President Speaks in Virginia About Fixing NCLB

When he testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan pointed out that "we have to make sure that every single scarce taxpayer dollar is having an impact on students." I think this is an incredibly important concept because we must make sure that our education programs truly do serve our students. That is why we need to reform programs like NCLB, a program that focuses too much on testing our way to results instead of truly preparing students for college and the 21st century job market.

This is why President Obama's speech this morning at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington this morning was right on target.



UPDATE: I think it's worth noting that this is the second time in just a couple weeks that President has spoken at a school in Northern Virginia. Furthermore, his speech appears to be generally well received by some Republicans even though they are looking at a big battle over education funding -- especially in regards to funding programs like Head Start. Rep. John Kline, the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement.

“The president's remarks affirm the importance of fixing the nation’s broken education system. As we develop targeted, fiscally responsible reforms, the Committee on Education and the Workforce continues to work with school officials and state and local leaders to learn about the tools they need to prepare students for the future. We need to take the time to get this right – we cannot allow an arbitrary timeline to undermine quality reforms that encourage innovation, flexibility, and parental involvement.”