Education

All of America's children deserve a world-class public education in schools that are safe, well-staffed and well-equipped. Learning, in fact, should be a lifelong pursuit, starting in early childhood and continuing through college. At every stage, high-quality education must be accessible and affordable for all children, not dependent upon the economic status of their families. Leaders must focus on closing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

Take a look at the education positions of the 2008 presidential candidates.

John McCain (R)

McCain's support of school vouchers, which use public education funds to help families pay for private school tuition, has earned a Club for Growth seal of approval:

John McCain's record on school choice is very good. He has consistently supported school choice programs, voting for a Washington, D.C., school voucher program in 1997 and a trial voucher program in 2001 as an amendment to the No Child Left Behind Act. In 1999, he boldly proposed an amendment to authorize $1.8 billion a year for three years to establish a pilot school voucher program, paid for by the elimination of subsidies for ethanol, oil, gas, and sugar. In a speech two months later, he eloquently argued that "our children deserve the best education we can provide to them, whether that learning takes place in a public, private, or parochial school. It's time to give middle- and lower-income parents the same right wealthier families have—to send their child to the school that best meets their needs."

Barack Obama (D)

A supporter of public education reform, Obama has introduced three education bills in attempts to narrow the education gap for students of color, reward innovative classroom reform and make college more affordable. Additionally, he praises publicly funded programs such as Head Start for early childhood development. (Campaign website)

In a speech to the 2005 graduating class at Knox College, Obama discussed his belief in public education as a societal responsibility and common good:

"It has been the creation of a massive middle class, through decent wages and benefits and public schools—that has allowed all of us to prosper. Our economic dominance has depended on individual initiative and belief in the free market; but it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, the idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity—that has produced our unrivaled political stability." (Knox College commencement, 6/4/05)

At the July 2007 meeting of the National Education Association, Obama endorsed higher teacher salaries and more support for inner-city and rural schools. He also suggested merit pay for teachers.

"The most controversial aspect of any discussion of teacher compensation is merit pay…and I know that folks here object to the idea properly that if you are being measured and paid simply by how the child is doing on a test without taking into account what that child is coming to the school with…if it's all based on assessments made on No Child Left Behind, then it's not fair to pay teachers who are pouring their heart out based on some of these arbitrary measures…What I want to do is work with teachers, and where we can work with teachers to come up with ways to set those kinds of professional standards, then I want to be part of that process. But I'm not going to do it to you; I'm going to do it with you." (MSNBC, 7/5/07)