Whatever the administration decides to do, it needs the approval of Congress, which passed the law with broad bipartisan support in 2001 but deadlocked over a rewrite in 2007.

Yet Duncan has many criticisms of No Child Left Behind, and he has plenty of company. Opponents insist the law's annual reading and math tests have squeezed subjects like music and art out of the classroom and that schools were promised billions of dollars they never received.Critics also say the law is too punitive: More than a third of schools failed to meet yearly progress goals last year, according to the Education Week newspaper.That means millions of children are a long way from reaching the law's ambitious goals. The law pushes schools to improve test scores each year, so that every student can read and do math on grade level by the year 2014.

"What No Child Left Behind did is, they were absolutely loose on the goals," Duncan told the Education Writers Association meeting in Washington. "But they were very tight, very prescriptive on how you get there."I think that was fundamentally backwards," he said.Duncan said the federal government should be "tight" on the goals, insisting on more rigorous academic standards that are uniform across the states. And he said it should be "much looser" in terms of how states meet the goals.

Establishing a system for identifying and training highly effective teachers to serve as instructional leaders in Title I school wide programs and modifying the school schedule to allow for collaboration among the instructional staff. Providing new opportunities for Title I school-wide programs for secondary school students to use high-quality, online coursework as supplemental learning materials for meeting mathematics and science requirements. Developing and expanding longitudinal data systems to drive continuous improvement efforts focused on increased achievement in Title I schools. Districts are also encouraged to consider using these funds to support and improve preschool and early childhood development programs which are an existing allowable use for Title I.

Obtain state-of-the art assistive technology devices and provide training in their use to enhance access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities, including online professional development, online student courses and learning opportunities, and electronic records management for student progress monitoring and data-based decisions for instruction/intervention. Provide intensive district-wide professional development for special education and regular education teachers that focuses on scaling-up, through replication, proven and innovative evidence-based school-wide strategies in reading, math, writing and science, and positive behavioral supports to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Develop or expand the capacity to collect and use data to improve teaching and learning. Expand the availability and range of inclusive placement options for preschoolers with disabilities by developing the capacity of public and private preschool programs to serve these children. Hire transition coordinators to work with employers in the community to develop job placements for youths with disabilities.

. The ARRA SFSF funds provide an opportunity to jump start school reform and improvement efforts while also saving and creating jobs and stimulating the economy. California received $2.56 billion in SFSF for K-12 LEAs.

You can identify your best teachers and pay them to coach their colleagues who are having trouble," Duncan said in prepared remarks. "You may have to scale this down after two years, but it can really help your younger teachers get up to speed."Duncan also recommended adding afternoons, weekends and summer days to the school calendar: "Our school day, week and year is too short as it is. Many kids just need more time on task," he said.

Contrast that with the potential double-whammy from the nearly $8 billion dedicated for building broadband. First, laying fiber is a construction project in itself, so that means jobs right away. But more importantly, it holds the promise of a long-term economic payoff by attracting companies to out-of-the-way towns; it's also a driver for the creation of small businesses.

Preach patience. The first funding window for broadband projects started in April, and there will be more opportunities for money through mid-2010. The same lag time holds true for high-speed rail, electronic health records and green technology. These projects might not be built out until 2015. Most of the public doesn't realize this. Someone must tell them.