2012 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Education

Matt Mead: No federal curriculum standards; keep Wyoming standards

To ratchet up the quality, we need more rigorous standards. Common core standards have been debated and discussed. We are not signing on with federal curriculum. These are Wyoming standards. We are signing on to a better future for our children by demanding more rigorous standards.

If the federal government tries to steer us in a direction we don't want to go, we will simply refuse. There is no federal hook that will push us from Wyoming law or Wyoming standards. Wyoming law and Wyoming standards control.

Nikki Haley: Make a real investment in our charter schools

Chris Christie: Replace Abbott District funds with tenure reform & charters

1. reform tenure--by taking it away from those whose ratings are unacceptably weak.
2. if layoffs are necessary remove the least effective teachers instead of just the most junior ones.
3. pay teachers more when they are assigned to a failing school or to teach a difficult subject.
4. end forced placements--teachers should not be assigned to schools without the mutual consent of the teacher and the principal.
5. reform our process for authorizing charter schools to focus on our failing school districts

Susana Martinez: $97M to improve our local schools; invest in reform

We took some very important first steps in education reform. Just last week, we announced the preliminary, baseline grades for New Mexico schools. They will continue to be fine-tuned as we work with school districts to finalize the results. By this summer, every school will receive an official letter grade--A, B, C, D, or F. Finally, we have a school rating system that is uniquely our own. Not a one-size-fits-all federal system, but rather an honest assessment of how our children are learning and improving--a way to identify struggling schools, so we can get them the help they need.

Susana Martinez: $17M for reading reforms; don't pass failing kids

Holding children back is not the goal. The goal is for every child to learn the basics and to identify and help those who struggle before the third grade. We build a child's self-esteem not by convincing them that accepting failure is okay but by showing them that they can reach any goal by offering a helping hand when they struggle so they learn to never give up, to persevere, and to ultimately triumph and succeed.

And here's how we'll do it. My plan this year calls for a $17 million investment in reading reforms. Teachers will assess children early on--in kindergarten, first, second grade. And those students who are struggling will get immediate help in these early years--more tutoring, more individual attention. We'll put more reading coaches in elementary schools.

Mitch Daniels: End cruel, defeatist practice of passing kids who can't read

But that's not why others are following Indiana. It's our new commitment to rewarding the best teachers, liberating principals and superintendents, and providing low- and middle-income parents the same choices as their wealthier neighbors; that's what has caught the world's attention. And this year, when we end the cruel, defeatist practice of passing children who cannot read into fourth grade, and when our most diligent students begin to graduate from high school in 11 years, and get a head start on college costs with the dollars they earned through their hard work, others will take notice of Indiana yet again.

Andrew Cuomo: Additional SUNY Challenge Grants