But roadblocks, such as state regulations and teachers unions, have prevented this, Spellings said during a event.
"It's not by accident that there are all these barriers," Spellings said.
Asked by an audience member what was being done attract new teachers to the profession, Spellings presented a dire prognosis. "The short answer is we're not doing enough to attract our best and brightest to the profession," she said.
"I believe that we make it so difficult. There are so many barriers to entry into this profession, it's absurd," Spellings said.
An approach such as having experts teach math or science just from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday is not allowable under regulations that require teachers to be in school 185 days a year, she said. Instead, math and science are being taught by teachers who do not specialize in those fields, Spellings said.
She touted the federal No Child Left Behind law as bringing up test scores but emphasized that much more needs to be done to improve education for students, particularly minority students. The needs of high school and middle school students also must be addressed, Spelling said.
One audience member cited the issue of disruptive students that prevent education of the entire class. But Spellings said issues of discipline are reserved for the state and local governments rather than being a federal issue.
"We have to figure all this out in ways that make sense," Spellings said.
Surprisingly, Spellings agreed with the statement, "It takes a village," to meet the educational needs of children, which was noted by an audience member identifying herself as a math teacher at a low-income charter school in downtown San Jose, Calif. This statement was coined by Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton in a speech addressing the needs of children when she was first lady. Clinton's full statement was, "It takes a village to raise a child."
"It does take a village," Spellings said.