Commission Calls for Overhaul of US Education

03/06/2007

Commission Calls for Overhaul of US Education

Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.
Colleen Wilcox

"Tough Choices or Tough Times," the report by a prominent panel whose members included former US Secretaries of Education, retired governors, mayors, state school superintendents, and buiness executives, calls for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the US education and training system to help Americans compete in a global economy. Some of the sweeping changes proposed by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce...

End high school earlier for most students. Expect most 10th graders to pass new state exams that would let them leave high school and enter community colleges directly without remediation.
Invest in early childhood education. Make high-quality early-childhood education available to all 4 year olds and all low-income three year olds.
Recruit better students to be teachers. Raise pay for novice teachers and those at the top of redesigned career ladders. Have teachers work directly with states. Link compensation in part to student performance and offer incentives for teachers who work in shortage fields and hard-to-staff urban and rural areas.
Rebuild standards, assessments, and curriculum. Improve the quality and reduce the number of assessments.... Promote creativity and innovation in addition to mastery of key ideas, core facts, and procedures.
Support lifelong learning. Guarantee all workers age 16 or older access to a free education up to the new high school exam standard. Also, start federally financed education accounts for every child, depositing $500 at birth and $100 each year until age 16. Individuals, parents, states, and employers could contribute.

To read more about the Commission and its report, go to: http://www.skillscommission.org/

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