Head of Utah schools: State education goals align with Obama's

SALT LAKE CITY — The head of Utah's public schools said the state's goals for education are aligned with those of President Barack Obama.

The president said Monday on NBC's "Today" show that money and reform are both needed to fix a broken education system. He called for a longer school year, more emphasis in math and science instruction and ridding the system of its worst-performing teachers.

"We have got to identify teachers who are doing well. Teachers who are not doing well, we have got to give them the support and the training to do well. And if some teachers aren't doing a good job, they've got to go," Obama said.

Shumway said the State Office of Education supports performance pay for teachers based on both student test scores and the quality of instruction in the classroom.

"Teaching is clearly part science and part art. Our evaluation systems have to catch up so that, in fact, we do make sure every student in our state, every classroom in our state is a place where there is high quality instruction all the time," Shumway said.

Shumway said the state also agrees with the president's emphasis on math and science instruction. Increased requirements in those subjects took effect this school year for graduating high school seniors. "It's important to our future economic development as a state. We've heard that it's a goal of our state to lead the country in math and science and in high-tech industries and having a well-prepared work force is crucial to that success," Shumway said.

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