As Congress begins its work to improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today discussed the principles that will guide him through this process at a hearing with Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
At today’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the Administration’s education reform blueprint, Dodd laid out his three principles for education reform:
-Education Is Everyone’s Job
Everyone -- students, teachers, principals, parents, and community leaders – has a stake in our education system. And that means everyone has a role to play and must work together in providing a world-class education for our children.
-Address Shortcomings, Reward Excellence
We should set high expectations for our schools – and hold them accountable for meeting those standards. But the goal of accountability measures should be to encourage success, not punish shortcomings. We must make the necessary investments to help struggling schools improve -- while rewarding students, educators, schools, and states that excel.
- A Test Score Is Not An Education
Our children need rigorous training in fundamentals to compete in the 21st century economy – but their education should also be well-rounded enough to prepare them for a wide range of opportunities. The way we teach our children and the way we measure the success of our students and schools should reflect those goals.
Throughout Dodd’s time in Congress, he has fought to expand and strengthen education for all students. And since 2004, Dodd has spearheaded efforts to reform the No Child Left Behind Act to ease the burdens on students, teachers, and administrators without sacrificing the spirit of this law.
