AEI scholars Rick Hess and Gerard Robinson weigh in on Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement to step down in December of this year and its implications for education policy moving forward:
Director of Education Policy Studies Rick Hess:
“Arne Duncan is a good man with an impressive, sincere commitment to serving the nation’s students. Many of the ideas he has championed—like better teacher evaluation, charter schooling, and evidence-based grant-making—are good ones. Unfortunately, he too often pursued his agenda in troubling ways and in a manner that has created worrisome precedents. His sincere commitment too often manifested itself as a disregard for limits on the federal role and for possible unintended consequences of a too-heavy federal hand. Duncan took office with a wealth of stimulus funding at his disposal, and used it to create a 19-category Race to the Top checklist that pushed states to sign onto the administration’s preferred reform agenda. He employed waivers from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in a manner that was certainly lawless (even if not technically illegal) to compel states to double-down on those same reforms. He dismissed those raising concerns about the Common Core as a “fringe,” worked to shutter the Washington DC Opportunity Scholarship program while touting his support for school choice, and showed little interest in working with Congress to fix an NCLB that he repeatedly deemed ‘broken.’ Duncan’s personal virtues will be missed, but his departure presents a welcome opportunity for the Obama administration to engage in a much-needed course correction.”
Resident Fellow Gerard Robinson:
“Secretary Duncan and I worked together during my time in Virginia and Florida. We found common ground on charters, metrics for teachers, and accountability standards. Not so much on vouchers for D.C. families and certain NCLB waivers. Nevertheless, I believe Arne’s voice mattered to our national conversation about results, reform and race. I thank him and his family–an often forgotten partner in public service–for their work to improve American education.”
To schedule an interview with Rick Hess or Gerard Robinson, please contact Meg Cahill at meg.cahill@aei.org or 202.862.7155.
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