I was just watching Arne Duncan being interviewed on C-SPAN. He was speaking to Alyson Klein of Ed-Week and K-12 Politics blog and Greg Toppo of the USA Today. They were asking him questions concerning ESEA reauthorization. He discussed the need for reauthorization to be acted on immediately upon Congress returning from recess.
He stated (as he has for the last six months) that NCLB is not working and that many schools are unfairly being labeled failing or under performing. The reliance on test data is antiquated. He stated that testing will continue to be a part of school classifications, but he stressed only a part. The Obama Administration is advocating for states to implement growth models to indicate that the learning gaps are closing for students. This will also provide some much deserved credit for schools who are working hard at building interventions for their students who have gaps in their learning.
Other areas of interest were the support for turnaround schools, working with the two largest teachers unions (NEA and AFT) as well as the impact of the 2012 election. Secretary Duncan was not concerned about the 2012 election, but made a push for all elected officials to support students and their learning and the need for a strong education system for them.
You can watch the interview in its entirety at C-SPAN.
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