The new head of education in the Marshall Islands admits teachers need better training in order to turn around poor student test results.
The latest Ministry of Education results show nearly 80 percent of all third graders cannot perform at grade level in English, math, and science, and the results are even worse for sixth graders.
A former teacher and principal, Gary Ueno, has just been appointed as the new Secretary of Education.
He believes there is room for improvement that can come by providing better training to teachers and demanding higher standards.
"It requires more training and more monitoring and tracking, the majority of the public schools here in the Marshall Islands are all scattered throughout the atolls and islands most of the private schools are more concentrated on the urban areas of Majuro, there are fewer students, parents are very involved in their schools."
The new Marshall Islands Secretary of Education Gary Ueno
