CCSSO Board President Spotlights Academic Momentum and Achievements in Public Education Landscape

Washington, D.C. – Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Board President and Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal today delivered a State of the States address at the Council’s 2026 Legislative Conference, highlighting the successful efforts states are leading to improve education for all students in our nation’s states and territories. 

“Our country was founded on the ideas of the role of state leadership and local decision-making, and this organization and the leaders in this room continue to rise to this opportunity, even as there is more work to be done,” Reykdal said in remarks as prepared for delivery. 

Reykdal commended states for their progress in improving math outcomes for students and closing the learning gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reykdal also called attention to states for sustaining and building momentum in student achievement. 

“CCSSO recently reviewed assessments for all 50 states and D.C. and found that 35 states and D.C. increased student proficiency in math in 2025, and 30 states and D.C. increased student proficiency in English language arts.” 

Reykdal shared highlights from CCSSO’s published report, Making Sense of Instructional Coherence at the State Level, which examines how state education agencies create conditions for instructional coherence so that students experience connected, purposeful learning across core classes, intervention blocks and tutoring. 

“The report highlights three key components of instructional coherence: shared goals, quality materials, and coordination,” Reykdal said in prepared remarks. “It outlines concrete actions that states can take, with examples, to establish a clear vision for students’ daily experience at school and to align materials, assessments, and guidance to that vision.”  

Reykdal concluded by celebrating state leaders for sharing their challenges and successes, and overall, their commitment to improving education and preparing all students for college, careers and life after graduation.  

“Let’s commit ourselves,” he said in prepared remarks, “to leaving this convening with the knowledge and confidence to meet this time — to not just roll with the changes, but to embrace the responsibility and leverage the authority we have as state leaders to strengthen education to benefit our students and our society.” 

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The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, Bureau of Indian Education, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.