School Boards Are The Problem

"I don't believe that really significant education reform is possible with a school board structure."

- Michelle Rhee, Charlie Rose show, July 14, 2008
21:40 mark

The Future Of American Public Education Is Terrifying

"When I compare our high schools to what I see when I'm traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow."
- Bill Gates

"I'm somewhat terrified of what the Democrats are going to do on education."
- Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of Washington D.C. public schools

Will 50 Million Dollars Block Education Reform?

"The biggest teachers' union, the National Education Association (NEA), has 3.2 million members and committed $50 million to Obama's campaign."

- Time Magazine

Teacher Quality Is Critical

"If two average 8-year-olds are assigned to different teachers, one who is strong and one who is weak, the children's lives can diverge in just a few years, according to research pioneered by Eric Hanushek at Stanford. The child with the effective teacher, the kind who ranks among the top 15% of all teachers, will be scoring well above grade level on standardized tests by the time she is 11. The other child will be a year and a half below grade level--and by then it will take a teacher who works with the child after school and on weekends to undo the compounded damage. In other words, the child will probably never catch up."

- Time Magazine

Intel Can Find Workers Outside Of The United States

"We don't need the U.S. to be successful."

- Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel

States Are Lying About Their Public Schools

States are lying about test scores:
"Based on state standards, Mississippi has the USA's highest-achieving fourth-graders: 89% passed the state reading tests in 2005, tying Nebraska for tops in the nation. Based on a national assessment, however, Mississippi has the nation's lowest-achieving fourth-graders: just 18% passed a more rigorous national reading test, the lowest of any state."
- USA Today

States are lying about teacher quality:
"In Arizona in 2004, the state said 94.4 percent of core classes were taught by highly qualified teachers. But Arizona teachers told the federal government in 2004 that 58.4 percent of core classes were taught by someone certified in the subject he or she was teaching."
- Associated Press