The Oklahoma State Chamber announced a new initiative aimed at dramatically improving the state's education rankings, calling it "Oklahoma Competes."

Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the Oklahoma State Chamber, pointed to Mississippi's remarkable transformation as proof that Oklahoma can achieve similar results.

"In 2013, Mississippi was in dead last. 50th in the nation in reading scores," Warmington said. "From 2016 to 2025, we went from 42nd to 49th. Mississippi went from 50th to 7th."

As for why the State Chamber cares so much about reading literacy in their line of work, Warmington emphasized the direct connection between education performance and economic development, explaining why the business community is taking the lead on education reform.

"We're not going to get the gai

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