Arne Duncan

Read our coverage of the ninth U.S. Secretary of Education, who served from 2009 to 2016

Explainer

President-elect Barack Obama looks on as his Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan speaks during a news conference in Chicago in this Dec. 16, 2008 file photo.
Arne Duncan, Ninth U.S. Education Secretary: Biography and Achievements
Background and highlights of Arne Duncan's tenure as the ninth U.S. Secretary of Education.
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Standards & Accountability What the Ed. Dept.'s New Race to the Top Report Reveals, and What It Avoids
The Education Department says all states in the competitive-grant program made progress toward their goals, but makes little mention of areas where they stumbled or backtracked.
Andrew Ujifusa, November 12, 2015
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10 min read
Federal Arne Duncan Touts Study Showing 25 Percent Dip in Number of Drop-Outs
"Progress Is No Accident: Why ESEA Can't Backtrack on High School Graduation Rates" also reports that the number of high school "dropout factories" has also declined significantly in recent years.
Andrew Ujifusa, November 10, 2015
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3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Five Cynical Observations About Teacher Leadership
Who's really in charge of explaining school-embedded teacher leadership, selecting the right goals and purposes for individual classrooms? Who is inspiring teachers to find their own paths--based on the own carefully honed experience and observations--to lead? Is what we're seeing about teacher leadership in the media driven by the big cannons--the federal government, the well-funded organizations and grant-receiving universities--rather than actual teachers working in grubby classrooms, scattered across the country?
Nancy Flanagan, November 10, 2015
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4 min read
Federal The Push to Roll Back Testing Picks Up Steam: An Education Week Odyssey
The "too much testing" story line has been gathering momentum for quite some time. Check out our new Storify that's collected articles and other media about the topic.
Andrew Ujifusa, October 30, 2015
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1 min read
Federal Open-Ed Resources Get Attention in Proposed Ed. Dept. Regulation
Any educational resources created with federal grants would have to be openly licensed under a proposed regulation.
Michele Molnar, October 29, 2015
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5 min read
Federal CAP Report: Congress Shouldn't Forget 'Subgroup' Students in ESEA Renewal
Some of the biggest achievement gaps are found in schools that are performing well otherwise, a CAP analysis finds.
Alyson Klein, October 29, 2015
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2 min read
Federal Fact-Checking Arne Duncan: Do Higher Grad Rates Mean His Policies Helped?
Do higher graduation rates mean that the Obama administration's K-12 policies when it comes to school turnarounds and accountability are on the right track, as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has claimed?
Alyson Klein, October 27, 2015
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6 min read
Federal Arne Duncan, John King: Don't Cap Testing at the Expense of Testing Quality
"Everybody has had a hand in what our current testing system looks like—this situation was not created by just one entity," said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools.
Denisa R. Superville, October 26, 2015
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4 min read
Assessment Top Education Officials Talk Test Proliferation, Quality
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, as well as those representing states and school districts, discussed proposals to improve assessments amid debate about "overtesting" at a panel in Washington.
Denisa R. Superville, October 26, 2015
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4 min read
Federal Too Much Testing? Ed. Dept. Outlines Steps to Help States and Districts Cut Back
The U.S. Department of Education has released some general principles for states and districts to help them figure out how to cut back on assessments and ensure that they're used to drive instruction.
Alyson Klein, October 24, 2015
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7 min read
Federal U.S. Department of Education Approves More State Teacher-Distribution Plans
The states are: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Alyson Klein, October 22, 2015
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2 min read
Federal Arne Duncan, John King Talk Higher Graduation Rates, ESEA, and Testing
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has good news: High school graduation rates appear on track to rise for the third year in a row.
Alyson Klein & Andrew Ujifusa, October 19, 2015
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4 min read
Federal Duncan, King, Democratic Senators: New ESEA Must Be Strong on Accountability
The toughest issue in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act? Finding the sweet spot on accountability.
Alyson Klein, October 8, 2015
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4 min read
Federal With Duncan on Way Out, How Much Political Juice Does Ed. Dept. Have Left?
At the end of the Obama administration's second term, the Education Department is running low on both carrots and sticks.
Alyson Klein, October 7, 2015
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2 min read
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