Checker Finn has mixed feelings about K-12 education remarks in the SOTU.
On primary and secondary education, as on most topics, Mr. Obama stayed at 30,000 feet in his speech last night. The main themes he sounded, however, are fine: Use federal education dollars to reward success, not failure; apply Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s “race to the top” reform priorities to the megabucks Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and keep a “competitive” element in this, rather than simply distributing dollars via formula. All these things are extremely hard to do, but all are worth doing.
He also comments on more specific education policy initiatives added to the White House blog shortly after the SOTU.
The bottom line is that education reform will be one of Obama’s domestic policy priorities in 2010.
