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*To enable workers of all ages to adapt to a rapidly evolving economy, the federal government would create tax-protected "personal competitiveness accounts" — "a G.I. Bill for our times," in the words of the report — that could be drawn upon for education and training at any point in life. At birth, the feds would deposit $500 per child into the account.
Many of the recommendations are so sweeping that it's hard to imagine how they could get off the ground. Teachers' unions have long opposed merit pay systems, and, in fact, the American Federation of Teachers wasted no time in attacking the report. Past efforts to make school funding more equitable have run aground in wealthy communities.
Nonetheless, some of the commission's more radical ideas are already being implemented in districts around the country. Commission member Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City school system, points out that New York already has a number of independent contractors running 322 of its schools and holds them accountable for performance. Philadelphia and other districts are doing the same. Teacher merit pay, despite opposition from unions, has already been introduced in many districts and states, though no one has yet created the kind of career paths envisioned by the commission, where salaries would begin at $45,000 and peak at $110,000. In addition, universal pre-K is already a reality in Oklahoma and Georgia.
The commission itself does not imagine that its ideas will be embraced with speedy enthusiasm. "This kind of change," said Tucker, "will take 15 years of hard work to implement." The point, says Klein, is not whether the commission got every detail right, but that the nation needs "a significant reconceptualization." After decades of flawed and piecemeal reform, it's hard to argue with that.