Ed Chief Duncan: Locals, Not Feds, Must Run Schools

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is downplaying the role of the federal government in the nation’s schools, pushing the responsibility to the local level.

“Washington can never run public education, and what we want to do is we want to be a good partner,” Duncan told CNSNews.com in a video interview, during which he fielded questions via Twitter.

Educational innovations “are never going to come from me or frankly from anyone else in Washington,” Duncan said. “They’re always going to come from great teachers, great principals at the local level.”
Duncan, who opposes excessive standardized testing, decried school systems that require 10 or more days of testing per school year and the accompanying instruction in how to fill in the bubble with a No. 2 pencil.

“If all you’re doing is . . . that kind of work and not doing great instruction, great creativity, the students aren’t going to do well anyway,” he said.