CER Press Release
Washington, DC
November 7, 2013
Kara Kerwin, president of The Center for Education Reform (CER), released the following statement upon the release of the 2013 Nation’s Report Card:
“It’s a disgrace and truly incomprehensible that after decades of mediocrity, we celebrate today the fact that only 36 percent of our nation’s 8th graders can read at grade level and only 35 percent are proficient in math.”
“Americans want power and access to data and options. It’s rare to find a policy issue that 86 percent of the country agrees with, but in education, accountability does just that. Today’s release of the 2013 NAEP results proves our lawmakers are just not listening. In fact, two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) rate their elected officials as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ when it comes to education.
“All students can learn and be proficient if we create policies that are centered on them, proven and transformational. Scholarship programs, charters, blended learning or whatever parents and educators choose — innovations in how education is delivered must be embraced.
“It is time to change the power of who drives these decisions and how it is led. Our nation must accelerate the pace of reform in order to become competitive in the global market once again. The stagnant results of NAEP should make us all much more uncomfortable perpetuating excuses.”