“All Americans should have access to education that prepares them for success in life. As the world changes and technology evolves, ensuring all students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary for success is so important for U.S. economic competitiveness. Our initiative will explore how to better evaluate outcomes from state investments in education, and help drive improved outcomes for learners at all stages of their education journey.”
NGA Chair Colorado Governor Jared Polis
As Governors, we lead states facing economic opportunities but also challenges, shortages in workforce, skills mismatch, and widening opportunity gaps that limit true economic mobility for Americans. We must take these indicators as a call to action.
As our economy continues to evolve, our education and workforce systems remain fragmented without direct alignment to outcomes. As leaders responsible for improving outcomes across a wide array of sectors, stewards of state budgets that make significant investments in our education systems, as well as our state’s economic competitiveness, Governors are uniquely positioned to lead this conversation.
While previous conversations about education have led with solutions – this conversation leads with questions. Working with educators, parents and families, students, researchers, and community and business leaders, Governors will consider:
What do learners need to know at every step of their educational journeys to achieve success in life and to ensure that our nation continues to be competitive?
How are we currently measuring outcomes to ensure that education systems are effectively delivering for students and our economy?
How can we do more to shift resources and change policies and practices to do more of what works to achieve these outcomes, and hold ourselves accountable for achieving success?
Next summer, based on the learnings from this initiative, we will release a roadmap to support Governors and states to drive innovation, bolster our capacity to measure what works and what doesn’t, and most importantly, prepare our students for successful futures and our economy for greater success.
For example, based on state context and research, Governors may examine outcome-based measures and optimization for topics including, but not limited to:
Early literacy, numeracy, and high-quality curriculum;
Afterschool, summer, and expanded learning;
Work-based learning and apprenticeships;
Dual and concurrent enrollment;
Skills-based learning and non-degree credentials;
Technology and artificial intelligence in the classroom;
An overview of ACT Work Ready Communities, a county-based skills initiative in place across 32 states that leverages a common language of skills as measured by the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. The initiative helps communities to strengthen partnerships among educators, skills development providers, and employers and leverages the NCRC to increase credential attainment and to meet local economic needs.
Through the Code Next Affiliates program, organizations — from schools to nonprofits to higher education institutions — can bring the Code Next experience (computer science education to Black, Latinx and Indigenous high schoolers) to their students. Google provides Affiliates with training, funding, resources, and more.
The WGU Skills Library is an open resource of structured skills data that promotes a more equitable skills-driven hiring and education ecosystem that benefits learners, workers, and employers. The Skills Library features more than 175 collections, focusing on occupations and specialty skill areas.
Pearson launched the Skills Map of the United States, an in-depth analysis of the American job market through 2028. Based on an extensive review of 85 million U.S. job ads, economic and labor market data, the Skills Map offers critical insights to help businesses, policymakers and individuals prepare for the future of work.
The conviction that every student can succeed is one of Let’s Get Ready’s core tenets. As achievement gaps between top-performing students and students needing support widen, Let’s Get Ready has examined solutions tailored to a variety of cohorts. Over the ...
Dr. Julie Fitz from the Learning Policy Institute joins NGA to talk about how states are expanding quality summer learning opportunities. Resources Fact Sheet Report Brief Full Report Summary In a question-and-answer session with NGA’s Seth Gerson, Dr. Julie Fitz ...
At NGA, we take best practices seriously, with dedicated teams who work with state policy leaders and other experts to foster information sharing between states and develop innovative solutions to public policy challenges. One of those challenges, and one that ...
The following letter to editor, regarding “Have We Quit on Learning?,” originally appeared in the New York Times on May 25, 2025 To the Editor: Governors are rising up — not giving up — on education as we know it ...
Adult literacy programs and partnerships provide foundational skills that lead to increased employment opportunities, improved physical and mental health outcomes, and financial stability for families and communities. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) hosted a webinar ...
Governors across the country made clear that postsecondary education remains central to their policy agendas in their 2025 State and Territory addresses—including State of the State, Inaugural, and Budget speeches. Whether introducing new initiatives or celebrating proven successes, leaders emphasized ...
State governments across the nation are leading a transformation in talent management, shifting toward a more skills-focused approach, which prioritizes a candidate’s skills, competencies, and relevant work experience over traditional qualifications like degrees or job titles. In a recent joint ...
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has launched a Data and Non-Degree Credentials Learning Community to support states and territories in advancing their data infrastructure improvement projects. This Learning Community will bring together state teams – including consisting ...
WASHINGTON – The National Governors Association (NGA) and Third Sector Capital Partners (Third Sector) have selected Idaho, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina to take part in the 2025 Policy Academy to Strengthen SNAP E&T Delivery. Through this policy academy, ...
At NGA, we take best practices seriously, with dedicated teams who work with state policy leaders and other experts to foster information sharing between states and develop innovative solutions to public policy challenges. One of those challenges, and one that ...
This playbook highlights six actionable strategies Governors can use to improve state government career paths for people with disabilities. (Download) The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, as of January 2025, state governments employ more than 5.5 million workers nationwide, ...
As a national partner in the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) is launching a Policy Academy to help states and territories advance high-quality youth apprenticeship opportunities. States and territories ...
