Students spoke openly for more than an hour at the student town hall at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts about what's working in their schools and what needs work.

"We want to hear your thoughts about how your school and your education can serve you better," said Rehema Ellis to the theater filled with students.

The Education Nation Student Town Hall allows students to have a say about their own education and help generate ideas to make it better.

"We are the ones who can change our school. We are the ones who go to the school every day. We are the experts," said one student as he stood before his peers.

Discussions included the open enrollment system, which allows parents to choose what school their child attends regardless of district. Sixty-two percent of the audience said they have taken advantage of open enrollment, and 38 percent have not. The topic drew mixed emotions.

"I don't have to settle for a school that is failing just because it's across the street from me and I have to go to it," said Simone Smith, a senior at Sci Academy. "I can go to a school where they have a good reputation and high academics."

Johnshell Johnson, a sophomore at Benjamin Franklin High School, said she would prefer to attend a school closer to her neighborhood, but makes the sacrifice to benefit her education.

"I go to Benjamin Franklin, and that's not easy by itself, so of course I have everything, going to go to a good school, but I would much rather go to a school that's right there, so I don't have to wake up so early and take public transportation," Johnson said.

When the discussion shifted to standardized testing, students were eager to sound off.

"I can study for hours and hours and do worse than someone who studies for one hour, and it's just difficult to grade how much you know by taking the same test that everyone is taking," said one student.

When asked whether teachers should be evaluated on their students' standardized test scores, 81 percent said no and 19 percent said yes.

"We need to stop treating students and children like numbers. We need to stop summarizing the entire nine-month experience of every school year into a single number or two. We need to treat these people more like human beings," said Lavonne Levan, a Benjamin Franklin student.

Students were excited about the opportunity to speak on their own behalf about how educators and administrators handle their education. They even offered tips to each other about what they can do to be a success on their own and make changes in the system.

The Obama administration will unveil a major climate change plan Monday aimed at a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's coal-burning power plants, a senior administration official told CNN.