Federal

Spellings: U.S. Schools Must ‘Pick Up Pace’

By David J. Hoff — April 18, 2008 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The 25th anniversary of the publication of A Nation at Risk is a “teachable moment for the American public,” Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said this week.

“We have righted the ship with the intensity of focus on the individual needs of every child,” Ms. Spellings said in an interview on April 15, 11 days before the anniversary of the report’s release.

But, she said, “we’re going to have to pick up the pace considerably.”

The secretary plans to issue a white paper describing “how far we’ve come and how far we need to go,” she said. She also plans to deliver speeches and organize events highlighting the findings of that paper.

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which had been appointed by Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell, published the report saying that weaknesses in U.S. schools threatened to erode the nation’s international standing. The report called for efforts to improve the quality of teachers, set standards defining what students should know, and increase the rigor of coursework required to earn a high school diploma.

Sees ‘Challenges’

As the anniversary approaches, several groups have issued reports suggesting that student achievement in the United States still lags behind that of other countries.

“The United States has fallen even farther behind as other countries make concerted efforts to improve their education systems,” the Strong American Schools Campaign said in “A Stagnant Nation,” released last week. The Washington-based nonprofit group, also known as ED in ‘08, is trying to raise the profile of education in the 2008 presidential election.

In the interview, Secretary Spellings said American schools face unique challenges in trying to keep up with other nations.

“Our nation is attempting … to provide a quality education to every single person who shows up at the schoolhouse door,” she said. That is particularly difficult given the diversity of the student population, with students from all over the world enrolling in U.S. schools, she said.

“Not every [country] has that same aspiration or those same challenges,” Ms. Spellings said.

But the United States must take steps to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in school so they can compete for jobs with children from around the world in the global marketplace, the secretary said.

Ms. Spellings said her efforts to promote such goals will continue beyond the end of her tenure as secretary of education next January, when President Bush leaves office.

“I’m going to be part of the firelighting about why we have to do this work as Americans,” she said.

A version of this article appeared in the April 23, 2008 edition of Education Week as Spellings: U.S. Schools Must ‘Pick Up Pace’

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Education Dept. Sees Small Cut in Funding Package That Averted Government Shutdown
The Education Department will see a reduction even as the funding package provides for small increases to key K-12 programs.
3 min read
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about healthcare at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26, 2024.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about health care at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26. Biden signed a funding package into law over the weekend that keeps the federal government open through September but includes a slight decrease in the Education Department's budget.
Matt Kelley/AP
Federal What Would Happen to K-12 in a 2nd Trump Term? A Detailed Policy Agenda Offers Clues
A conservative policy agenda could offer the clearest view yet of K-12 education in a second Trump term.
8 min read
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome, Ga. Allies of the former president have assembled a detailed policy agenda for every corner of the federal government with the idea that it would be ready for a conservative president to use at the start of a new term next year.
Mike Stewart/AP
Federal Opinion Reading Scores Have Plunged Since the Pandemic. What This Senator Wants to Do About That
How can the nation support literacy efforts? The ranking Republican on the Senate education committee wants to hear from educators.
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Federal Biden Calls for Teacher Pay Raises, Expanded Pre-K in State of the Union
President Joe Biden highlighted a number of his education priorities in a high-stakes speech as he seeks a second term.
5 min read
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
Shawn Thew/Pool via AP