Secretary Spellings at the National Press Club

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings spoke about No Child Left Behind and the Administration's K-12 priorities for 2008 at the National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately I missed the event, but heard that she raised some interesting points. I've since read her remarks and found several things that mirror what we've been saying here at ED in '08.

For example, Spellings echoed the visible connections that exist between the state of K-12 education and "our country's long-term economic security," and urged continued action towards reform. "When we need to be sprinting ahead," she said, "we can't afford to keep walking."

She also emphasized the need for leadership over politics, stating, "As a parent, taxpayer, and voter I want more than a sound bite or quick fix." I couldn't agree more - the education of our nation's youth is of fundamental concern to our way of life and is too important and too detailed an issue to be used for political ballast, or worse still, ignored by our national leaders.

Whatever one's opinions concerning NCLB's policy specifics or implementation, it is true that the law has energized a national conversation about education. Spellings says, "It's interesting this election season, everybody's talking about change. With this law, we got change; in fact, we got one of the biggest changes in education history."

However, I also feel strongly that we need to push forward. Spellings advocates for "annual testing, publishing data, helping students and schools that fall behind, and holding ourselves accountable for our goal of all children achieving." These are reasonable and important objectives, and it would be a shame to see them lost in the political shuffle.

Yet, while politics shouldn't be the only force at play here, it should be acknowledged as a reality. In order to advance a shared goal for accountability in our schools, the future president and congress will need to work with the states to develop those rigorous standards and assessments our students need.