U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student results | OregonLive.com

U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student results | OregonLive.com:

U.S. education secretary sticks by charter schools, measuring teachers by student results

Published: Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8:46 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8:52 PM

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
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View full sizeJamie Francis / The OregonianU.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, (right) seated in the gym of H.B. Lee Middle School in outer east Portland, gestures as he talks to an audience of teachers. Pro-union political activist Steve Novick moderated the town hall meeting hosted by the Oregon Education Association. Duncan had never set foot in Oregon before Wednesday.

Speaking in a Portland school gym packed with teachers who disagree with him, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reavowed his support Wednesday for charter schools and for judging schools and teachers by the results they get with students.

When Colleen Works, Oregon's reigning Teacher of the Year,criticized federal efforts to evaluate her work with the 199 Corvallis High students she teaches each day by their achievement gains, he jumped in.

"The group I am most concerned about is the young people who most need education... That is where my priority is going to be," Duncan said. "I have never met a principal or a teacher who was afraid of accountability... What I