Obama Pushes For Longer School Year, Stricter Teaching Standards for U.S. Education System

President Barack Obama pushed for stricter teaching standards and a longer school year to improve the American education system, Bloomberg News reported, citing Obama's appearance on NBC's "Today Show."

Sponsored Links

U.S. students are hindered by a school year that's about a month shorter than that of other developed countries, Obama said, adding that states must do a better job getting rid of teachers with low ratings. A longer school year and stricter teaching standards would help the U.S. close the gap with other developed countries in math and science education, Bloomberg News added.

Obama has been pushing the U.S. Education Department's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" program and wants U.S. schools to hire another 10,000 math, engineering, science and technology teachers over the next couple of years.

Such efforts are part of Obama's goal for the U.S. to have the world's highest rate of college graduates by the end of the decade, according to Bloomberg.