Clinton, Obama Share Answers on Education Campaign Differences Require Close Study
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By JOHN MARTIN, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7594 or martinj@courierpress.com
On education policy issues, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama would appear to have more similarities than differences.
Both, for example, support expanding preschool programs nationwide, and both have proposals to make attending college more affordable.
And both are critical of No Child Left Behind, the sweeping education legislation signed into law by President Bush in 2001, labeling it an underfunded mandate.
Clinton voted for the legislation in the Senate, but at her campaign rally Tuesday night in Princeton, Ind., she said she would end the law and forge "a different kind of partnership" between the federal government, states and local schools.
She said the federal law "has turned (students) into little test takers and turned teachers into little test givers."
Obama, on his campaign Web site, stops short of calling for an end to No Child Left Behind, but he says it must be changed.
Obama "believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner," according to the Web site.
No Child Left Behind is up for renewal by Congress, but action is unlikely until next year.
Obama vows to "improve (the No Child Left Behind) accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them."
Both candidates want to expand preschool access by offering grants to help states move toward voluntary, universal programs. They have similar plans to recruit and retain teachers and tackle high school dropout rates.
Clinton told her Princeton audience that she will end the Free Application for Student Financial Aid. Obama also wants to eliminate the form.
Clinton supports creating a $3,500 college tax credit and increasing the maximum Pell Grant.
Obama's plan calls for a "universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans."
(c) 2008 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Evansville Courier & Press
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