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Where we led the nation in terms of learning gains because we had -- we ended social promotion. we had the most dynamic school choice programs in the country. >> immigration is another potential sticky issue for you in the gop base. >> that's what i heard. >> and you told our own shannon a long time ago it's not a felony but an act of love and said -- but lots of crimes are committed out of love. that's my question to you. it doesn't stop their prosecution so what is it about illegal immigration? >> i think illegal managers ought to be punished by coming out from the shadows, earning legal sta...

We get what we have today which is a third of kids being college or career ready and we spend more per student than any other country in the world other than a two or three. i'll show you the record in florida where we led the nation in terms of learning gains. we ended social promotion and had dynamic school choice programs. when people see the florida record and see the learning gains that have taken place where we were at the bottom in graduation rate and moved up. >> reporter: you hear that he's unapologetic about his support for these common core education standards. if you're not really ...

>> well, i think we can all agree that the early years are important. i don't think there is any disagreement about that. but the question is whether these programs really benefit these children or whether they've been overhyped. the reality is that we've had head start for 350 years in this i -- 50 years in this country and countless programs all over the country and they have failed to give kids the leg up that we're promised. the problem is that when resources are devoted to a failing program, those are resources that are not going to something that might work. we know that there have been ...

Like 15-1. it is extremely expensive. it is like $13,000 a student. 20% higher than the k-12 national average. this is a big deal in terms of the expense of going universal. but the -- thing i would argue is the most for piece about it is it is one of the country's biggest school choice programs. it is a state pay and parent chosen and mixed delivery system with sort of private community based providers. and -- districts competing against one another. and anything in sort -- expansion, like for a focus on low-income kids, where i think it should be, if you are not delivering this in a way that...

Mayor antonio villaraigosa and thank you both for being here. madam secretary, start with you and the school choice issue. you seem to be wavering on where you are in school choice. is it the answer when it comes to accountability in the local school systems or maybe are we rushing too much? >> no, i'm a big supporter of school choice so long as we have information that empowers the consumer so they can use it effectively. all of the things that go hand in hand. when parents are powered with information and the resources as governor romney said to follow with the children to schools of their c...