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September 2010

Commentary

Education Reform Must Be A Priority

Publication Date: 
May 2009

By Tom Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
May 19, 2009

President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are to be commended for their strong support of K-12 education reform. The key issues now are follow-through and whether the teachers' unions and their allies will undermine this effort.

Throughout the campaign and into his administration, President Obama has been outspoken in support of higher standards for high school graduation, better assessments of student performance, more robust data systems, merit pay for teachers, more charter schools, increased emphasis on math and science, and more innovation in public schools.

There's no question that education reform must be a national imperative. The statistics are frightening. Nearly a third of all high school students—and half of minority students—do not graduate in four years. Those who do go to college are often in need of remedial courses. American students are also falling behind their peers in other countries, ranking 25th out of 30 in math and 24th out of 30 in science in a recent international assessment. This is a prescription for national decline.

Fortunately, there is much that we can do to improve our K-12 education system. We can begin by strengthening and reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as No Child Left Behind. NCLB has succeeded in bringing accountability into American classrooms, making it impossible for schools to hide their failures. The results are encouraging—student performance has improved—but more must be done.

Next, we must ensure that the $100 billion earmarked for education and training in the stimulus bill is spent wisely. The U.S. Chamber is a leading member of the Coalition for Student Achievement, which urges the nation's governors to use these funds to implement reforms that work. One such reform would be the creation of a system to collect and track data on individual student performance from kindergarten through college. This would enhance accountability and foster continuous improvement. Other examples include the development of college and career-ready standards and effective intervention in chronically low-performing schools.

Finally, we must acknowledge that no amount of government spending can replace engaged parents. We must encourage parents to take more responsibility for their children's education.

President Obama said, "In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity—it is a prerequisite." Now is the time to turn words into action. By making education one of our top priorities, the Chamber is leading by example.

Comments

Karen 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I come from a long line of educators and they will all tell you that we will never be able to improve our childrens education until we regain parental support....that includes discipline as well as learning. Our teachers have to put up with a lack of respect from the students that is unprecedented and the students really face no serious consequences for it. Nothing the government can do within our schools will fix this....this fix has to come from our homes....not our government. Enough already with all of our problems being solved by throwing money at them or regulating them to death. How about a little personal responsibility for your childs education... (Lubbock, TX)
Jason Wertchafter 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

As a young business owner in the technology field and having attended both private and public schools this topic is very important to me. There is no doubt that the education system needs a complete overhaul and the unions need to be challenged. More than that, the way education takes place day to day is out step with the times and delivery and technology will allow the younger generations to flourish and not get left in the dust. At my company we are working on a blueprint for overhaul to hopefully present to a willing district and hopefully getting support from local & state government. (Plantation, Florida)
Rod Gillespie 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

There will be no reform until the unions are checked, and the enviro-nazi curriculums are rescinded. (Fullerton, California)
Charmayne Keith 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I would NEVER support this marksist, socialist, so call president. He nor his staff is either to be admired or commended. Giving our children and grandchildren a debt that can never be repaid is pure stupidity. Supporting "Partial Birth Abortion" also shows that he places no value on the life of a newborn baby. Shara Palin -4- President. (Kingman, Arizona)
Pastor Roger 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

For two generations now, the Federal Government has inserted itself in the educational process. All the failures are theirs to own. It's time to return control, responsibility, and accountability to local school boards and parents and get the Federal Government out of the school business. (Columbia, SC)
Ken 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I have great hope for Obama reforming the K-12 education, but I do not have any faith in it. Karen is right on and unless we do as she says the problems will persist. Based on his actions so far, Obama might just try to take over the rearing of our children as in communism. (Leander, Texas)
Ervon Fairbanks 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I know that our education system leaves a lot to be desired and academic achievement needs to be improved. I, however, do not believe Obama and his administration are the people to accomplish the task. Obama is a socialist. Recently the Canada Free Press had an article titled, "Obama's International Socialist Connections" which was quite enlightening. And, when he bcame president the European socialists were full of joy and jubilation. Now they have one of their own as president of the United States. I can just see socialism rather than democracy being taught to future generations of American students. (Skagway, Alaska)
Mike K 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

Blah Blah Blah... I will not support anything this Socialistic so called President is doing...Tom if you cannot see what is really taking place here, then you my friend are no friend to us business owners.
Hussein Obama is taking us apart this Country piece by piece and if you don't have the balls to stand up for us then we need someone who can. This narsasistic bastard still has not proved his citizenship and no one seems to give a crap. This guy wants HUGE Government...he wants total control.
The unions are breaking us down these days and the teachers union is one that needs massive reform, you have biased teachers in there teaching crap to our children when they should be teaching them the three R's without bias... I am so sick of all the crap that is taking place these days, it absolutley disgust me what the American people are putting up with.

PS Karen in Lubbock TX...I agree parents need to start acting like parents and not their kids best friend...but lets face it, if they try to discipline your child these days you could go to jail...hahaha.. this Country is falling to pieces... (Northridge, CA)
Jim Eckland 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

Acccording to The U.S. Constitution, there is no authorization for the federal Govt. to get involved in education at all and they shouldn't! States and local School Districts need to design their own School programs and compete with those across the nation. All is needed is Standardized testing to evaluate their progress !! (Lancaster, Mass.)
Michael 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not use what works for the other countries that score much better than us? Throwing money at the problem will not solve anything, it never has. We can't buy our way out of this one. It seems to me everybody is so preoccupied with their own agenda that the students get lost in the shuffle. And while we argue and keep discussing the problem among ourselves, valuable windows of opportunities are missed and the students are left behind. AGAIN! (Modesto, Ca)
Deanna 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I agree that education needs to start at home. Leadership and respect need to be demonstrated and taught by the parents. Government needs to also realize that right now, people are struggling to survive. I have read countless articles in our papers the last two weeks about hard working families who have been reduced to living in homeless shelters. In Oregon, we have a high level of degree holding residents. We are at the heart of the high tech industry, with a large group individuals holding degrees in Engineering. Those credentials have not saved their homes after they lost jobs due to the economy. Higher education, the expense thereof, and the time invested did not change the outcome of their future permanently. I agree with the person who said that we need to stick to the three R's. By the age of 32, I owned 8 houses, 5 store front businesses; and did so without ever setting foot into a college. Parents need to teach their children how to be amazing human beings, they need to focus on teaching them basic skills that they need to live productive lives. I home school my children now, and I go to college full time. I've proven that a person can be very successful without a degree and so now I've decided to go to college, not for the degree, but because I wish to learn some new things. Save Calculus for the college class room. Kids don't need it. Most of us don't need it. We need to know how to balance a checkbook which required simple math, and fractions so that we can bake. I sit here and scratch my head while I'm educating my children on standardized studies, wondering when they will ever use this--and if my son does decide to be a physician, which he is considering, he can take advanced math, biology,etc. to reach his own personal goals. I have a respect for teachers in the sense that their job is not easy. I also have a difficult time with them because they are control freaks, and they don't listen to students anymore and are so preoccupied with the dissatisfaction of their jobs and pay that important things go by the wayside--like abuse by some students toward others. My son left his school two years ago having night terrors, being withdrawn, having issues with the teachers, not getting his school work completed, and bringing home straight F's. Turns out, he had a gang of teens beating on him and threatening to kill him everyday. Some students interviewed in the final incident said that it had been carrying on for along time, and that often, they happened in front of the teachers, who always dismissed it as horseplay and would repremand the kids. My son suffered for that for too long. And the day I met with the principle and on campus police officer about it, and they told me they needed to "investigate", I cleared my sons locker and he has not been to public schools since. It's no wonder he couldn't think, let alone excel. This is happening more often, and the bottom line is--my son had straight F's, and worse case scenario is that he would maintain those grades if I educated him at home...but at least he sleeps at night, at least he's not a nervous wreck, and at least we know he's safe and will in the end know all that he needs to. We have much bigger things to think about Obama. Until parents get involved like me, this country will continue to suffer and degenerate. (Hillsboro, Oregon)
Richard Maggio 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

We need less "innovation" in our Public Schools and return to teaching basic courses and programs. (oxnard, ca)
Ervon Fairbanks 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I know that our educational system needs reforming and academic achievement needs improving. I, however, do not think Obama and his administration are the ones to do it. Barack Obama is a socialist. The Canada Free Press had an articale titled "Obama's International Socialist Connections." The article was quite enlightening. It made reference to the fact that European Socialists were full of joy and jubilation after Obama was elected president. Now they had one of their own as prsident of the United States. I can just see socialism being taught to our American students rather than democracy. (Skagway, Alaska)
Kent 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

How has BO done on the banking system, car industry, tax payer funded abortion, soon to be higher taxes, government spending, apologizing to the world, sucking up to dictators and on and on and on. So now the logical thing is to turn over the education system to this pathetic moron. Of course Tom your on board with this ego maniac hoping against hope for something good to come out of this Marxist. Keep hoping Tom, your fat, lazy and stupid like 62 million Americans who voted for this idiot and like you just keep looking to the government to fix our problems. Our government is spinning a Marxist web around our capitalist free enterprise system that will soon paralize the America we have known and there will be no recourse. Except for national defense the government screws up everything it touches.
It's time to boycott the Chamber. Support NFIB, NRA, Republican Trust and National Right to Work if you want your dollars to count. The Chamber is a joke and waste of time and money. (Dayton, Ohio)
Nick 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

The first education needs is to drag the parents out of walmart and take them home to see what the kids are doing. Then we need to reduce the Education administrators by 40% to put more dollars into the classroon. Then we need to have teachers stop whining about money and concentrating on getting the kids educated without agendas or sent home to have their parents kick their dumb butts. (Ormond Beach, FL)
Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

We would be grateful for your pleasure visit to our Environmental library and Environment Cycle Radio F.M.104.2MHz. We are hopeful for your kind co-operation to prove necessary instrumental equipment in developing the library research centre and environmental information center. For running this information center we kindly request your glorious US Chamber of Commerce to provide the publication about the environmental activities held under yours US Chamber of Commerce to inform the Nepalese people.

Sincerely Yours

Dr.Asta Man Kisee Maharjan

Executive Chairman and Chief Editor/Publisher

Youth Awareness Environmental Forum (YAEF/NEPAL)

Environment Cycle Radio F.M.104.2MHz

Environmental Library, Lalitpur, Godawari Area, Badegaon

P.O.Box No. 8975 EPC 1556

Phone/Fax No 977-1- 5560782

E.mail: yaefast@wlink.com.np/environmental.library@gmail.com

Website >www.yaefnepal.org
(Lalitpur Godawari Arae Badegaon, Kathmandu Nepal)
PK 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

The failure of our educational system feeds the socialist takeover. What better for them than a group of citizens that are only educated to expect more from government and no way to provide for themselves. And you wonder why they would want to bankrupt our country trying to improve the educational system with methods of proven failure. Don't assume they are stupid or misguided. Assume they know exactly what they are doing. (Dallas, TX)
John Thornell 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

For over 40 years I have heard politicians from both parties announce education reform as a basic platform. The result is a continuing decline in overall knowledge. We have high school graduates that can't make change for a buck, have no knowledge of history and geography, zero background in what we used to call civics and social studies, and no idea of what business is all about--other than collecting a paycheck. We will continue our decline in the final product unless we decide to curtail the "feel good" education and get back to the basics. The basics also include parental involvement in the school, the curriculum and their child's progress. If education is to prepare the nation's youth for life then let's teach what they need to succeed. The Chamber can help by focusing on what the future labor force and business community need to succeed in a free-enterprise environment and not get wrapped up in the political rhetoric or agendas. In life, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. More government direction is not the solution. (Leesburg, VA)
JOE BLIVITZ 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I HAVE TO AGREE WITH NICK BEFORE ME. KIDS TODAY ARE MORE WORRIED ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF MINUTES ON THEIR CELL PHONE THAN THEIR LEARNING PERFORMANCE. FIRST OF ALL THE TEACHERS UNIONS ARE A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM. A TEST JUST CONDUCTED IN MASSACHUSETTS SHOWS THAT 70 % OF ALL TEACHERS FLUNKED A SIMPLE MATH TEST, BUT OH YES THEY HAVE TENURE. ADMINISTRATORS GET SIX FIGURE SALARIES AND ALL OF THEM HAVE A RETIREMENT SWEETHEART DEAL BEYOND BELIEF AND ALL FOR A PART TIME JOB. WE KEEP LOWERING THE STANDARDS SO MORE STUDENTS WILL PASS AND EVERYONE IS HOME BY EARLY AFTERNOON AFTER THEY PASS OUT THE CONDOMS. PAYING TEACHERS MERIT PAY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FIXING THE PROBLEMS. (BOSTON)
scott 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

The only prayer ed. has is to go to a voucher system. let schools compete! Its clear by any standard that private schools and home schools are far ahead of public schools. Unfortunatly our politions are too corupt to let go of control. (fulton, tx)
Alan Strihafka 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

Obama’s “education reform” will be just another step towards the Socialist all-encompassing "Nanny State". It will be more payback to the teachers unions (See Chrysler bail-out, UAW) and the children will be thrown under the bus (See Chrysler bail-out, secured bond holders)

We, the people, are allowing the "State" to take control of facet after facet of our individual lives. Obama is rapidly accelerating our decline from the “Shining city on the hill” and “rugged individualism” to the city in the swamp that controls every aspect of our lives.

In my 60+ years of participating in this Great Experiment I have never been more concerned with the state of our union.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” Benjamin Franklin
(Brunswick, Georgia)
Dorsey Hill 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

We need to get the government focusing on Pre-K education as well. It all starts early and the earlier we're there to support the children and families, the better. More support for a winner - Head Start. This program provides for early parental involvement in education and should be a model for programming throughout a child's school time.
Our rural school districts are fighting for their lives right now and most have had to switch to the 4 day school week leaving a big gap for our children. We must develop better funding formulas so this and continual mill-levy override elections don't have to keep taking up districts' time. (Pocatello, ID)
Tom 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I think the chamber should allocate some resources to a well chosen court battle to defeat compulsory education in this country. A generation of teacher union socialist monopoly with a captive audience has destroyed any understanding of free enterprise, the value and morality of capitalism, entrepeneurism.
One room schools had higher expectations. An enslaved mind is a terrible thing to waste. (Rogers, AR)
Les Warren 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

I believe NCLB has some great components, but legislators know that it needs to be worked on and amended to make it a more workable piece of legislation. Specific attention needs to be given to those students with learning disabilities. Each of these students is on an individual education plan. We need to celebrate their growth and accomplishments as long as they are growing and improving, and not have them test at grade level. They may never test at grade level, but if we are doing all we can as educators to better prepare them for the world ahead, why is that not good enough? How disheartening that must be to them, to be moving forward only to be told through required testing that their progress is not good enough. They have learning disabilities. Just as they require different education plans, judge their progress individually and do not test them at grade level. That makes them think they have failed and that is the last thing we need to have them think.
As a school board member, I am all about more stringent academic requirements and pushing each student to reach their greatest potential. We have let our students down by not raising the bar before now. I am proud to say that Lakeside - Hot Springs is the first school in Arkansas to require ALL students to take a more rigorous curriculum aimed to prepare them for college. Even if they do not go to college, they have at least been given an education that puts them in an advantageous position when competing for jobs against other high school graduates right out of high school. Reward high performing schools and great teachers. That will only encourage them to succeed even more and their successes will result in more success for our students. We need to be researching these schools and teachers to find out what they are doing to excel and spread the word. If we continue to settle for the status quo, our kids are going to pay in the years ahead. Raising the bar is a must. Even if a student does not reach the new standard, he has at least accomplished more than he or she would have with the lower bar setting. We can change the outcomes for future generations, but we must raise our expectations. It can happen and it needs to happen. (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
Ken 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

Until you have a competitive environment for education, no amount of money will improve the system. (Oklahoma City , Ok)
Russ Sloan 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

If the President is really serious about education reform, he might first make sure that the Voucher Program in D.C. is funded ! Thanks, Russ Sloan (Leesburg, Fl.)
Peter Kingston 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

The Teacher Unions are the root cause of the problem in our public schools. The LA Times has just published an expose on a very cumbersome process required to get a teacher fired. Basically the only grounds are moral turpitude (sex charges). Who and when are we going to wake up to this very flawed system? This is not about funding (per George Will, California teachers earn 25% over the national average). This is about very low performance standards. (South Pasadena, Calif)
Harold HB Brown 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

We must allow teachers to give FAILING grades to those students who do not meet the learning requirements at each level. We must stop "Social Promotion", which allows students to move up to the next grade even if they cannot perform the work.
It will hurt a student's self esteem when they FAIL a grade. It is much better to fail early (when you still have a chance to recover) than to have your self esteem dashed to pieces on the Rocks of Reality when you realize you wasted 18 years and are Unemployable.
(Dayton, OH)
Laura 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

We bypassed the public school system so far. The kids in the public classrooms were more disrepectful and out of control. We have had great luck in private school where an old outdated building, no airconditioning, 25 kids to one teacher, loving discipline, high expectations, and involved teachers/parents produce great kids excelling fast. Our fees are not very high so the difference can't be that (less than what our public school gets per child). The teachers at the public school are wonderful people. I don't know - bring back discipline, expect more of the kids, expect the parents to be involved, get rid of the teachers union, and let vouchers provide the incentive???? Our future depends on our public schools doing better for the kids. So much is lost in these kids. (Cincinnati , Ohio)
Bryan 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

The first paragraph is all you needed to read in this article. (President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are to be commended for their strong support of K-12 education reform. The key issues now are follow-through and whether the teachers' unions and their allies will undermine this effort.) Why would you possibly think that Obama would do anything other than take care of the Unions. Obama is the greatest ally of the Unions as well as the ACLU. Obama commended? Please, give me a break.
(Athens, Tn.)
info 10/12/2009 3:10:13 AM

All education will be improved with competition taher than our current monopoly system. Setup a tax credit for parents that wish to send their kids to private or religious based schools that are state approved. The result would be Public Schools would improve through comeptition and Parenst can have an education choice. Costs per student would be controlled. the tax credit should be 40% of the individual state's per pupil cost. Glenn Grundtisch (Buffalo, NY)

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