Arne Duncan Sketches Out 'Long Haul' Agenda

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who says he plans to serve in the Obama Cabinet for the "long haul," has begun sketching out his priorities for the next four years. They include using competitive levers to improve teacher and principal quality and holding the line on initiatives he started during the president's first term.

The secretary is also making clear what he won't do: devote a lot of energy to a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act if Congress doesn't get serious about rewriting the current version, the No Child Left Behind Act.

"We will lead, we will help, we will push, but Congress has to want to do it," Mr. Duncan said in remarks last month to the Council of...