President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced a new "Race to the Top" program for schools and school districts around the country to compete for additional school funding. To qualify, school systems have to make changes that include: conforming to national standards, placing no limits on the numbers of charter schools and linking improvements in student performance to increases in teacher pay. Some critics question linking teacher evaluation to student testing as wrong headed and already at odds with the current requirements of some states: California, New York and Wisconsin. Still others oppose the amount of funding being offered as Duncan has more to spend on this program than all of the discretionary spending by all of his predecessors combined. In this video Judy Woodruff interviews Secretary Duncan on how he responds to his critics. Quotes "If you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments, if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom, if you turn around failing schools, your state can win a "Race to the Top" grant that will not only help students out-compete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential." President Barack Obama "We can invest hundreds of millions of dollars in states that are willing to challenge the status quo and push to dramatically improve student outcomes." Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education "This, to me, is the civil rights issue of our generation. This is a fight for social justice. The fight for quality education is the only way we're going to get to a better economy. There's a real sense of economic imperative here." Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education "What teachers have said and the unions have said very clearly is they want reform happening with them, not to them, and I couldn't agree more." Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education Warm Up Questions 1. Who is the Secretary of Education? What is that job? 2. Who is your local principal? Superintendent? State wide education director? Discussion Questions 1. What do you think of Secretary Duncan saying that this is a "race to the top"? Is it fair if not all the states participate? 2. What are some reasons states and schools would not want to participate? Do you think they are good reasons? 3. Secretary Duncan says he believes that education reform is "the civil rights issue of our generation. This is a fight for social justice." What do you think he means by that? Do you agree? Why or why not? Additional Resources Read the transcript Learning Matters