Spellings wants to tackle college costs, skilled teachers next.If you liked the changes brought by the federal No Child Left Behind education law, wait until the U.S. Department of Education cracks down on higher ed. "In 2007, we will talk more about higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. ," U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings told members of NCEW NCEW National Conference of Editorial Writers at the annual conference in Pittsburgh. "We're a one-third investor in higher education, as opposed to eight percent [in K-12]," Spellings said during a lunch-time interview with John Taylor John Taylor, or Johnny Taylor may refer to: Academic figures
"The strategy has been to put the money out there and hope for the best." But, she said, higher education costs go up seven to nine percent every year. "We need to start challenging that." Also on the horizon is the next wave of change prompted by No Child Left Behind. States are already required to show annual progress on standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] overall and among certain groups of students who have not scored as well in the past--low-income, minority, special education, and limited English proficiency. That requirement is having an effect. "There has been more progress in reading among nine-year-olds during the last five years than during the previous twenty-eight years," she said. "Educators are able to be smarter about how they do their work." "We're getting to the point where the we've done the easy stuff, and it's been pretty doggone dog·gone Informal tr. & intr.v. dog·goned, dog·gon·ing, dog·gones To damn. interj. & n. Damn. adv. & adj. also dog·goned Damned. hard. Next, it will be how you manage time and resources. We are about to find out how that adapts in a union climate." For example, the toughest classrooms, such as inner-city math and science classes, have the highest rates of teachers teaching out of their fields of expertise. The nation must figure out how to get the best teachers who are passionate about their subjects into classrooms where they are needed most. "One of the dirty little secrets in education--not anymore--is that the most experienced, best teachers are in the least challenging environments." Nor is the education system friendly to people trained outside the system. A NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. scientist who can come to school four hours a week to teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays would have trouble getting a teaching job. "Education needs to be more welcoming of people who come from non-traditional fields," she said. EDITOR'S NOTE Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : U. S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings spoke to the NCEW members at lunch on Thursday, September 14. Dawn Miller is the editorial page editor of The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. . E-mail dawn@wvgazette.com |
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