A Quick Look at the Presidential Candidates' Education Platforms

  • By Christine Beitenhaus
  • 07/01/08
Election season is in full swing, with party conventions around the corner and nightly news analysis of the candidates’ talking points. While being an informed voter is easier than before with instant access to information through the Internet, often the candidates’ proposals can be hidden behind political jargon. This month we’ll take a closer look at the education plans of John McCain and Barack Obama, a topic that has not yet received a large amount of press.

John McCain’s Education Plan
While McCain’s advisers have mentioned that they are not ready to present his education plan in full, there are some points that have been mentioned over the past few months.

One of the main points to come from the McCain campaign is the need to support parents in their choice of schools for their children. Federal funding for schools would be maintained under the McCain plan, but more money would be given to parents in the form of vouchers to send children to public, private, or religious schools if their current school system is failing. School vouchers, McCain feels, will create competition among schools for both students and highly qualified teachers.

While McCain feels the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) could be fixed, he would like to first provide more tutoring to students who are underperforming before reforming NCLB.

In addition, McCain also supports merit pay for teachers.

Barack Obama’s Education Plan
More detailed information has been released to the public on Obama’s agenda for education reform.

Obama feels that NCLB has been ineffective and poorly funded, forgoing a well-rounded education in favor of inadequately designed tests to gauge progress. In order to better gauge students’ progress, Obama would like to work with the states’ governors to come up with better-written tests. He also wants to improve NCLB’s accountability system to support schools that need improvement.

Another priority in Obama’s education plan is math and science education. Obama hopes to recruit math and science degree graduates to teach in K-12 schools, while also ensuring strong math and science curriculum is available to all grade levels.

While Obama also feels parents should have options for their children if their school systems are failing them, he feels the choice should be limited to public charter schools.

Obama’s vision is that legislation will also be passed to help invest in middle school intervention strategies to help prevent students from dropping out of school. Other programs that would gain more funding include afterschool programs, summer learning opportunities, and college outreach programs. Transitional bilingual education is also supported in Obama’s educational plan.

In addition to merit pay and mentoring programs for beginning teachers to increase retention, Obama has also proposed requiring all education schools to be accredited.

Featured

  • Kraus-Anderson Completes Improvements at Minnesota Middle, High Schools

    Construction management, real estate, and risk management firm Kraus-Anderson recently announced that it has finished two K–12 renovation projects in Minnesota, according to a news release.

  • ClassVR headsets

    Avantis Education Revamps Hardware for ClassVR Solution

    Avantis Education recently announced the launch of two new headsets for its flagship educational VR/AR solution, ClassVR. According to a news release, the Xcelerate and Xplorer headsets expand the company’s offerings into higher education while continuing to meet the evolving needs of K–12 users.

  • Kenall Introduces Millenium Flair Series

    In a move aimed at modernizing institutional lighting without compromising on durability or performance, Kenall has launched its new Millenium Flair series, according to the Kenall website.

  • Fellowes Launches New 3D Modular, Product Configurators

    Contract interiors and architectural solutions provider Fellowes recently announced the launch of new 3D modular and product configurators for several of its product lines, according to a news release. The new products offer SIF file integration and pricing for the Volo, Markerboards, Sena, and Rising product lines in connection with 3D Cloud, which provides 3D product visualization and 3D digital asset management.