On “Meet The Press” this morning, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared with Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich to discuss their collaborative effort to increase accountability in U.S. schools. Much of what was said was relevant to the math curriculum discussion we have been having in SCASD. For example:
SEC’Y DUNCAN: We all have to move–at the end of the day, we have to have dramatically better results for children. What makes great education is the adults. Talent matters tremendously. In every high performing school in this country, you have great principals and you have great teachers. Student achievement is the purpose of education. We need to evaluate whether students are learning or not. We need to start to focus on outcomes, not inputs.
It’s very likely that many parents who signed the petition last spring have kids who tested “proficient” or “advanced” on their math PSSAs, as 80% of students in SCASD do. However, these labels are a lot less important to parents than knowing that their children are learning and realizing their potential in math.
