Education Secretary Arne Duncan
"Last week I went to Berkeley County, West Virginia, to begin an open, honest conversation about education reform. I wanted to hear ideas about how we can accomplish President Obama's goal of providing every child in America a complete and competitive education, from cradle through career. As we prepare for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, I want to hear from classroom teachers and other educators, parents and students, business people and citizens. What's working, and what's not? What do we need to do that we're not doing, and what do we need to stop doing - or do differently?
In the coming weeks, I will ask questions here. Topics will include raising standards, strengthening teacher quality, using data to improve learning, and turning around low-performing schools. I will be reading what you say. So will others here at the U.S. Department of Education.Today, I want to start with a simple set of questions:
Many states in America are independently considering adopting internationally-benchmarked, college and career-ready standards. Is raising standards a good idea? How should we go about it?
Let the conversation begin!"
Arne Duncan
