As part of a weekly series exploring the policy positions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, this article examines Barack Obama's education plan: what it claims, what it promises, and whether it delivers. Be sure to read our analysis of Mitt Romney's education plan, and follow PoliticOlogy for weekly analyses of the candidates' positions.

Barack Obama's Education Plan

Since taking office in 2008, Obama has been trying to distance himself from the failing and unpopular Bush-era policies like No Child Left Behind. Unfortunately, his efforts to reform the American education system have been a far cry from effective. His K-12 reform policies can be broken into the following five general policies.

Early Education: Although it isn't listed on his campaign’s education page, early childhood education is central to Obama's plans for education reform. Here are some of Obama's notable reforms so far:

• Obama founded U.S. Department of Education's first office of Early Learning, which helps the administration coordinate and collaborate with schools and organizations to create comprehensive plans for future policies.

• Obama funneled more federal funds into early learning programs like Head Start, which now serves more than 900,000 students, most from low-income families.

• Obama demanded that all education centers and pre-K schools meet standards in order to receive funding.

Standards and Accountability for students and teachers: In an effort to enhance student academic achievement and teacher performance, Obama has outlined his aims:

• To institute a set of core standards by which success can be judged.

• To attract and retain good teachers by tying earnings to performance, which will be based on a multifaceted evaluation system that is not completely reliant on test scores.

• Reform tenure to "protect good teachers and promote accountability."

• Waivers: Recognizing the pitfalls of No Child Left Behind, Obama issued waivers to states who agreed to meet a set of standards. By opting out of the nationally proscribed "one-size-fits-all" standards, states can design their own strategies to improve low-performing schools and measure success. To qualify for the waivers, states must commit to a certain number of federally issued standards:

• • There must be college and career ready standards.

• • High-performing schools and schools that have made significant improvements must be rewarded.

• • Low-performing schools must be urged to perform better.

• • There must be a multifaceted evaluation system for teachers and principals that doesn’t solely use test scores. The administration recommends principal observation, peer review, student work, and parent and student feedback. Constructive advice is also recommended.

Charters: Obama is in love with charters. Just like Romney, he thinks they are the bedrocks of innovation in the school system. As such, he is encouraging the expansion of high-quality charters, assuming that they meet rigorous standards of accountability.

Continue to Analysis  | Continue to Conclusion 

Related Post: Mitt Romney's Education Plan: Overview and Analysis

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2012 Election

David Barnett