Nicholas Lemann Quotes

Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.

No Child Left Behind taught us that parents, teachers and state and local leaders are more suited to address students' needs than a one-size-fits-all accountability system developed by Washington bureaucrats.

We - again, the, the, the, the bastardization and the demonization over the last few years of teachers and of unions and of collective bargaining, that is not the answer.

At the federal level, we must help, not hinder, local school boards, parents, teachers and administrators as they make decisions about educating our children.

With the enactment of the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act, we have taken an important step toward achieving federal education policies that will allow students to learn and achieve at the highest possible level.

Instead of just giving lip service to improving our schools, I will actually put the kids first and the teachers union behind in giving our kids better teachers, better options and better choices for a better future.

President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made stronger teacher evaluation a key part of their education reform efforts. Under their signature plan, called 'Race to the Top,' states can win federal support for schools by improving teacher evaluations.

Paying teachers more improves student achievement.

Tenure protects good teachers from being fired for bad reasons.

The American Federation of Teachers has a long track record of working with administrators, parents, and communities to provide real help to struggling students and low-performing schools. We've learned that intensive interventions, proven programs, and adequate resources can transform students' lives and their schools.

Local school districts should be free to adapt their academic programs in ways appropriate for their community, but we cannot allow mindless budget shortfalls to force wrongheaded changes to our children's education.

A top-quartile teacher will increase the performance of their class - based on test scores - by over 10 percent in a single year. ... That means that if the entire U.S., for two years, had top-quartile teachers, the entire difference between us and Asia would go away.

So long as public schools are treated as places that exist to provide guaranteed jobs to members of the teachers' unions, do not be surprised to see American students continuing to score lower on international tests than students in countries that spend a lot less per pupil than we do.

The unions are the worst thing that ever happened to education because it's not a meritocracy. It turns into a bureaucracy, which is exactly what has happened. The teachers can't teach and administrators run the place and nobody can be fired. It's terrible.

We need to take on the teachers' union once and for all.

School grades can help determine how well a principal or school leader is doing, and yeah, you need to have some way to evaluate schools.

Many of the best teachers I know are being laid off because their unions value seniority over intellect, passion, creativity, and drive.

I don't think anyone can accept us being 51st in the country dealing with fourth-grade math scores and reading scores in the fourth and sixth grades that are close to the bottom. That's not acceptable. It's not acceptable to the people of Alabama.

I have a proven record of working for our kids as state superintendent, and as a governor I'll deliver real results for Wisconsin families.

Under HB 2655, the state is responsible to ensure parents are aware of the purpose and value of assessments and receive notice from their local school districts about their rights and obligations. Educators must engage with parents about the value of assessment and the potential consequences if parents opt out and student participation diminishes.

Liberals spend a whole lot of time trying to convince us they love teachers, but dig even skin deep into the matter, and it becomes evident that liberals hate teachers.

I do support high standards, strong accountability, and local control.

I got my masters in social sciences and education at Stanford, and initially - this is back in 2002 or 2003 when I graduated - I wanted to move to D.C. and work on education reform, specifically with No Child Left Behind.

Los Angeles is a rich city; California is a rich state; the United States is a rich country. The money is out there, and Los Angeles teachers are demanding that it be spent where it belongs, on our kids.

Teachers' unions don't act in the interest of most teachers.