Yesterday, I asked if Democrat Barack Obama would stand up to teachers' unions and embrace policies that they would oppose. Well, it seems he's doing just that. In an eyebrow-raising statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Illinois senator said he's a skeptic of vouchers, but that he might be open to them if studies show that's "what's best for kids." (UPDATE: Watch the video here.) The entire passage is worth repeating, since even an "openness" toward vouchers is a major departure for a Democratic presidential candidate:Obama said he has been a strong supporter of charter schools "as a ...

If you could grade the presidential candidates on their education platforms, what would you give them? Newsweek magazine did just that after getting the opinions of Education Sector's Thomas Toch and the Center for Education Reform's Jeanne Allen. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, fares the worst, earning a D+ in part because Arkansas' academic benchmarks are "the pits," according to Toch. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a Democrat, earns a B- despite "currying favor" with the teachers' unions (in Allen's words), although Toch predicts she may embrace the idea of merit pay for teachers if she ...

That's essentially the question The Politico asked of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, in this interview posted last night. The question came about when the interviewer remarked that Republican frontrunner John McCain has often bucked his own party (on issues such as immigration) and has the battle scars to prove it. So, The Politico reporter asked, will Sen. Obama be willing to stand up to his own party? Obama says yes, and he offers education to prove his point. In the interview, the Illinois senator professes his support for charter schools and "looking at how we can reward excellence in the ...

Ex-Bushie and Fordham Foundation VP Michael Petrilli has made me feel a little bit better about Arizona Sen. John McCain's fast-track pace to the Republican nomination. To be sure, I'm not worried about a McCain nomination because of his politics, but from a pure education-blogging perspective. As Petrilli notes in his latest article for the National Review, McCain has "zero interest in education," which will make the jobs of edubloggers (and ED in '08) that much more difficult. However, Petrilli notes that perhaps McCain will delegate the job of education policy to an education secretary who actually has a flair ...

Can't get enough interesting tidbits on the presidential candidates? Then keep reading: The questions blogger Jim Horn would really like to ask in debates, at the Education Policy Blog. Baltimore Sun education reporter Sara Neufeld joins the long, long list of people lamenting the state of education in the campaign. And check out a couple of good posts on specific candidates. Update: Don't miss Mike Antonucci's post on Hillary Clinton's inconsistent stand on No Child Left Behind. On Sen. Barack Obama, Alexander Russo picks apart the Illinois Democrat's work in 1999 as a state senator on legislation regarding Chicago principal ...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican who had assembled a who's who list of education advisers and one of the more detailed education agendas of the GOP presidential candidates, is calling it quits. Now who in the presidential race will say nice things about No Child Left Behind?...

Lost in the Super Tuesday hoopla was the fact that California voters agreed to expand tribal gambling in their state by adding 17,000 slot machines to further tempt people. The proceeds will go to help prop up the state budget. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported and helped broker the gambling deal with the legislature last year, even appeared in television ads (included below) with state superintendent of public instruction Jack O'Connell. (And those two don't always see eye to eye). The message? More slot machines=more money for schools. This isn't just a California issue. In Illinois, the ...

In the wake of the Super Tuesday results, which showed no clear favorite among Democrats, the 3.2-million member National Education Association wants to remind Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that the union's endorsement is still up for grabs. With that endorsement comes access to hundreds of thousands of NEA volunteers, who could prove crucial in the political ground game. In a press release issued this morning, NEA President Reg Weaver said neither Obama nor Clinton has made the case that would earn them the association’s recommendation. “There have been dozens of debates but less than a handful ...

No matter what you think of the presidential candidates, you have to respect the enthusiasm that the tight Democratic and Republican contests have sparked, which played out in results from the Super Tuesday primaries. The youth vote is proving crucial, particularly in the Democratic primaries, where voters have the opportunity to elect either the first woman or African-American to the White House. Exit polls from the primary states that voted yesterday show just how involved young people are. In Georgia, for example, 11 percent of young people ages 18-29 voted in 2004. This year: 18 percent. In Tennessee, 7 percent ...

Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton is perhaps the only presidential candidate who talks about special education on the campaign trail—and that's probably a wise move, since about 6.8 million children in the United States have disabilities. That represents about 12 percent of students nationwide—a not-to-be-overlooked proportion of American families. Last night, during Clinton's national town hall meeting broadcast on the Hallmark Channel and online, the first question she fielded was on education. She used this as an opportunity to bash the No Child Left Behind Act as an unfunded federal mandate that has resulted in schools full of "little...