Steven Wilson on The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in America

In this episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Steven Wilson, a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute and a leading voice in education reform. Mr. Wilson discusses his journey into K-12 education policy, reflecting on his early work with Gov. Bill Weld and the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which helped propel the state’s schools to national and international success. Steven highlights the contributions of Linda Brown and Building Excellent Schools in fostering high-performing charter leaders and networks and addresses the political and curricular challenges charters face today. Wilson also examines the academic stagnation that continued with the 2024 NAEP results, linking it to the adoption of Common Core and broader shifts in education policy. He explores the intersection of K-12 curricula with race- and class-based politics and discusses themes from his upcoming book, The Lost Decade. He continues by discussing policy recommendations, calling for a renewed focus on rigorous academics to close achievement gaps and restore excellence and equality of opportunity in American education. In closing, Wilson reads a passage from his new book The Lost Decade.