Holding teachers and schools, administrators and in some cases even parents, accountable is a central feature of these reforms. High stakes testing, report cards on schools, charter schools, vouchers, pay for performance and stripping teachers of tenure are just a few of the reforms being debated - and implemented across the nation. A competitive global economy has created much of the urgency to reform education in the United States. A disproportionate number of low-skilled jobs are now overseas, and many of the new jobs being created in the United States require higher levels of skill and education. Americans are realizing that career prospects are limited for those who do not obtain the training necessary for these new, more demanding jobs.
Many education reforms involve teachers.
Some statistics indicate teacher quality is an important factor in student achievement, and some believe the way to bolster achievement is to ensure teachers are doing their jobs. Some reformists believe teachers should be stripped of tenure, so those who fail to meet certain standards can be removed from the classroom. Reformers also support merit pay, believing if teachers are given a financial incentive, they'll do a better job of educating students and that higher pay will lure more qualified and motivated individuals into the nation's classrooms. But these reforms have their opponents, and many of them are teachers themselves. Opponents argue that stripping teachers of tenure diminishes morale already wounded by the belief that teachers somehow are at fault for America's failing schools.