January 9, 2009

Obama's Nominee for U.S. Education Secretary Gets High Grades

By PAUL BASKEN

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Arne Duncan, a longtime friend and the head of Chicago's public schools, as his nominee for education secretary.

Mr. Obama said he valued Mr. Duncan for his dogged determination to use data in seeking to improve the Chicago Public Schools.

Mr. Duncan, 44, has led the nation's third-largest public-school system, with about 408,000 students and an operating budget of just over $4.6-billion, for seven years.

"When faced with tough

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