Smarter contracts needed for measurable student outcomes

Lawn care, meal delivery subscriptions, cell phone plans—every day, we enter into dozens of contracts. While some are more formal than others, the most successful agreements share two key ingredients: alignment and accountability.

When we finalize a contract, we don’t just hand over our credit cards or sign on the dotted line and hope for the best. We set clear expectations, agree on deliverables and trust that both parties will fulfill their part. In short, success requires mutual understanding of the objective—and a commitment to achieving it.

But if accountability is essential in our everyday agreements, shouldn’t the same principle apply to pre-K-12 education contracts, where the stakes—student learning—are arguably much higher?

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. School districts across the U.S. spend billions of dollars annually to procure services and products from external vendors. Yet, research from Stanford’s SCALE Initiative reveals that 80% of today’s education contracts do not include measures tied to student performance. More than three-fourths of agreements lack structures for mutual accountability or continuous improvement. Instead of serving as strategic tools for lasting student success, these contracts may inadvertently become mere compliance documents.

That’s where outcomes-based contracting (OBC) comes in. OBC reshapes the conversation between school districts and potential service providers to focus more on student impact, helping ensure a return on investment. Before a contract is even signed, both sides define and commit to clear metrics and associated responsibilities.

Under this innovative model, a significant portion of payment—at least 40%—depends on reaching agreed-upon student outcomes. This unique structure motivates both districts and vendors to deliver results. Service providers are further encouraged to innovate, ensuring their products and services align with research-based practices in the classroom that move the needle for students.

Just as we wouldn’t pay an invoice without receiving the promised service, emerging research shows school districts are more likely to achieve meaningful gains in student learning if they are directly connected to measurable outcomes. OBC helps facilitate those critical early discussions between districts and vendors, as well as ongoing collaboration to make that possible.

Arkansas will soon see the impact of this transformative model in action with Forward’s launch of the first state-based OBC cohort. In partnership with the Center for Outcomes-Based Contracting at the Southern Education Foundation, our team will provide targeted and personalized coaching to Arkadelphia Public Schools, eStem Public Charter Schools, Hamburg School District, Little Rock School District and the Texarkana Arkansas School District during the 2025-2026 school year.

With Forward’s support, participating districts will design and implement an OBC for high-impact tutoring—a school-based intervention that, when implemented coherently, has been proven to have positive effects on both math and reading achievement.

Forward’s state-based OBC cohort is just the beginning. Our goal with OBC is to continue empowering educators and school leaders to form partnerships that deliver sustainable, high-impact results for students. One of our district partners, eStem, recently put it best: “Outcomes-based contracting just makes sense.” At Forward Arkansas, we couldn’t agree more.

Editor’s note: Ben Kutylo is the president and CEO of Forward Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author.