Joel Klein and Al Sharpton should be commended for their open-letter in the Wall Street Journal today to President-Elect Barack Obama as he determines the role of his administration in education. The non-partisan Education Equality Project (EEP) is an extraordinary example of how politics can and should be removed when dealing with the urgent issues of our children and the future of our nation.

It is our hope that President-Elect Obama will use the measuring stick proposed by Mr. Klein and Rev. Sharpton for education policy – "Does a policy advance student learning?"  This simple question places the emphasis of education back with the students in the system, and not the adults. This is the only way we can hope to reach the goal of ensuring that all Americans receive the education they deserve and that the achievement of all students once again becomes a point of national pride and honor.