奧巴馬會選擇一個什麼樣的人作為他的教育部長，是我最近一直關注的問題，因為我這幾年一直在研究美國教育部的外語政策。今天看到了結果：他選擇了他的大本營--芝加哥--的公立學校負責人Arne Duncan，這使我更加關注其外語政策，因為這人以提高學習成效見長。
奧巴馬的選擇給我另一個很大的感觸，就是：從基礎教育管理者中選教育部長。這在我國是不太可能的。這或許是我們關注重點在高等教育，美國關注的重點在基礎教育。我們什麼時候真的關注基礎教育呢？什麼時候有一位來自基礎教育的教育部長呢？另外，我們的教育部長什麼時候敢以can-do為政策基礎呢？
Obama's can-do education pick
By The Monitor's Editorial Board The Monitor's Editorial Board – Fri Dec 19, 3:00 am ET
Teacher unions and education activists alike give high marks to Barack Obama's nominee for education secretary, Arne Duncan. They praise the chief of Chicago public schools for his pragmatism, diplomacy, and, most of all, his record. But here's another reason to cheer: He improved student achievement despite money constraints.
That's important because America's federal budget is under enormous strain, especially with another economic bailout coming.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama dreamed big and expensive: $10 billion for early childhood ed; more federal money to help states increase school hours and days; funds to recruit "an army of new teachers" with higher salaries.
Meanwhile, states are demanding more dollars from Washington to implement the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, the controversial standards mandate that is up for congressional renewal.
There's no sounder investment America can make than in education, and some of Obama's ideas are ones that states can try without federal aid. But here's a trick question that educators and taxpayers often miss: Does better learning depend heavily on more money?
When it comes to education reform, "most of what money buys you is a little less political opposition to your change strategy," says Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, a research and advocacy group working to improve learning through higher standards.
"In truth, if you have more flexibility in the use of dollars, that can often be the same thing or even better than the inflexible use of more dollars," she says.
Surely Mr. Duncan envied wealthy public school districts in Illinois, such as Chicago's northern suburbs, which in 2005-2006 spent more than $17,000 per student. In that same period, Duncan had $10,400 for each pupil in his urban district, the country's third largest.
Despite the imbalance, the former cocaptain of Harvard's basketball team ran up the learning score in Chicago's schools, among the nation's worst when he took over in 2001. Since then, elementary performance has risen from 38 percent of students meeting federally mandated standards to 65 percent. The drop-out rate has decreased every year.
That's not good enough, especially with Chicago high school scores stagnating at just under 30 percent. But what's important here is the upward trend, and what's behind it.
Duncan moved the immovable with a strategy that emphasized flexibility and accountability. He shut down nonperforming schools and backed nonunion charter schools. He focused on teacher and principal training and mentoring, and pushed bonuses for performance. A district that had been plagued with strikes became stable as he worked closely with unions.
Schools are mostly a state and local matter, but Duncan can translate what he's learned to Washington by helping bridge the divide between unions and reformers in troubled districts and in working to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.
And he can carry forward the accountability baton passed to him by outgoing secretary Margaret Spellings. That is the key to significant reading and math gains made in urban districts across the country in recent years – gains built on standards, not gold bricks.
來自：魯子問的教育與人文博客
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