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U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan took to the Op-Ed page of the Washington Post on Sunday to argue for a replacing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, better known as No Child Left Behind, which he describes as “outmoded and broken.”

He argues: “Washington’s role is to protect children at risk and promote opportunity for all. The federal government is not, and will never be, in the business of telling states or schools what or how to teach. But it cannot shirk its role of ensuring that schools and students meet the high bar that prepares them for the real world.”

In the months ahead, he said, he will urge Congress to listen to “those doing the real work of education change,” meaning principals, teachers, governors, state education chiefs, superintendents, parents and students themselves. They “know what is and isn’t working,” he said. “They can guide us to a better law.”

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