The Education Catalyst Investigation into the Public School System

Merchant Ship Collective | The Education Catalyst Series

The Education Catalyst is a Merchant Ship Collective investigative newsletter series exploring whether the U.S. public education system is failing due to dysfunction—or functioning exactly as designed through money, politics, institutional self-protection, and workforce pipelines. Each issue examines what the system claims, what it actually produces, and how students, families, teachers, and communities are impacted. We also highlight real-world solutions and legal rights that can help rebuild education from the inside out.

The Truth Nobody Wants to Admit

If you want to understand why public education feels like it’s collapsing, you don’t start with students.

You start with incentives.

Because incentives tell you what the system is actually built to protect.

Not what it claims to protect.
Not what it markets to the community.
Not what it says in meetings.

But what it quietly rewards behind closed doors.

And here’s the problem:

The public school system often rewards numbers, optics, and compliance—not learning, safety, or truth.

If that statement feels harsh, ask yourself this:

If schools were truly built to prioritize student success, why are teachers punished for holding students accountable?
Why are parents treated like enemies when they ask questions?
Why is a “good school” often defined by how calm it looks—not how much students actually learn?

This is the heart of the issue:

Public education is being driven by a performance economy, not a learning economy.

What the System Says

Public education says it prioritizes:

• student growth

• rigorous instruction

• equity

• school safety

• social-emotional learning

• career readiness

• accountability

Districts often emphasize that they are “data-driven.”

They say they follow best practices.

They say they are continuously improving.

And on paper, it looks like they’re doing everything right.

What the System Rewards

But systems don’t operate based on values.

They operate based on what they’re rewarded for.

In public education, many districts are rewarded for:

Graduation rates

Graduation rates are a major metric used in accountability systems, district evaluations, and community perception.

But graduation rates can rise even when student learning declines.

A diploma can be earned without mastery.

And the system has learned that a high graduation rate is a powerful PR shield.

Low discipline numbers

Schools are increasingly pressured to reduce suspension and expulsion rates. In theory, this can protect students from exclusionary discipline.

But in practice, many schools reduce discipline numbers by reducing documentation, redefining incidents, or discouraging referrals.

This creates an environment where teachers are expected to manage extreme behavior without support, while administrators avoid reporting it.

Attendance numbers

Chronic absenteeism is a real crisis.

But instead of solving attendance barriers through real solutions—transportation, family support, and community resources—many districts place the burden on schools to “improve attendance metrics.”

And when metrics are prioritized, the system often starts treating families like statistics.

Test score narratives

Standardized testing is still heavily tied to funding narratives and accountability structures.

But when test scores become the focus, schools begin teaching to the test, narrowing curriculum, and reducing meaningful instruction.

Compliance paperwork

Schools are expected to meet federal and state requirements in special education, civil rights protections, discipline reporting, and data collection.

But compliance is often treated as the goal, rather than the baseline.

The system becomes paperwork-driven instead of child-driven.

The Performance Economy of Public Education

In many districts, success is not measured by what students can do.

Success is measured by what the district can report.

This is why education can feel like a stage.

Schools become performance organizations.

They are evaluated on:

• how they look

• how calm they seem

• how their data appears

• how complaints are handled

• how quickly problems are silenced

This is why some districts become obsessed with branding, public image, and “positive culture messaging.”

Because in the incentive machine, the truth is dangerous.

The Most Dangerous Reality: Metrics Can Be Manipulated

This is where people get uncomfortable, because it sounds like a conspiracy.

But it’s not a conspiracy.

It’s a predictable outcome of systems that reward optics.

When a system is pressured to produce numbers, the system will find ways to produce numbers—even if the underlying problems remain.

And the result is this:

Students and teachers absorb the cost of “success.”

The district may look stable.

The school may look improved.

But the classroom tells the truth.

Facts & Statistics

Here’s what national data shows about the system pressures schools are operating under:

• NAEP data continues to show academic recovery challenges. The 2024 NAEP mathematics assessment results remained below 2019 levels, even with slight improvement since 2022 (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2024).

• Chronic absenteeism has increased sharply nationwide. NCES reported that rising absenteeism after the pandemic was strongly connected to NAEP score declines, reinforcing that students cannot learn if they are not present (NCES, 2023).

• Teacher burnout remains a serious national issue. RAND found that teachers report high levels of stress and dissatisfaction, and teacher intentions to leave remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic years (Steiner et al., 2025).

• Student behavior and discipline concerns are tied to staffing instability. RAND’s research has consistently shown that teacher well-being and retention are closely tied to school working conditions, including discipline support and administrative leadership (Steiner et al., 2025).

These statistics show something important:

When schools lose teachers, students lose consistency.
When students are absent, learning collapses.
When learning collapses, behavior increases.
And when behavior increases, schools shift into survival mode.

But instead of addressing the root cause, the system focuses on optics.

Why Teachers Feel Like They’re Working in a Lie

Many teachers are not leaving education because they don’t love kids.

They’re leaving because they feel like they are working inside a system where truth is punished.

Teachers are told:

• “Build relationships.”

• “Be trauma-informed.”

• “Give grace.”

• “Meet students where they are.”

But they’re also expected to maintain academic rigor, manage behavior, produce data, and keep classrooms functioning.

And when teachers ask for support, they are often told:

• “Try another strategy.”

• “Document more.”

• “Don’t escalate.”

• “Be flexible.”

• “We need to keep suspension numbers down.”

In other words:

Teachers are expected to solve systemic problems individually, while the system protects itself.

That is not sustainable.

The Hidden Incentive: Institutional Self-Protection

Here’s the truth that The Education Catalyst will keep coming back to:

The system is designed to protect itself first.

Public schools are not just learning environments.

They are institutions with:

• legal departments

• HR departments

• board politics

• public reputation concerns

• funding dependencies

And when institutions feel threatened, they do what institutions always do:

They prioritize survival.

That means:

• minimizing complaints

• controlling narratives

• discouraging staff advocacy

• avoiding documentation that creates liability

• removing “problem employees” instead of addressing problems

This is why speaking up can make a teacher a target.

Not because the teacher is wrong.

Because the truth is inconvenient.

Real-World Solutions, Not Slogans

If we want to fix education, we must realign incentives.

That means shifting what districts are rewarded for.

Solutions for Districts

• Measure instructional time protected. Not just attendance—actual time spent learning.

• Reward teacher retention, not turnover. District success should include stable staffing and teacher satisfaction.

• Require transparency in discipline reporting. A decrease in referrals should not be treated as success unless safety improves.

• Stop treating graduation rate as the primary outcome. Track literacy, numeracy, and real career readiness.

Solutions for School Leaders

• Stop punishing teachers for discipline referrals. Teachers are not the problem for documenting unsafe behavior.

• Build consistent accountability systems. Students need predictable boundaries, not emotional roulette.

• Protect staff who report issues. Truth-telling should be rewarded.

Solutions for Teachers

• Track what the system pressures you to ignore.

  • unreported behavior

  • undocumented incidents

  • lack of intervention

  • repeated safety concerns

• Use written follow-ups. If leadership gives verbal directions, follow up with an email summary.

Solutions for Families

• Ask for measurable goals and written intervention plans.

• Request progress monitoring.

• Don’t accept vague language like “we’re working on it.”

Solutions for Communities

• Demand public accountability metrics that reflect reality.
  If the public only sees “good numbers,” they will never understand why schools feel unsafe or ineffective.

The Anchor Truth

Here is the truth the incentive machine tries to hide:

If education was designed to protect children and communities, it would not punish the people who advocate for them.

When teachers are punished for documenting behavior…
When parents are dismissed for asking questions…
When students are passed along without mastering skills…

The system is not “struggling.”

It is functioning as designed.

Because the incentive machine is working.

Just not for the people it claims to serve.

Call to Action

This week, choose one incentive and challenge it.

Ask your district or school board:

• “What does our district measure as success?”

• “How do we measure teacher retention?”

• “How do we measure classroom safety?”

• “How do we measure literacy growth?”

• “How do we measure the effectiveness of interventions?”

Then ask the most important question:

“Is this metric improving student learning… or improving the district’s image?”

Because the moment communities learn to ask the right questions, the incentive machine starts to lose power.

Resource Section

Below are resources for understanding national education performance trends, teacher retention, and absenteeism impacts.

National Academic Data

• NAEP (The Nation’s Report Card): https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

Attendance and Absenteeism

• NCES Blog on absenteeism and NAEP outcomes:
  https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/blog/attendance_and_naep_2022_score_declines.aspx

• U.S. Department of Education: Chronic Absenteeism Guidance:
  https://www.ed.gov/

Teacher Retention and Working Conditions

• RAND Corporation: Findings from the State of American Teacher Survey:
  https://www.rand.org/education-and-labor/projects/state-of-the-american-teacher.html

Closing

The public education system does not fail because teachers don’t care.

It fails because the incentive structure rewards survival over transformation.

It rewards compliance over courage.

It rewards optics over outcomes.

And until we realign what schools are rewarded for, we will keep seeing the same results—no matter how many new programs are purchased, no matter how many committees are formed, and no matter how many slogans are printed on posters.

If we want education to improve, we have to stop pretending the system is confused.

The system knows exactly what it’s doing.

The question is whether we do.

— Lyndsay LaBrier
Merchant Ship Collective | The Education Catalyst

References

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023, August 30). Rising absenteeism since onset of COVID-19 and its impact on NAEP 2022 score declines. U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/blog/attendance_and_naep_2022_score_declines.aspx

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). The nation’s report card: Mathematics (2024). National Assessment of Educational Progress. U.S. Department of Education. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/

Steiner, E. D., Doan, S., Woo, A., Kaufman, J. H., & Berdie, L. (2025). The state of the American teacher 2025: How teachers’ well-being, pay, and career intentions are changing. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-16.html

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Chronic absenteeism. https://www.ed.gov/