Utilize Technology Effectively. CORE calls on states to require teachers and principals to demonstrate their competence in technology in order to be certified and to provide them with training opportunities to develop their technology skills. Further we call on policymakers to ensure that schools and districts have the technological capacity to transmit records and test results quickly so that this information can be used to improve instruction. Compare, Compete, Cooperate Doubling academic achievement requires an implementation strategy that includes comparative analyses, interstate alliances, and research supporting pursuit of achievement. The report urges state leaders to develop an Interstate Alliance for Academic Achievement to help states expand and coordinate development of resources, create a foundation for scaling up reform success and ensure that the nation benefits from the efforts of individual states.
CORE also urges increased investment in education research.
Currently, education consumes about 7 percent of Gross Domestic Product, but funding for research is only about 0.08 percent of expenditures, an amount which is minuscule compared to research funding for other fields. If current funding patterns hold, the improvements CORE calls for can be accomplished with little added investment beyond the incremental dollars required to educate a growing school-age population. Parents now pay substantial amounts for preschool and after-school care, some of which they could transfer to the public sector. But the report argues that these costs can still be met by refocusing new funding required to handle the education of a growing population. New revenues should be invested in doubling achievement.