How Candidate Ryan Walters Plans To Fix Low Test Scores If Elected State Superintendent

Student test scores are declining in the state, and State Superintendent candidate Ryan Walters explains what he will do if elected to help improve those scores.

Walters said increased funding for teachers and classroom resources, along with giving parents the ultimate choice in where their child should attend school, will both help student outcomes.

"We are in the bottom of the country in student outcomes," Walters, the Republican candidate, said. “One of the things we've seen over the past few years is more and more money is going to bureaucracy and not going to the classroom. The support should be going to our teachers, not bureaucracy.”

Walters has also advocated for the voucher system, which would give public school money to families to pay for private school tuition.

“We want to further incentivize families being involved with their kids, and that's what parent choice is all about: making sure that every child has every opportunity to be successful. That is attending the school of your choice, whether you want to attend a public school, a private school, a public charter school or homeschooling.”

If parents are given the choice on their child’s education, Walters said schools would then begin working to meet the demand.

“If a school has a long waiting list after time they'll just start saying, ‘What if we add more teachers or create a new school building here?’” Walters said. “If we have this much demand, we want to meet this demand.”