A new era of science education?

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he wants to launch a new era of science education in America. America won the space race but, in many ways, American education lost the science race, he told the National Science Teachers Association Conference.
A decade ago, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) benchmarking study showed that our best districts could compete with anyone in the world, but our worst districts—which, of course, were in low-income communities—were on a par with third-world countries, he said.
Do you think we need a new era of science education? If not, why not? If so, what should it be? How should it be done?