This is the first of a series of posts former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is writing for The Huffington Post over the next few weeks through back-to-school season on U.S. Education.
Hopelessness and lack of confidence, spending dominating policymaking conversations, angst at all levels of government, and a public disgusted, disconnected and disappointed -- descriptors of our current economic situation? No, (well yes), they're descriptors of the current state of American education.
As such, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is trying to promote policies that change this dynamic. But he's found himself between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he is trying to appease education special interests for whom President Obama promised during the campaign he would ease accountability standards. On the other, he knows that these standards are delivering real