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Education Wonkery

By drorzel on February 23, 2007.

Buried in a "Quick Takes" post a few days ago, Inside Higher Ed had a link to a set of suggestions for improving public education:

Education Sector is offering the following eight education ideas for the 2008 presidential campaign. They cover the educational spectrum, from preschool to higher education. They range in scope from big ideas that would chart entirely new directions for policymaking to others that would simply help schools and colleges improve what they are already doing.

These ideas are neither Democratic nor Republican. They are pragmatic solutions to real problems that both parties can get behind. They have realistic goals and price tags. As a nonpartisan organization, Education Sector hopes to see them reflected in the agendas of both Republican and Democratic candidates.

I've glanced over their suggestions, and it looks for the most part like solid, detail-oriented work. They make sensible suggestions, they provide reasonably clear cost estimates, and they give realistic assessments of what constituencies are likely to support and oppose particular measures.

This, of course, means that they're destined to be relegated to the bottom of "Quick Takes" lists and the equivalent, because thoughtful moderate education policy just doesn't sell. But if you're interested in actually improving education, rather than grandstanding about the need to improve education, they're worth a look.

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I hadn't yet seen this proposal. Thanks for drawing it to my attention. I strongly believe that nonpartisan reform is key to educational improvement, but as you suggested, moderation rarely sells. In the midst of tumultuous years of controversy surrounding No Child Left Behind, it seems educational organizations are increasingly rejecting national standardization and assessment and are looking for more involved, innovative, and hands on approaches to improving education. I find the emphasis on improved Pre-K education to be an essential and often overlooked part of the road to reform. I am glad they addressed this issue in addition to such problems as teacher education and hesitation of qualified individuals to enter low-paying teaching positions.