What We’re Still Missing in High School Design

At this year’s ASU+GSV Summit, Ednovate CEO Oliver Sicat joined a national panel to explore a big question: Have charter schools truly innovated and outperformed?

The answer, in many cases, is yes. Research shared during the conversation reinforced what many educators and families have seen over the last three decades: charter schools have created meaningful opportunities for students and, in many cases, delivered stronger academic and life outcomes. We discussed Macke Raymond’s research from CREDO at Stanford University, which presents a strong body of evidence – based on several studies across two decades – that prove charter school students on average have better academic outcomes. I also referenced a new report, Turning the Tassel, released by Agency, Inc.  Data from this report quantifies the impact of charter schools as measured by life outcomes. Charter school alumni on average earn higher salaries, have higher homeownership rates, and complete degrees  more often. 

But the most important part of the conversation was not just whether charter schools have succeeded. It was what the next era of success will require.

Charter innovation is real, but it is uneven

One of the key ideas Oliver shared was that the charter sector is innovative because of its nature to launch new schools and close low performing ones more efficiently. However, at the sector level, not always at the school level.

As a sector, chartering has allowed for new models, stronger accountability, and the opening and closing of schools in ways that traditional systems often struggle to do. That has made chartering an important engine for innovation.

But individual schools and networks can still become fixed around one successful model. In practice, many organizations become designed for replication and stability more than continuous learning.

If schools want to keep evolving, they need more than vision. They need infrastructure.

At Ednovate, that has meant building an explicit R&D function inside the organization — a team responsible for piloting new ideas, learning from them, and helping the network manage change well. That structure has allowed Ednovate to stay anchored to its mission while continuing to evolve across multiple waves of school innovation.

We are still underestimating the power of what we measure

A second major idea from the panel focused on the high school report card.

For generations, the traditional report card has shaped how high schools define success. But that tool was not originally designed around the needs of students and families. It was built largely to help higher education institutions sort and evaluate applicants.

That design choice still influences what many schools prioritize.

At Ednovate, we have been asking a different question: What would we measure if we designed high school for students and families first?

That question led to the development of Ednovate’s Whole Child Report Card, which expands the definition of readiness beyond grades and test scores alone. It reflects a broader view of what students need in order to thrive in college, career, and life, including:

• academic mastery

• real-world application and purpose

• wellness, self-regulation, and self-awareness

This is not a move away from rigor. It is a move toward a more honest and complete rigor — one that reflects the skills, habits, and capacities that students, families, employers, and life itself demand.

The future of innovation in schools

The broader takeaway from the panel was simple: innovation requires infrastructure, not just intention.

If schools want to remain engines of opportunity, they need the capacity to keep learning, keep adapting, and keep aligning what they measure with the lives students are actually preparing to lead.

At Ednovate, that commitment remains grounded in our mission of Positive Multigenerational Change. We are not simply preparing students for the next institutional checkpoint. We are preparing them for a thriving life.

That is the kind of impact worth building toward — and worth measuring.