How a person has performed in the past is an excellent indication of how that person will perform in the future. Which means education in this country has a promising outlook if the Senate confirms President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for education secretary, Arne Duncan, superintendent of public schools in Chicago.

This is the school district known for numerous teacher strikes in the 1970s and 1980s. But teachers have praised Duncan since his appointment in 2001, even as he became known as a reformer who demanded and achieved improved student performance.

A longtime Obama friend, Duncan advocates for education without pigeonholing himself into one “camp” or another, which is why he has widespread respect among educators. They can find common ground in evaluating Duncan’s ideas.

Duncan’s nomination represents a confirmation of one of Obama’s most important campaign promises — to make positive change the priority and, as much as possible, leave infighting behind.

We are impressed by Duncan’s record in Chicago. It includes significantly boosting the achievement rates of elementary students, expanding student opportunities by closing failing schools, consistently increasing the number of students who graduate and bolstering math and science instruction.

Another aspect of Duncan’s record is his support for early childhood education. According to The New York Times, enrollment opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds increased every year under Duncan’s leadership.

This dovetails well with Obama’s pledge to commit $10 billion annually for preschool programs and to create a Presidential Early Learning Council to come up with a better way of providing this service. Early childhood education is now a hodgepodge, with Head Start serving disadvantaged children and hundreds of other uncoordinated programs being run by various government, nonprofit or private agencies.

Although Duncan is serious about accountability, he also says the federal education law No Child Left Behind does not have proper flexibility, something educators have been pointing out for years. The issue has destroyed the congressional bipartisanship that once characterized this law.

We think Obama and Duncan will be able to restore bipartisanship in Congress on educational issues, and bring learning in America’s classrooms to a much higher level than has been seen over the past eight years.