Dive Brief:
- The Washington Post interviewed education stakeholders on how they perceived Education Secretary Arne Duncan's Monday speech on the Obama Administration's commitment to a mandate on annual standardized tests.
- Among those who spoke to the Washington Post's Lyndsey Layton were Bruce Reed, president of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Jonah Edelman, chief executive officer of Stand for Children; and Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association.
- Duncan's speech came in response to news that Republicans may eliminate a mandate on yearly standardized testing in their re-authorization of No Child Left Behind.
Dive Insight:
Praising Duncan's commitment to testing were Reed, Edelman, and Teach For America co-chief executive Elisa Villanueva Beard. Among those who believe testing has gone too far were Weingarten, Garcia, and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano.
Duncan also discussed pre-K expansion, a topic that First Five Years Fund Executive Director Kris Perry touched on in her comments to the Washington Post.
In his speech, Duncan said that "there are too many tests that take up too much time" and "we need to take action to support a better balance." However, some, like Weingarten, feel his commitment to continuing testing as is makes those acknowledgements feel shallow.