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Arne Duncan, the education secretary said after the National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading scores for 12th grade were released that the scores were not encouraging enough to be confident that high school seniors will be completely prepared to succeed in their higher education and in their careers.

He sent on to say that though there was a slight improvement in the reading results as compared to the year 2005, this is still much below what it was in 1992. Over the past four years, according to him, there was only a marginal improvement in the math score too.

He also listed out statistics and said that there was an increase of 500 point scale since 2005 in reading among 12th graders and a 300 point scale rise in the math scores. This essentially means, he said, that only 26 percent of seniors showed proficiency in math and 38 percent in reading. He also said that separation gaps between Hispanic and black students and their white peers remained practically the same. There are no indications of the gap closing in.

The aim of No Child Left Behind law put into place by President Bush was to close the achievement gap. Most of this decade’s school reform movement has been defined by this law that used a set of standardized tests to assess schools.

This has ensured that most schools around the nation strive to ensure that their students know how to count and how to read sometimes to the point of excluding other subjects. This resulted in various malpractices such as cheating on the tests and narrowing of curriculum.

As we have seen, Obama administration continues to close the achievement gap that is as wide as it always was. This regime also did not tamper with the NCLB but only ensured that certain tenets were extended.

Duncan, in his speech did not deal with the fact that there is a major issue with our country’s education policies. Instead, he said in his statement that our country will still strive to meet our President’s 2020 goal of enhancing the number of college graduates to the maximum.

He said that only if we offer them financial support necessary to pay for their college tuitions will students be challenged and this support will encourage them to succeed. He said that for disadvantaged students, over $40 billion has been allocated by the Obama administration in the form of Pell Grants over the next decade.

As states strive to enhance career expectations by raising college standards, Duncan said, the administration is effectively supporting them. In order to ensure that parents and teachers are kept well informed about how their students and their schools are faring, effective data systems are being created, he said.

Duncan said that he is confident that our country will meet President Obama’s goal with their constant challenge to the status quo and strong commitment. He said that the aim was to provide students the right type of education that will help them complete their college.