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Monday, June 16, 2008
The next education president
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I typically steer away from national politics on the blog, but now that we have presumptive presidential nominees from the two major parties it makes sense to look at where they stand on education, especially No Child Left Behind.
Sen. John McCain has said he supports the overall goals of the law and Sen. Barack Obama has vowed to overhaul it.
McCain has said he won’t release a detailed education plan until the fall. But his education advisor, Lisa Graham Keegan, recently shared some of his ideas. (Keegan is the former chief of Arizona schools.) Read more on his Web site.
He voted for NCLB, but expressed interest in moving away from the 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient on state tests. He’s also talked about making the sanctions kick in almost immediately. No longer would parents have to wait for schools to miss AYP for two or three years before being able to get the free tutoring or transfers to higher-achieving schools.
McCain has talked about freezing education funding until a review can be done of which projects work and which don’t. Money may get re-allocated among different programs but Keegan said McCain believes NCLB is adequately funded.
Obama wasn’t in the Senate when Congress passed NCLB. His Web site offers details about his education plan, covering everything from early childhood education to how to make college more affordable.
With respect to NCLB, Obama has said the assessments need to be improved. He also said the federal government must give low-performing schools enough money and resources to improve.
Obama’s site also provides a lot of information about teacher quality, such as expanding mentoring programs for new teachers and giving teachers paid planning time. He also described a new college scholarship for people who agree to teach for at least four years in a high-need subject or location.
What details do you want to hear about each candidate’s education platform? What would you like to see them do to NCLB and other issues, such as vocational education, teacher quality and funding for special education?
