But we also recognize we are not nearly where we need to be in meeting our own rigorous academic standards and in achieving at high performance levels. We must follow an ambitious road that continues the academic achievements of the last decade while we build the fundamental underpinning for a new century of learning. What it means is that we must continue our Reading and Literacy Initiative with early intervention to get help for children before they fall behind in primary grades, add new books in school libraries, and help adults who are ready to learn. It means state support for full-day kindergarten and continuation of our technology strategy. It means added state-funded professional development time for teachers.
Continued progress is too important to begin skimping on the future.
That includes such factors as student assessment and testing, a school statistical report card, monetary rewards to schools such as Indiana's School Incentive Program, sanctions to low-performing schools, and assistance to schools that fail to perform well.