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September 30, 2015
In a State of the Union address focused on growing a strong middle class, President Obama outlined a series of bold proposals that will increase access to high-quality education. Among them were initiatives to make quality early education accessible to every child, to tame the spiraling cost of college, and redesign the country’s high schools […]
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September 30, 2015
States and their schools are breaking free from the restrictions of No Child Left Behind and pursuing new and better ways to prepare and protect all students, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a Senate committee Thursday. In a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Duncan promoted the value of providing flexibility […]
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September 30, 2015
In only two years, the 12 states with Race to the Top grants continue to show improvements in teaching and learning in their schools. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released state-specific reports for the 12 Race to the Top states, providing detailed, transparent summaries of each state’s accomplishments and challenges in year two, […]
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September 30, 2015
With 34 states and the District of Columbia approved for ESEA flexibility, the U.S. Department of Education released a series of new publications this week, describing the flexibility program and the ways in which some participating states are advancing important education reforms. ESEA flexibility enables states and districts to maintain a high bar for student […]
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September 30, 2015
A class of freshman and sophomore high school students from Turning Point Academy (Emporia, Kan.) participated in a video teleconference conversation with Department officials this week, to discuss their advice for reforming education in the U.S. Prior to the meeting, the students produced a 25-minute video outlining nine recommendations for improving the teaching profession and […]
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September 30, 2015
A recent letter to the Department of Education from a teacher in Cincinnati contained a quote that really struck me: “It is not at all that I am afraid of what my test scores might reveal. I am more concerned about what my student’s test scores will not reveal.” The quote rings true of so […]
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September 30, 2015
Summer is a time when I am reminded that the world is divided into two kinds of people: those who, when confronted with a cold swimming pool, enter one toe at a time and those who dive right in. In the world of education, there exists a similar divide: those who are taking their time […]
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September 30, 2015
Teaching is really hard work, Secretary Duncan told a group of more than 800 teachers this morning in Baltimore County, and the job is becoming more challenging as education reforms take hold in classrooms. The Secretary spoke frankly about the changes that teachers will face as states implement rigorous academic standards and introduce new evaluation […]
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September 30, 2015
What is the proper role of the federal government in education? Secretary Arne Duncan answered this question Monday at Parenting‘s annual Mom Congress in Washington. “Under President Obama’s leadership, our role here in Washington is to support you,” Duncan said. There’s a transformation underway in public education at the state and local level, he said, […]
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September 30, 2015
“We can’t wait,” President Obama said earlier today at a White House event to announce that 10 states have been approved for flexibility in exchange for reform from No Child Left Behind. The ten states approved for flexibility are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. “The goals of No […]