement for Christian educators, urging them to remain fixed on their "difficult but crucial calling" to understand their "ultimate accountability is to God, not to shifting cultural ideologies." Ultimately, "Christian educators can love and serve their students faithfully while refusing to compromise truth." What this looks like, he concluded, is "teaching with integrity, maintaining fairness and discipline, and focusing on genuine success in the formation of each student rather than on political or ideological agendas." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.