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DUNCAN STANDARDS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact:
June 15, 2009 Fuzz
Hogan 312-467-5902 (w) 312-315-7221
(c)
Statement from Robin Steans, Executive Director, Advance
Illinois: “Advance Illinois applauds Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan's call Sunday for encouraging states to develop stronger, more relevant
standards for our students. Once again, the Secretary has called on all of us
to take bold action. The good news is, Illinois is already on its way to taking
this action. Illinois, under the leadership of State Board of Education Chair
Jesse Ruiz and State Superintendent Chris Koch, is already taking a critical
role in the multi-state effort to develop a common core of standards.
There is a growing consensus in the education community that these standards
are essential to U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. We need to be sure
we finish the job.
In a policy address Sunday in North Carolina, Secretary
Duncan spelled out how the federal government will dedicate up to $350 million
of the Department’s Recovery Act funding for the development of stronger
standards. Mr. Duncan said standards were one of the four core areas of
reform that he hopes to encourage with the historic stimulus funding the
Department will be allocating over the next year.
We agree. Illinois standards have slipped in recent years.
While the percentage of 8th graders meeting expectations on the ISAT scores
have gone up, their performance on nationally normed tests are flat or
slipping. That suggests that we have lowered the bar, and the consequence of
that action falls when those students take more rigorous tests in high
school.
We are encouraged the Secretary plans to work with the
states to amend the No Child Left Behind Law, which had the unintended
consequence of allowing states to lower standards. A new federal law should
encourage states to raise standards. Other countries have such standards and are using them to
drive academic achievement. The softening of standards in the U.S. is one of
the reasons our students lag behind other countries in performance. Our
students can meet any challenge we give them, so let’s raise the bar and watch
them rise.
The Secretary has challenged all states to ‘be bold,
creative, think big and push hard on the kind of reforms that we know will
create fundamental change.’ We agree and look forward to the State Board’s
proposals and the General Assembly’s swift adoption of those proposals into
state statute.”
About Advance Illinois Advance Illinois aims to make every student world ready
by advocating for facts- and best-practice based reform that puts students
first. It serves as an independent, objective voice to promote a public
education system in Illinois that prepares all students to be ready for work,
college and democratic citizenship. For more information visit www.advanceillinois.org. # # #
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