Indiana

Indiana cannot afford to botch its curriculum reform

Published

2 years ago

April 28, 2024

Indiana cannot afford to botch its curriculum reform

Michael Hicks
| Muncie Star Press

Indiana is in the process of revamping its high school curricula. This could be a superb opportunity to rethink some fundamentals about schooling, its role in society and the needs of the future economy.

It is also a good time to re-center the long-term wellbeing of students into the discussion.

However, the last time Indiana made significant changes to school curriculum, we failed badly. That cannot happen again.

In December 2013, then-Gov. Mike Pence announced an ambitious plan to offer more career-focused education to Hoosier high school kids who weren’t going to college. It was a smart, thoughtful and much-needed addition to our educational landscape. I was an enthusiastic supporter and wrote in support of it.

Almost from the beginning, the execution of that plan was botched. It is worth recounting how a very good idea became very bad public policy, and how the accumulated mistakes of a decade continue to haunt Indiana’s economic performance even now and into the distant future.

The Daniels-era education reforms were successful on almost every important measure.

The push for higher standards revealed itself in test scores, graduation rates and college attendance and success.

They strengthened good local public schools and forced bad ones to change. But not everyone wishes to go to college and, for three generations, we’d cut programs for those students.

Pence’s plan was met with strong support by business, which offered free curriculum in STEM, and support for students wishing a career route.

My school corporation, led by Jennifer McCormick, developed an award-winning program with a local manufacturing firm.

Things started off well. Then the Department of Workforce Development began to push the state’s board of education.

The Department of Workforce Development had an occupational forecast claiming that, between 2014 and 2024, there’d be a huge demand for high school-only graduates — that is, students who graduated high school and did not go to college. The Department of Workforce Development’s forecast claimed that the state would need 400,000 more high school-only graduates by 2024.

I did everything I knew how to do in order to explain why this was mistaken.

I used labor demand forecasts from a half dozen economists that said we’d need fewer high school graduates by 2024. I showed them the studies from the 1970s through the 2000s explaining how these forecasts were too flawed to be used as a labor market policy tool.

Nothing I said or wrote had any effect.

The Department of Workforce Development had already run off their economists for saying roughly the same thing. They weren’t at all interested in hearing analysis from anyone who actually knew anything about labor markets. The newer versions of that forecast are still guiding both labor market and education policy in Indiana.

All of this presents the question: How wrong were they?

A lot.

In 2015, the forecast overstated the demand for high school only graduates in 2014 — that is, the previous year — by 190,000 workers. Yes, you read that correctly. They actually got history wrong. I’ve never seen a forecast that wrong, that quickly. Still, that did not deter their enthusiasm for the forecast.

As of last fall, Indiana has 20,000 more high school graduates working than in 2014. So that forecast of demand for 400,000 more high school graduates is going to be wrong by about 2,000%.

I write this because it is my biggest professional failure.

Had I been more persuasive, I should’ve been able to avoid the train wreck that ensued. I was not, and the state has been trapped by bad human capital policy ever since. It has significantly weakened Indiana’s long-term economic prospects.

The recovery from the Great Recession was the worst economic expansion in state history. We slipped on every important measure of economic success with some of the worst performances coming in the last five years of the expansion.

The COVID and post-pandemic economy should’ve been very kind to Indiana. Because of our manufacturing intensity, our growth should’ve outpaced the nation. It did not. The reason for 15 years of relative decline is that we have a poorly educated workforce that is getting worse.

That bad labor forecast from 2014 was very influential in the legislature. And how could it not be? It was a false promise of economic growth without actually investing more in education. It didn’t matter that the nation had gone more than two decades without creating a single net new job for someone who hadn’t been to college. The bad forecast drove policy.

Funding for K-12 stalled on a per-student basis and dropped as a share of GDP. Pence’s vision morphed into an anti-college agenda. The state’s workforce development director and the president of our community college system downplayed the benefits of post-secondary education.

By 2017, Indiana introduced career indoctrination down to sixth grade. Among the largest of these were manufacturing occupations and truck drivers. The demand for both is lower today than in 2014.

Pence’s program to offer career-focused opportunities to older students became a platform for pushing students away from post-secondary education. To their credit, in 2020, the legislature increased the age that career pathways would start. So, today, we wait until children are 13 to provide them bad labor market advice.

The most damaging effect was on college attendance. Indiana peaked in 2015, sending 65 percent of our high school graduates to college, at a time when the national average was 72 percent of students. In the race for a talented workforce, Indiana was well behind and running slower than the pack. Over the past two years, fewer than 53 percent of our high school graduates have gone to college. Until this changes, we will not be contenders in a 21st century economy.

We are now near the very bottom in human capital development, making it an opportune time to compare what Indiana does and aspires to do with that of the nation as a whole. Over the past three decades, more than 100 percent of new jobs in the U.S. have gone to people who attended college, with 8 in 10 going to 4-year degree holders.

Over the same time, the college wage premium has grown. We are now 50 years into an economy that places a premium on human capital. That won’t change, no matter how badly some states prepare.

Indiana is moving in the wrong direction at record speed.

The period since 2015 is the start of the first decline in educational attainment in Indiana history.

The educational reforms we now consider must reverse this decline. We must consider what students need to know for the next 50 years of work — not what low-wage employers say they need after graduation. We simply cannot fail at this again.

Michael J. Hicks, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.

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Indiana

Mavericks snap 10-game losing streak with 134-130 win at Indiana

Published

6 hours ago

February 23, 2026

Press Room

Mavericks snap 10-game losing streak with 134-130 win at Indiana

Khris Middleton scored 25 points and P.J. Washington added 23 to lead the Dallas Mavericks over the Indiana Pacers 134-130 on Sunday, snapping a 10-game losing streak.

Middleton also had seven rebounds and seven assists and was one of six Mavs players to score in double figures. Washington grabbed nine boards, and Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Dallas ended its longest slide since skids of 10 and 15 games in 1997-98, and won for the first time since Jan. 22 against Golden State.

All-Star forward Pascal Siakam returned from a three-game absence and led the Pacers with 30 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Andrew Nembhard had 22 points and 11 assists. Jarace Walker added 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Kobe Brown scored a career-high 15 as Indiana fell to 0-3 since the All-Star break, losing its first home game since Feb. 3 — the longest stretch between home games in the franchise’s NBA history.

The Pacers played without Aaron Nesmith, recently acquired Ivica Zubac and T.J. McConnell because of injuries, and coach Rick Carlisle said before tip-off that injured All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton is also now suffering from shingles. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg also sat out for the third straight game with a sprained left foot, missing his only appearance in Indianapolis this season.

Dallas led most of the game but struggled to put this one away.

The Mavs led 36-33 after one quarter, 71-66 at halftime and then used a 12-3 third-quarter run to take a 94-84 lead. Indiana closed to 117-114 midway through the fourth but never regained the lead.

Up next

Mavericks: Will try to win their second straight Tuesday at Brooklyn.

Pacers: Hope to get their first post-break win Tuesday when they host the 76ers.

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Indiana

Minnesota Vikings receiver Rondale Moore found dead in his Indiana hometown

Published

18 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota Vikings receiver Rondale Moore found dead in his Indiana hometown

NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Rondale Moore, the NFL receiver who had season-ending training camp knee injuries in each of the last two years after a standout college career at Purdue and a promising start with the Arizona Cardinals, was found dead Saturday, authorities said. He was 25.

Police said Moore died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. Moore was found dead in the garage of a property in his hometown of New Albany, police chief Todd Bailey said. The death remains under investigation.

Floyd County Coroner Matthew Tomlin also confirmed Moore’s death. He said an autopsy would be conducted on Sunday.

After being traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, Moore dislocated his right knee during training camp and never played for them. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, but he blew out his left knee while returning a punt in their first exhibition game and spent another full season on injured reserve. Moore was so distraught after immediately realizing the seriousness of that injury that he slammed his hand down on a cart so hard the sound was audible throughout the stadium.

The Vikings said they had spoken with Moore’s family to offer condolences and support.

“I am devastated by the news of Rondale’s death. While Rondale had been a member of the Vikings for a short time, he was someone we came to know well and care about deeply,” coach Kevin O’Connell said in a statement distributed by the team. “He was a humble, soft-spoken, and respectful young man who was proud of his Indiana roots. As a player, he was disciplined, dedicated and resilient despite facing adversity multiple times as injuries sidelined him throughout his career. We are all heartbroken by the fact he won’t continue to live out his NFL dream and we won’t all have a chance to watch him flourish.”

In a statement, the Cardinals said they were “devastated and heartbroken.”

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family, friends, teammates, and everyone who loved him and had the privilege of knowing such a special person,” the team said in a social media post.

Moore grew up in New Albany, just across the Indiana border from Louisville, Kentucky, and was a first team All-American as a freshman at Purdue in 2018.

“Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach. The ultimate competitor who wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale; we loved his smile and his competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said on social media. Brohm was the coach at Purdue when Moore played there.

Drafted in the second round by the Cardinals in 2021, Moore had 1,201 receiving yards and three touchdowns plus 249 rushing yards and one score over three seasons. He served as their primary returner for kickoffs and punts as a rookie before injuries pushed him away from that role.

“Can’t even begin to fathom or process this,” former Cardinals teammate J.J. Watt said on social media. “There’s just no way. Way too soon. Way too special. So much left to give. Rest in peace Rondale.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 or go to 988lifeline.org to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

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NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore found dead in Indiana

Published

1 day ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore found dead in Indiana

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) — Rondale Moore, the NFL receiver who had season-ending training camp knee injuries in each of the last two years after a standout college career at Purdue and a promising start with the Arizona Cardinals, was found dead Saturday, authorities said. He was 25.

Floyd County Coroner Matthew Tomlin also confirmed Moore’s death. He said an autopsy would be conducted on Sunday.

The Vikings said they had spoken with Moore’s family to offer condolences and support.

In a statement, the Cardinals said they were “devastated and heartbroken.”

Moore grew up in New Albany, just across the Indiana border from Louisville, Kentucky, and was named a first team All-American as a freshman at Purdue in 2018.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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