Duncan Tells Mayors to Expect Incentives in ESEA

Washington

Providing incentives for districts that are making progress on student achievement will be a key element of the Obama administration’s plan for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the U.S. Conference of Mayors last week.

“There are 50 ways to fail” under the No Child Left Behind Act, the current version of the law, said Mr. Duncan, a critique he has raised in the past. But there are “very little, if any, rewards if you do a good job. … We want to put unprecedented resources out there on a competitive basis for those who are committed” to boosting student achievement.

Secretary Duncan reminded mayors gathered at the Capital Hilton last week that the Obama administration is seeking to make the economic-stimulus program’s Race to the Top Fund a permanent fixture in the Department of Education’s budget. That fund will provide up to $4 billion in competitive grants to states to spur education reform efforts. The administration will ask Congress to provide $1.35 billion to extend the...