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By Charlotte Eby DES MOINES - As worries grow that American students are slipping compared with children in other parts of the world, education advocates hope the issue moves to center stage in the presidential race. And when voters compare the presidential candidates on the issues, they'll find they hold vastly different philosophies on improving the country's public schools. Republican nominee John McCain thinks parents should have more choices about where they send their children and tax dollars, and Democrat Barack Obama wants to funnel resources to improve public schools. Meanwhile, advocates hope problems within the nation's educational system are tackled with a sense of urgency. Adam Thibault, policy director for the nonpartisan public advocacy group Strong American Schools, argues that with falling home prices and the conditions on Wall Street, long-term economic growth has to start with improving schools and the skills of tomorrow's workers. The group is spending up to $60 million on its public awareness campaign and grass-roots initiative, "ED in '08." The group is pushing common rigorous standards that apply to all states, performance pay for teachers and extended school days. Thibault said they use global comparisons to show how American schools are slipping. In a recent international exam, American 15-year-olds came in 25th out of 30 in math and 21st out of 30 in science, he said. "Those are tomorrow's scientists and mathematicians and engineers, and we're just not getting it done," he said. "And those jobs will continue to be exported to other nations." Strong American Schools issued a recent report showing that one of every three college students has to take at least one remedial course in English or math. "I think people are starting to realize that this is a problem that doesn't just afflict inner-city schools, but it's a problem that affects everybody's schools," he said. McCain declared education the civil rights issue of this century in his speech accepting his party's nomination. He has pushed for choice and competition in K-12 education, through charter schools, independent public schools that encourage innovation. McCain has also expressed support for vouchers, which allow parents to send children to private schools at public expense, although he isn't proposing a nationwide voucher program. Instead, he has called for an expansion of the voucher program in Washington, D.C. In contrast, Obama is opposed to the idea of school vouchers but has called for the doubling of funding for charter schools, along with accountability standards to ensure they are effective. One issue the candidates agree on is keeping the controversial No Child Left Behind school accountability law in place, although they are proposing changes. Obama has criticized the dependence on standardized testing inherent in No Child Left Behind and wants to work with states to improve the assessment system. McCain has said No Child Left Behind is a good beginning that needs to be fixed so that schools are measured by the progress of individual students. Both candidates have offered proposals to reward the best public school teachers. McCain has said the country should help bad teachers find another line of work and wants to empower school principals by allowing them to spend money intended to recruit and retain quality teachers. Obama wants to ensure teachers see increased pay for better student achievement, but not just based on student testing, and has invited teachers to help develop those standards. To increase access to early childhood education, Obama is proposing a $10 billion per year plan to help states adopt universal prekindergarten and expand Head Start and Early Head Start programs. McCain is not proposing a wide expansion of federal early childhood education programs. Obama also would help out families with children in college with a $4,000 refundable tax credit in exchange for 100 hours of public service per year. Both McCain and Obama want to streamline the financial aid process for students. McCain is also calling for more information about higher education institutions to be made public so students can make more informed choices. School choice or fixing schools Chuck Hurley, a former GOP state lawmaker and president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, supports McCain's philosophy of school choice. That decision comes from his personal experience. When Hurley's family took in two foster children, the students were in the lower half of their classes in their northeast Iowa public school. After the family put them in a private school where they received more individualized attention, their performance improved, Hurley said. "They both ended up doing quite well academically," Hurley said. Hurley's eight other children have since been home-schooled, and he urges parental choice in the educational process. He agrees with McCain that education is the civil rights issue of this century. Hurley thinks there is enough angst among parents who are sending their children to an unsafe or unproductive school that the school choice issue will explode this year. Mary Jane Cobb, executive director of the Iowa State Education Association, a union that represents Iowa educators, argues a voucher system takes money from public schools that might need it most. The organization is backing Obama. "Rather than taking money out of those schools, officials should find out what's going on in schools that need to be improved and find the resources needed to do that," Cobb said. Looking at education The candidates' positions on education issues: Preschool/early childhood McCain: Not proposing an expansion of early childhood programs but wants to fund Centers of Excellence to improve Head Start programs. Obama: Invest $10 billion a year to help states adopt universal prekindergarten programs and expand Head Start and Early Head Start. School vouchers McCain: Supports the expansion of the voucher program in Washington, D.C. He also supports the idea of states implementing voucher programs to allow for school choices. He supports tax credits to parents who send their children to private school. Obama: Opposes school vouchers. College affordability McCain: Wants to streamline the process for student aid and provide more transparency about institutions of higher education so students can make informed choices. Obama: Proposing $4,000 refundable tax credit for college education in exchange for 100 hours of community service each year. No Child Left Behind McCain: Supports standards that apply to all students but wants to change the formulas that gauge success for a school so they are based on progress by individual students rather than schools. He wants dollars for tutoring made available to parents rather than local schools. Obama: Wants reforms in the law to support schools needing improvement rather than punishing them. Proposes changes to the assessment to ensure teachers aren't preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. Teacher salaries and standards McCain: Wants to judge teachers on student gains, giving dollars to principals to attract and retain the best teachers. Obama: Wants to work with teachers to develop innovative ways to improve teacher pay. After-school programs McCain: Not proposing a new expansion of after-school programs. Obama: Proposes doubling federal funding for centers that provide after-school programs to provide programming for another 1 million children. |
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