Prior to Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s speech at the National Press Club this past Tuesday, we issued five questions for the Secretary to answer. Here’s what Duncan had to say in regard to each of the five topics we presented:
1. Support for Education Unions
In his speech, Duncan touched on the need to “support accountability and a fair system of evaluation” for teachers, to allow them to “get better and hone their craft.” He took pride in the beginning of “a national conversation…to think boldly about how to create career pathways” for teachers as well as “how to boost their pay, attract great talent and ultimately transform the entire profession.”
But education unions stand in the way of these types of reforms—those that reward quality teachers and increase accountability. The outcomes of the Chicago Teachers Union strike are a poignant example of this, yet Duncan doesn’t see the disconnect, stating in a recent NBC interview that the outcomes of the strike are “great for children.”
2. Federal Overreach of Common Core Education Standards
Duncan boasted in his speech that as a result of the Administration’s Race to the Top competitive grant program, “45 states have now adopted internationally benchmarked, college and career-ready standards” (i.e., Common Core education standards). Duncan said: “The fact that 45 states have now adopted internationally benchmarked, college and career-ready standards is an absolute game-changer. Virtually the entire country has voluntarily raised expectations for our children.”
The reality is that states were required to adopt the standards to boost their chances of receiving Race to the Top money, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers have also been conditioned on states’ adoption of “college and career-ready standards.” The standards push is a clear federal overreach and one that will prove costly in terms of dollars and educational liberty lost.
3. School Choice
Absent from Duncan’s speech was any mention of school choice. While the Secretary heralded the need to assist low-income students—stating that “we must find the bipartisan will to address their needs and close the opportunity gap”—he turned a blind eye to how school choice programs are expanding opportunity in a growing number of states around the country.
One of these successful programs, currently in Duncan’s own backyard, is the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which has boosted graduation rates for the city’s most needy students.
Ironically, while Duncan speaks of closing the “opportunity gap,” the Administration has tried time and again to kill a program that is successfully opening doors of opportunity for the very group of students Duncan mentioned.
4. No Child Left Behind Waivers and True Flexibility for States
Duncan touted the Administration’s NCLB waiver plan, stating that it gives “local districts” flexibility, “instead of applying rigid, top-down mandates from Washington.” In reality, the waivers are anything but, replacing the federal overreach of NCLB with another federal overreach by requiring states to implement the Administration’s preferred policies in exchange for a waiver. The waivers fail to provide true flexibility and open wider the gates for increased federal control.
5. Education Spending
Duncan boldly stated that we need to “continue to fight hard” for federal education programs. He praised the efforts of the Administration to “protect” education jobs (via the $100 billion from the stimulus bill and the subsequent year’s $10 billion education bailout) but reported that the “money is mostly gone…and unfortunately there is little appetite on the Hill to help.”
But more spending is not the solution to improving education. This approach has failed for decades. Academic achievement and graduation rates continue to languish despite ever-increasing education spending.
Instead of allocating dollars to states through the federal government along with the massive red tape of federal regulations, states should have the opportunity to decide the best way for their dollars to be spent.
At one point in Duncan’s speech, he noted that “the real work of improving schools doesn’t happen in Washington but in cities and towns all across America—where parents, teachers, and community leaders work together toward a common goal.” He’s right. If only the Administration’s policies followed suit.
I can't remember when we did not increase our annual funding support for education. That's not the problem. The problem is a Union that is in the way of good education and the democrat rejection of a voucher system. Meanwhile, the knowledge of our Constitutional Republic and the tenets underpining it become less known and Marxism/socialism/sexism become a staple of our public education system – no wonder our society is going downhill.
So in other words Mr. Duncan, the federal government isn't needed!! Even according to you! I have a question. Who blows your nose?
Where could I comment on the question by the student who was asking about a job after he graduates? How does the Secretary think the President should have answered and how would the Secretary have answered. I realize that was not what the candidates wanted to address but neither of them took the time to respond seriously to the kid. A few of the questions that should have asked were: What is your major and what type of job are you looking for? What is your vocational or career path? How did you do in school? What does your college do to place student graduates? What is needed is more responsibility on the institutions to give students applied experiences and to virtually guarantee that students know what the job market is in their field and to offer strong career planning and placement offices and services. Many of the training programs in our area will not allow schools or programs to receive federal or state dollars unless they can place the students they train.