We all know the failing of our education system as it stands. We know what it’s like to compete with thirty other kids for your teacher’s limited time and attention in an overcrowded classroom where even the most civil conversations swiftly devolve to dozens of voices trying to make themselves heard. We know what it’s like to be worried about whether you’ll be able to afford tuition at your dream college, or if your struggling younger siblings are getting the attention they need.
Compared to the rest of the developed world, American education is struggling. Dr. William Schmidt, co-director of Michigan State University’s Education Policy Center, estimates that by the time American students are in 8th grade, they are already, on average, two years behind many of their counterparts around the world.As we prepare to enter a general election where the economy will take center stage, as students it is important to know where this year’s major candidates stand on another vital issue that dominates much of our lives – education.
President Obama has made several major advances benefitting students, particularly at the university level. According to his official reelection website (which features “education” as the second topmost issue in his policy subsection), the current Commander-in-Chief has implemented extensive reforms to student loan regulations, allocated $2 billion toward improving our nation’s community colleges, and increased the number of Pell Grant recipients by 3 million since his inauguration.
Bloomberg news reported in October that last year tuition prices for the nation’s public universities rose by a staggering 8.3 percent, which is double the rate of inflation. This, combined with the thousands of dollars in debt the average student faces upon graduation, makes a good undergraduate education a struggle for many Americans. As the economy continues to remain stagnant, these Obama policies offer crucial relief to families and children with dreams of attending both top-notch institutes like Yale and Harvard and local community colleges.
According to the White House website, in August of last year the President directed the Department of Education to “provide flexibility” to states that were struggling to meet the standards set by the Bush Administration’s hallmark education legislation – No Child Left Behind. Additionally, President Obama enacted the DREAM Act late last year as a way to encourage the non-native children of illegal immigrants to pursue a college education as an avenue to citizenship.
Of course, the President’s role as the architect of American education policy has not been without criticism. Last summer the National Education Association (NEA), the largest union in the US, outlined a set of 13 grievances against Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. In this list, the NEA said they were “appalled” at, among other things, Secretary Duncan’s prioritization of standardized testing and excessive emphasis on competitive grants.
This national focus on high-stakes standardized testing has been reflected in state policy, such as Michigan’s increased proficiency standards for MEAP results, which, as reported earlier this year, could significantly affect Birmingham Public Schools funding.
Nevertheless, the NEA has endorsed Obama in his reelection bid.
Contrasting with President Obama, likely GOP nominee and current frontrunner Mitt Romney has taken a stance against the aforementioned DREAM Act and has been critical of teacher unions, suggesting that efforts to reduce student-to-teacher ratios were a ploy by teacher unions.
More radically, however, Romney has called for the expansion of the for-profit university industry in America.
Contrastingly, President Obama has enacted several restrictive measures on for-profit universities during his tenure.
For-profits are dubious – one study from Harvard University found that students who chose to attend for-profit universities faced higher unemployment rates, lower earnings, and greater student debt.
Still, the Republicans could certainly do much worse than Romney on education. Other top GOP contenders, notably Ron Paul and Rick Perry, have called for the abolition of the Department of Education. Earlier this campaign season, now-former candidate Jon Huntsman rightly criticized the “anti-science” attitude within the Republican Party, as many of the major candidates (Romney not among them) have criticized the teaching of well-established science like evolution in schools.
While education is just one small policy among many that should be considered when assessing this year’s candidates, I think it is clear that President Obama’s policies will provide the most benefit to BPS students. Although his administration’s emphasis on standardized testing is mildly alarming, his crusade to make college more affordable for students as tuition rises and graduation rates fall is a position worth supporting.
