Ed Money Watch

In preparation for Secretary of Education-Designate Arne Duncan's confirmation hearing in the Senate tomorrow, the New America education team has put together a list of possible questions to be posed. Feel free to suggest additional questions in the reader comment section.

Pre-K-12

1. You have talked about the importance of education reform to narrow achievement gaps for poor and minority children. But research shows that as much as half of the achievement gap exists before children enter first grade - and that high-quality early education programs can help narrow those gaps and have a long-term, positive impact. What role do you believe quality pre-k and early education should play in efforts to improve student achievement and narrow achievement gaps? How should the federal government be involved in supporting and expanding access to high-quality early childhood education?

As we've mentioned before, the economic downturn has had significant effects on families and schools across the nation.

Since it's inception in 2002, the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) has received both criticism and praise from stakeholders, researchers, and Congress. Let's explore the pros and cons of the PART:

Pros

As an Ed Money Watch reader, you are hopefully familiar with our parent initiative, the Federal Education Budget Project (FEBP).