EDUCATION

Obama on Education

by Lisa Caruso

Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008


Specific Policy Positions

No Child Left Behind
Endorses the law's goals of raising academic standards, holding schools accountable for educating all children, and putting a good teacher in every classroom. But he would use more measures than just standardized tests to gauge academic success; pour $8 billion in additional annual funding into the law, mostly for teacher quality initiatives; and add after-school, drop-out prevention, college readiness, and summer programs to help poor and minority students. Also calls on parents to do their part.

School choice
Supports allowing students in failing schools to transfer to magnet or public charter schools, but opposes vouchers for private and religious schools.

Teacher quality
Supports merit pay for successful teachers based on a range of factors, including test scores. Backs incentive pay for teachers in disadvantaged schools, for those who teach such hard-to-staff subjects as math and science, and for those who mentor novice teachers--as long as differential pay plans are developed cooperatively by local school districts and teachers.

Early-childhood education
Would spend an additional $10 billion a year on Early Head Start, Head Start, and block grants to cover child care for low-income families. His plan for educating children from birth to age 5 features matching grants for states to adopt or expand early child care and early-education programs and to offer voluntary universal preschool.

College access and affordability
Would offer students willing to perform at least 100 hours of community service an annual $4,000 refundable tax credit to help pay for college; simplify the financial aid application process; and eliminate subsidies for banks that provide federally backed student loans and redirect the money to federally administered loans and Pell Grants.

Key Advisers

Obama's many advisers range from fierce opponents of the NCLB to those who want to reform it. The ones who have his ear include Jon Schnur, who advised Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and is the co-founder and CEO of New Leaders for New Schools, which trains urban school principals. Fellow co-founder and Denver Principal Michael Johnston, who counseled Obama in the Senate, and Chris Edley, who served on the independent commission that drafted recommendations for improving the NCLB, are also advising the candidate. Danielle Gray is Obama's top education staffer at campaign headquarters and a veteran of his 2004 Senate run.

Record

Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act: Introduced legislation to provide competitive grants for school districts to pursue innovative approaches to raising student achievement and improving teacher quality; also requires them to show results.

Summer Term Education Programs for Upward Progress Act: His 2006 STEP UP bill would fund summer learning initiatives for disadvantaged children run by schools or community groups. A version to fund programs to encourage women and minorities to enter the science, technology, engineering, and math fields passed Congress last August in the America Competes Act.

Teaching Residency Program Act: Obama's program, which is in the final version of the higher-education bill, pairs prospective teachers with mentors in high-needs schools.

Illinois Early Learning Council Act: As a state senator, helped draft 2003 legislation creating a council of experts to coordinate state early education programs. He now proposes a national version.

Key Interest Groups

National Education Association: The largest teachers union did not endorse Obama until July. This heavyweight critic of the No Child law likes his opposition to vouchers but not his stances on merit pay and charter schools.

American Federation of Teachers: The 1.4 million-member union backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries but now embraces Obama. New President Randi Weingarten says that the NCLB is "too badly broken to be fixed." But she also supports unionized charter schools and performance pay plans based on teachers' input.

Education Trust: The nonprofit advocate for underprivileged children is among the NCLB's staunchest defenders. It appreciates Obama's inclination to fix the law rather than junk it, and applauds his initiatives to ensure that poor and minority children have top-notch teachers. But the group is disappointed with his harsh criticism of testing and troubled by his view that the NCLB is narrowing curricula.

Business Coalition for Student Achievement: The employer coalition shares Obama's emphasis on college and workforce readiness, closing the achievement gap, and prioritizing math and science education. The group wants to hang tough on testing and accountability and hopes Obama will too.