Leadership Dossier - The Collapse of American Education

There’s been a good deal of doom and gloom in the news about the supposed “collapse” of the American educational system, much of it more than justified. But it’s time to disrupt that catastrophizing narrative by presenting some hopeful developments right here in our home city of Los Angeles.

Bad news first: the United States flunked the most recent “National Assessment of Educational Progress,” also known as “the Nation’s Report Card.” The NAEP is a nationwide diagnostic test designed to measure American proficiencies in math and reading, and frankly, things aren’t looking great on either front. “Basic” is the NAEP’s lowest passing grade (followed by “proficient” and “advanced”), and one in three eighth graders is incapable of meeting that standard in reading. Four in ten eighth graders struggle to achieve “basic” performance in mathematics. How did this happen? There are myriad proximal causes, but playing the blame game has never been for us. How we got here matters much less than where we’re going, and how we intend to get there.

One model for a path forward comes from somewhere unexpected: the Compton Unified School District. Historically, the district has struggled; in 1993, when the state of California took it over, schools were on the verge of bankruptcy. Student performance lagged well behind state and national averages, and the district was saddled with administrative incompetence and corruption.

In 2012, the threat of receivership loomed large once more; this is the vacuum into which Darin Brawley stepped. Brawley had experience in practically every stratum of education, from the classroom to the superintendent’s office, and has leveraged that practical know-how to tremendous effect.

In the thirteen years since Brawley assumed control of the Compton Unified School District, graduation rates have skyrocketed from 58% to 93%. The school district has outpaced national averages in year-over-year improvements across subject areas, owing largely to Brawley’s results-oriented and data-driven leadership approach. At Syndicate X, results are our dogma, and you can’t argue with the outcomes Brawley has managed to produce.


He’s implemented an intentionally-designed regime of regular testing, which provides administrators with real-time feedback and serves to prepare students for college entrance exams. Transparency and constant communication are the two pillars of continued success; teachers meet with administrators weekly to discuss the latest batteries of tests. Students are encouraged to review their scores with their families, providing them either with a sense of achievement, building their self-esteem, or introducing an impetus to re-engage in academic life.

The “Brawley model” leverages the student, their teachers, outside support through tutoring, the family, and the administrative superstructure in one unified push towards academic excellence.

Brawley, like any effective leader, acknowledges that the work isn’t nearly done. Even with its staggering improvement, Compton still lags in many areas– as Brawley himself puts it, “Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better.” If there’s one thing we “preach” here at Syndicate X, it’s that your outcomes are your truth. Educators like Brawley embody the kind of results-oriented leadership we’ve been championing for some time now, and even amidst the dire educational landscape, it’s important to give credit where credit is due.

We encourage you to join the discussion online and in our Private Social Network App. Given our results-driven philosophy, we’re very interested in your feedback, so please let us know what you’d like to see from this segment moving forward.

Until next time, over and out.