Last week was a busy one on Capitol Hill with many of President-elect Obama's cabinet nominees appearing before Senate Committees for their confirmation hearings. Arne Duncan, nominee for the post of Education Secretary, was warmly welcomed by all members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and is a sure bet for confirmation.

While Duncan wowed the Senate HELP Committee members, nominee Peter Orszag spoke to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about changes he would implement as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Education advocates were pleased to hear him speak unfavorably about the current administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) evaluation system that has been the basis for many recommendations to eliminate funding for programs at the Department of Education. Orszag finds great fault with PART and clearly intends to develop an alternative for assessing quality and impact. He also made it clear that despite the spending spree outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 ($825 billion and counting), there will be cuts and program eliminations proposed in the first Obama federal budget, the outline of which will be released in early February. He gave no hint as to what agencies might be affected.

Negotiations on the stimulus package involving leadership in the House and Senate, key committee chairs and members of the Obama Transition Team, including the president-elect himself, also took place throughout the week. On Jan. 15 a plan combining tax cuts and spending increases at every government agency was in circulation. Education programs received generous treatment in the package with $140 billion directed to states for general relief and to prevent cuts in programs, as well as significant funding for construction and renovation of schools, technology upgrades and training, increases in Title I and IDEA funds and significant increases in Pell Grants, student loans and Work Study programs. If the bill released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) makes it to the president's desk in February, it will provide welcome relief for school districts and colleges and universities throughout the nation.

On Jan. 12, the Center for American Progress (CAP) held an event, "Enabling Economic Recovery Through Innovation." The event featured two panels; the first discussed regional centers of innovation and the second, patent reform. As the incoming Obama administration and the 111th Congress work on bolstering the U.S. economy, panelists made a case for funding scientific research and development (R&D) and workforce development programs and targeted reforms of the country's patent system.

Robert Atkinson with Information Technology and Innovation Foundation pointed out that the United States is the only industrialized country that hasn't undertaken a new initiative focused on commercial innovation in the last decade. Stressing that, in his opinion, the current system consigns innovation to a "ghettoized" sector of the economy, Atkinson asserted that innovation policies are not focused on bolstering U.S. economic growth. Atkinson proposed that a new government agency be created that would combine programs such as those currently housed at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and some National Science Foundation (NSF) programs; this agency would focus on state, federal and regional partnership innovation programs and would be funded at $1 billion annually. Finally, he called for some level of R&D funding in the stimulus package.

Moderator Daniel McCurdy framed the issue of patent reform as the need for balance between the public common good and reward for inventors. Rick Weiss with Center for American Progress shared what he considers to be problems in the current patent system, including a backlog of applications, examiner rules which are more and more complex, high turnover rates for patent examiners and its dependency on user fees. Weiss would like to see reforms at the U.S. Patent Trademark Office include the appointment of a highly skilled director with managerial skills; modernizing wages, work-sharing programs and the IT system; and repairing the rift between the office and its stakeholders, including the incorporation of stakeholder input in patent policies.

Building on the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) joined together to release a new report on Thursday titled, "Accelerating the Agenda: Actions to Improve America's High Schools."

The report examines states' progress in improving America's high schools and highlights the challenges that remain in ensuring high school graduates are prepared for college and career success in the 21st-century global economy. Allthough many states have implemented reform efforts through a variety of initiatives, Gene Wilhoit, CCSSO executive director, stated, "We're not yet where we need to be. It is up to us as states to make the changes necessary to better prepare these students." To help in this effort, the four organizations have put forth new recommendations offering "fresh" ideas for state leaders on how to: 1) restore value to the high school diploma by elevating academic standards and high school graduation requirements and transforming career and technical education, 2) redesign high schools through alternative delivery mechanisms and re-engaging out-of-school youth through youth development programs, 3) improve schools by providing excellent teachers and principals by connecting teacher preparation, hiring and evaluation to students outcomes, 4) improve accountability by aligning postsecondary expectations to high school expectations and 5) improve education governance by bridging K-12 and post-secondary expectations gaps through P-16 councils.

Lastly, the report highlights the importance of emerging trends, such as: international benchmarking and an increased focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to increase student readiness; community partnerships and the impact of school drop-out prevention; and high-quality, comprehensive professional development. Wilhoit also noted that any concern about a shift in attention to early childhood as opposed to the secondary level is unnecessary because "college begins before kindergarten."

Groups Hold Briefing On Expanded Learning Time: On Jan. 12, Learning Point Associates and the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems joined forces to host a briefing focusing on the impact of high-quality programs that extend learning outside of the traditional school day on struggling schools. As part of the briefing, they also released a new report, "Enhancing School Reform Through Expanded Learning," which calls for education and after-school leaders to work together in new ways to foster enhanced school reform through better integration of expanding learning opportunities. An-Me Chung, senior program officer of the C.S. Mott Foundation, noted that a "sea-change" is occurring across the country among policy makers, educators and advocates regarding the ways in which the traditional school day can and should be restructured to meet the needs of today's students. She noted that a 21st-century education plan needs to build on the core academic subjects and include accountability measures at all levels but also provide a seamless learning experience for students with many different motivational entry points. In addition, schools must be supported by community partners, especially low-performing schools that need to close large student achievement gaps. Chung also emphasized that there is not a one-size-fits-all model and that expanded learning opportunities can occur before or after school or during summer or vacation breaks. Arne Duncan, President-elect Obama's nominee for secretary of Education, expressed his strong support for expanding learning opportunities through a recorded video message. "After-school is a critically important part of improving schools," he said. He also expressed his support for community partnerships, describing his view of schools as a safe haven and as "community anchors for students and their families." More info.

Senate Help Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Duncan: As part of the confirmation process, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing Jan. 13 on President-elect Barack Obama's nomination of Arne Duncan, superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools, to serve as secretary of Education. Duncan was introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who spoke warmly of their long friendship and of Duncan's tremendous contribution to the Chicago Public Schools. Those remarks foreshadowed a hearing marked by enthusiasm for the nomination from senators on both sides of the aisle and expressions of deep appreciation that Duncan had accepted the challenge of serving as the Education secretary. Duncan outlined his three major goals if confirmed as secretary of Education: 1) improving access to high-quality early childhood programs, 2) raising standards for K-12 schools and improving teacher quality and 3) improving access to and affordability of post-secondary education. He also urged a lengthening of the school day and the school year. Duncan pledged to expand opportunities for the extraordinary teachers across the country to become better leaders and to shine a bright light on the "pockets of excellence" that exist. He shared that his experience has taught him that if better opportunities are offered, innovation is supported and excellence is rewarded, schools can be transformed. During the seven years he served as Chicago's chief school officer, he saw positive improvements among all indicators of success. After several questions from committee members on topics such as teacher preparation, No Child Left Behind, IDEA funding, 21st-century skills curricula and higher education, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who was chairing the hearing in Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) absence, thanked Duncan for his testimony and said the many questions that had not been presented would be sent for written response.

NBES Holds Board Meeting: The National Board for Educational Sciences (NBES), the governing body of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), held a two-day meeting Jan. 13-14 to discuss IES program updates and the What Works Clearinghouse, among other items. Eric Hanushek, newly elected NBES chairman, oversaw the meeting. The board's membership is down to six, namely because the eight nominations President Bush forwarded in August were not confirmed and have now expired. Whether the current board's membership grows again depends on the speed of the incoming administration to appoint and the Senate to confirm the appointees. Stuart Kerachsky, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), detailed three salient issues NCES has encountered. The first is assessment of educational progress using the NAEP tests in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The next issue is the 12th grade NAEP assessment, in particular the state participation rate in the 12th-grade assessments. There are a growing number of states that have denied NAEP access to any high school for participation in the tests, and the situation is affecting the validity of a national representation in the NAEP sample. Indicating that he presented these issues in order of growing importance, Kerachsky shared the final issue NCES is concerned with - international assessments. Since the release of the 2007 TIMSS in December, issues of U.S. competitiveness and international assessments have resurfaced. What these international assessments consistently indicate is that U.S. students are not performing at the same levels as their counterparts in other countries, particularly Asian countries. He sees the key questions for education researchers on international assessments as: why do we do them, what do they mean and what information can be gleaned from which tests. The next scheduled meetings are May 20-21 and Sept. 9-10, 2009. More info.

Financial Literacy And Education Commission Holds Public Meeting: On Jan. 15, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission held its 16th public meeting. The commission heard updates on the current status of its subcommittees, as well as presentations related to the best financial education practices at private organizations. Josephine Bias Robinson, with the United Way of America, shared United Way's national Financial Stability Partnership program. United Way has an ambitious goal to cut the number of families living in financial insecurity in half over the next 10 years. One strategy for accomplishing this goal is promotion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). United Way works with local communities to ensure eligible applicants are aware of and apply for this benefit. Once they assist individuals in applying for the EITC, the United Way educates them on other financial literacy topics. Kim Appleberg with McDonalds USA discussed her company's financial education program. The main component of the McDonalds program is to educate their employees on the use of their extensive benefits. These include college credit (the cost of which is reimbursed by the company), ESL Web modules and health care, among others. Finally, John Bienko with the Small Business Administration shared information about its program, Emerging 200. This program targets local entrepreneurs in urban environments, providing them with a "mini-MBA" through extensive training. The Financial Literacy and Education Commission will hold its next public meeting on May 21, 2009. More info.

DOE Holds National Science Bowl: This month the Department of Energy (DOE) kicks off the 19th National Science Bowl. It is the only educational event and academic competition of its kind sponsored by a federal agency. Regional competitions begin this weekend, and during the next three months, 15,000 high school students will compete in regional competitions, and 6,500 middle school students will compete in middle school regional competitions. Each competition tests teams of students in all areas of science and math, utilizing a question-and-answer format. Each regional championship team will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the national finals in Washington, D.C. "The DOE National Science Bowl is an important part of DOE's efforts to encourage America's young scholars to explore the fields of science and engineering," said Dr. Patricia Dehmer, deputy director for science programs in DOE's Office of Science. "We hope that this activity will inspire a new generation of researchers in disciplines important to solving the energy and environmental issues facing our nation and the world." More info.