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We’re all going to be literacy teachers,” said Patricia Fong, a chief academic administrator for Lakota schools. “We’ll all be teaching students how to read, write, and how to listen and speak within (our) content areas.”

The clear, alarming picture that emerges … is that while the reading demands of college, workforce training programs and citizenship have held steady or risen over the past 50 years or so, K–12 texts have, if anything, become less demanding,” the Common Core document states.

“These aren’t more rigorous tests; they’re more honest tests,”

Instead, the public school system's teachers are trained to assess children in classrooms using independent tests they create themselves. All children receive a report card at the end of each semester, but these reports are based on individualized grading by each teacher.

There's no word for accountability in Finnish,"

"Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted."

When it comes to high school, both agreed that the current model is outdated. As Khan put it, "Kids get promoted because they were in a chair for four years." Duncan called it a "19th century model" and "neanderthal." Instead, they suggested a competency-based model for promotion through grades rather than one that is time-based. In terms of content and standards, Duncan suggested adding subjects such as computer science, foreign language and financial literacy to the core curriculum. He adamantly defended the Common Core standards as a way for the U.S. to remain competitive globally and ensure requirements don't get dumbed down "to make politicians look good."