Jeb Bush in Bloomberg.com

On Education: Restore schools via standards for teachers instead of tenure

Bush won election in 1998 with a campaign for overhauling education, rewarding high-performing schools with added state funding. It was enacted into law, and is similar to a "No Child Left Behind" law that Pres. Bush pursued in Washington, requiring school testing and holding schools accountable for showing yearly progress.

Only a national commitment to educational progress can reverse a trend in which 1/3 of students drop out of high school, Bush said; "I would suggest to you that high standards is the first step," he said, calling for a national system of common student measurements and teacher evaluations based on professional skills, not union membership or tenure.