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President's Education Aims Aired

Obama's Address, Budget Highlight Fresh Emphasis

By explicitly naming education as one of three top priority areas in his first joint congressional address and in his first federal budget proposal, President Obama is putting considerable political weight—and even more money—behind the agenda he laid out during his campaign.

Certain themes he struck in the Feb. 24 address—accountability, reform initiatives, high school graduation, and workforce and college readiness—are echoed in the initial outlines of his fiscal 2010 budget plan, in the economic-stimulus package that includes $115 billion in education aid, and in recent statements by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

But big questions remain. Among them: whether increases in short-term stimulus funding will continue in future years, and what kinds of changes might be demanded of high schools if the nation is to meet the ambitious goal of having the highest college-graduation rate in...