Once considered national leaders in public education, Democrat-led states are now seeing sharp declines in student performance, particularly in core subjects like reading and math. States such as Oregon and Washington have experienced dramatic drops in standardized test scores between 2015 and 2024, declines that outpace national averages. In contrast, several Republican-led states are witnessing measurable improvements. Mississippi, for example, has gained five points in fourth-grade reading and math and has maintained its eighth-grade performance. Similarly, Louisiana has held steady, defying the overall downward trend.
This growing divide, sometimes called the “Mississippi Miracle” or the “Southern Surge,” is attributed to the contrasting approaches taken by red and blue states. While Republican-led states have prioritized data-backed reforms and stricter academic standards, many blue states have focused on equity-based policies that critics argue reduce accountability and academic rigor.
Reforms Rooted in Evidence, Not Ideology
Central to the success in Republican-Democrat-led states is the re-adoption of phonics-based reading instruction. For decades, progressive educators promoted the “whole language” method, which emphasizes learning through immersion rather than structured phonics. Despite being debunked as early as the 1950s by educational experts like Rudolf Flesch, the approach persisted in many districts. Mississippi broke from this trend in 2013, mandating that teachers be trained in phonics-based methods. At the time, the state ranked near the bottom nationally in reading scores. Since then, Mississippi has climbed significantly in performance, with adjusted results placing it among the top states in literacy.
Other Democrat-led states followed suit, not just by embracing phonics but also by banning ineffective strategies like the “three-cueing system,” which encouraged students to guess words based on context instead of decoding them. Arkansas led the charge by outlawing the practice in 2021, with Louisiana joining in 2022. The movement gained momentum after the release of the podcast Sold a Story, which highlighted the damage caused by these discredited methods.
In addition to revising reading instruction, red states have focused on restoring order in classrooms and using standardized testing to identify and support underperforming students. Alabama stands out as the only state to have fully recovered from pandemic-related learning loss in math. In 2024, it passed legislation giving educators more authority to remove disruptive students, further reinforcing the importance of classroom discipline.
Equity vs. Achievement: A Growing Divide
Meanwhile, Democrat-led states have doubled down on equity-focused policies that have, according to critics, lowered expectations and academic outcomes. In 2021, Oregon eliminated graduation standards, claiming they disproportionately impacted minority students. California has implemented policies making it harder for teachers to discipline students and has promoted “equitable grading,” which reduces the emphasis on deadlines and test performance.
These shifts, framed as efforts to promote fairness, are increasingly being criticized as undermining educational quality. The result: a growing performance gap between red and blue states.
As Republican-led states continue to base their education strategies on proven practices, they are seeing steady gains in student achievement. The message for policymakers is clear effective reform comes not from ideology but from evidence. Blue states may need to reconsider their priorities if they hope to reverse the slide and restore academic excellence.
