U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner presented contrasting views of the country's current education system at a Miller Center program yesterday reevaluating a major education summit held at the University in 1989.
Paige said the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act dramatically improved American education.
"It fulfilled a bipartisan quest for improved education," Paige said.
Paige added that some of the national goals set at the 1989 summit were incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act -- goals such as national standards for academic achievement, qualified teachers in classrooms, informing parents of student performance, and improvement in student accountability.
Paige also addressed what he called the public's misconceptions of the act.
"We still get the same complaints about funding," Paige said. "The law is adequately funded. It is not the case that increased funding means increased student achievement. Today, test scores are rising dramatically, especially among the minority and disabled communities. Classrooms are better, more inclusive, and more successful. Parents are more involved than ever, and teachers have more resources. I've stepped into classrooms and students notice the difference."
Warner said the country's school system is still in dire need of improvement.
"We need to set high standards and keep them," Warner said. "Talk is cheap. We can't set goals and then retreat."
Warner stressed the need to improve high school curriculum.
"Senior year should be the most important year," Warner said. "Instead, students check out."
He elaborated on his goal of reworking high school curriculum to lead toward post-high school success. In September, Warner announced an agreement among Virginia public and private universities to offer college credit for selected scores on Advanced Placement exams.
"We need to link secondary school curriculum to higher education," Warner said.
The government needs a much more focused effort on finding highly-qualified teachers, Warner said.
"Our allocation of good teachers is unfair," he said. "It is perverse. The best qualified teachers don't end up in the schools that need them."
Warner added improvements in special education are also necessary.
"We need better remediation for the students who are falling behind," he said.
The audience included a class of fifth-year students in the Curry School of Education who had spent most of the day student teaching. Among them was Lauren Barga, who said she was skeptical of the talk of lofty goals.
"It's difficult to hear about such high standards when I come off a day with sixth graders that can't add or subtract," Barga said. "It scares me that other teachers aren't getting the same education as we are."
Warner said he is optimistic about the upcoming year, during which the No Child Left Behind act is up for reauthorization along with programs such as Head Start.
"2005 could be the year of the perfect storm," Warner said.
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