[Costello:] The college admissions test known as the S.A.T. is getting a makeover. The College Board says the new test will focus more on knowledge and skills high schoolers need to succeed in college. No word on when students will begin taking the brand-new test. And it's a move that's sparking controversy in and outside of Silicon Valley. Tech giant Yahoo! banning employees from working at home. Ok. I'm going to interrupt that story for just a second. And take you back to Capitol Hill, Chuck Hagel now speaking, America's new Defense Secretary.
[Chuck Hagel, U.s. Defense Secretary:] Thank you. I am honored to be [inaudible]
[Costello:] All right. Well, actually they're having audio problems on their end, not on our end, so when we get this all worked out with them, we'll go back to Chuck Hagel as he makes his remarks as America's new Defense Secretary. So ok. We're going back to the Yahoo! piece now. As you know Yahoo! executives said in order for the company to be the best it can be, workers must no longer telecommute. They have to come into the office physically. Critics say a successful workplace though needs flexibility. CNN personal finance correspondent Zain Asher has more for you.
[Zain Usher, Cnn Personal Finance Correspondent:] You might say PR consultant and new mom Menka Lamba pulls a Marissa Mayer late last year.
[Menka Lamba, Works For Home:] I was actually able to get a job when I was seven months' pregnant and continue working right to the moment I gave birth and even after I had a baby two weeks after I was on the phone.
[Asher:] But Lamba definitely disagrees with the Yahoo! CEO's latest moves to put an end to its flexible work policy and make everyone come to the office.
[Lamba:] I don't know exactly what she's thinking and I'm sure she's got the best interest of the company and her employees in mind, but in my experience having that flexibility is helpful and you're able to continue to contribute and be productive.
[Asher:] The online backlash against Yahoo! has been less polite and decidedly one-sided on Twitter. The consensus, Marissa Mayer has it all wrong.
[Jennifer Owens, Editorial Director, Working Mother Media:] I think it's incredibly disappointing, I think it's incredibly backward- thinking and I think they're shooting themselves in the foot as they limp themselves into the future.
[Asher:] Yahoo!'s ban will put the company in the clear minority. While only about 10 percent of employees work from home on a regular basis, 98 percent of companies today offer employees at least one type of tele-work option. A 2012 analysis found a flexible work policies led to increased work productivity, higher attention rates and better overall job performance.
[Owens:] I once worked with a guy who played solitaire for four hours a day in my Newsroom. So it doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where people are working. It matters how they're working.
[Lamba:] I was planning on going back to work anyway so this isn't a full time excursion for me. It's more allowing the flexibility to continue and not disrupt my work or disrupt my life. 1040
[Asher:] Zain Asher, CNN, New York.
[Costello:] Ok. In a statement Yahoo! says "We don't discuss internal matters. This isn't a broad industry view on working from home. This is about what's right for Yahoo! right now." Ok. I'm going to take you back to the Pentagon now because they figure it out at Pentagon Chuck Hagel's microphone was not on. It's turned on right now. He's addressing his new employees at the Pentagon as the new Defense Secretary. Let's listen.
[Chuck Hagel, Secretary Of Defense:] we've got the Chief of Staff of the Army. He makes me shake a little being an old Army Sergeant but the Sergeant Major of the Army scares the hell out of me, so I think he does the general, too, actually. And all of you who are so important to our country, thank you. I a couple of hours ago took the Oath of Office to become the 24th Secretary of defense. It's a great honor. It's a privilege. Yes. For me, my family, but to be part of your team who you are is the honor. That's the great privilege. You're not joining my team. I'm joining your team. And I want you to know how proud I am of the opportunity the President of the United States has given me and the Congress of the United States has given me. And I would tell you that as I had told the President, as I told the Congress, that I will do everything in my power to be the kind of leader that you expect and you deserve. Also the kind of leader the country expects and deserves. We are living in a very defining time in the world. You all know that. It's a difficult time. It's it's a time of tremendous challenge. But there are opportunities. And I think it's important that we all stay focused obviously on our jobs, on our responsibilities which are immense, but not lose sight of the possibilities for a better world. If there's one thing America has stood for more than any one thing is that we we are a force for good. We make mistakes. We've made mistakes. We'll continue to make mistakes. But we are a force for good.
[Costello:] Ok we're going to jump out of this. Chuck Hagel, former senator and now new Defense Secretary of the United States of America. He's addressing his new employees at the Pentagon. He's a Vietnam War veteran, won two Purple Hearts so he has a special bond with many of the military personnel sitting in that audience today. Another look at our "Talk Back" question this morning. Should the Republicans embrace Chris Christie. Your responses and our panel discussions coming up.