Arne Duncan: Better education starts with best educators
Published: Sunday, August 05, 2012, 6:05 AM
Education Secretary Arne Duncan is pictured in this file photo. He spoke with Star-Ledger editorial page editor Tom Moran about school reform.Education is the one policy area in which Democrats and Republicans are finding an abundance of common ground, where President Obama and Gov. Chris Christie agree on most issues.
Both favor tenure reform that allows schools to fire bad teachers and reward good ones. Both believe student performance should be central to that assessment and that standardized tests should be used to help measure progress. Both believe in expanding charter schools, especially in failing districts, and closing down persistently failing schools.
Other reforms have bipartisan support as well: building quality preschools, expanding the school day and school year, and building a career path that gives the best teachers more authority and higher