Hillary Clinton on Education

2008 promises to be a cutthroat year when it comes to Democratic politics, and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is having to cling tight to stay on top. But despite lots of talk about the economy, the war in Iraq, and pulling out “the race card”, few of the candidates have spent much time discussing an issue that’s at the forefront of most parents’ minds: education. We asked Catherine Brown, a staffer in Clinton’s policy shop, to shed some light on the Senator’s views on education.  Here’s our cheat sheet on education according to Clinton:

Standardized Testing

Say goodbye to the bubble test. While Clinton “supports having an accountable education system,” Brown says she wants to give school districts more flexibility in how they measure success.  And since bubble tests can’t test critical thinking and problem solving abilities, Clinton “would like to provide states with the flexibility to use performance assessments, such as class projects and presentations, aligned with state standards,” Brown says.  Clinton is also committed to making sure that standardized tests don't force schools to focus solely on math and reading, to the detriment of other subject areas. “She wants to ensure that art, music, and other programs continue to be a rich part of children’s educational experiences,” Brown says.

School Choice

Charter schools, magnet schools, school vouchers…where does Clinton stand? According to Brown, “Hillary supports public school choice, as well as charter schools, and has for many years. But she is a strong advocate for public schools.” In other words, she’s for choice within the public school system, but not for vouchers that allow parents to use public money for private school education. “Research thus far has not shown that children who attend private schools through voucher programs do better on math and reading tests than their counterparts in public schools,” Brown says. Translation: Clinton doesn’t want to drain precious resources from the public school pot.

No Child Left Behind

Goodbye to NCLB? Likely.  “Hillary believes No Child Left Behind has proven to be too rigid and unworkable for our teachers, principals, and most importantly for our children. She thinks it’s time to end this one-size-fits-all approach to education reform, and start a new beginning that prepares every child to succeed in our global economy,” Brown says. When asked how she’ll make sure schools are successful and accountable, without NCLB forcing their hand, Clinton’s campaign office points to a few key ideas:

1. More funding for schools. One of the main problems with NCLB, they contend, was that schools weren’t given enough money to make it successful.
2. State standards that move kids towards an ultimate goal—college. Clinton says standards should be directly aligned with college-prep needs.
3. Improved efforts to recruit and retain outstanding teachers, especially in urban and under-resourced areas.
4. More after school programs, “that keep young people safe in the riskier hours of the day”.
5. Multiple pathways to graduation and mentoring for at-risk youth, in order to lesson the high school dropout rate.

College Funding and Affordability