Politics+of+Ed+Reform

= Policies and Programs of the Federal Government in the Department of Education = -Kelsea Adams, Kelley Carpenter, Kathryn Lyons

I. Description of Problem or Issue
Lead Editor: Kelley Carpenter

As a group, we decided to take a look at the politics and policies behind education that stemmed from presidential candidates and the much debated Department of Education. We looked at what the Department of Education was, what the views of the candidates for the 2012 election were, and what the educational policies of the past two president's were (No Child Left Behind for George W. Bush, Race to the Top for Barack H. Obama). One of us focused on defining the Department of Education and exploring the policies of four candidates: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson; another focused on the NCLB act, and our final group member investigated how RTTT and how it is affecting students currently.

// **The Department of Education** // is the United States federal department is responsible for enacting and overseeing federal programs having to do with education--this includes federal aid to Universities, and their students, for higher learning. The department was created 1979. Barack Obama represented the ** //Democratic Party// ** ; Mitt Romney represented the // **Republican Party** // ; Jill Stein was the // **Green Party** // candidate; and Gary Johnson ran for the // **Libertarian Party** //.

// **No Child Left Behind** // was Bush's core educational policy. It instilled statewide testing, with the hopes that this will promote accountability and eventually force all schools to teach at the same level and have all students learn and have an equal shot. The act, however, has repeatedly been accused of making students a number on a spreadsheet, forcing teaching to the test regardless of actual learning, and has been widely viewed as a failure because it failed to implement ways to help struggling schools achieve standards that were set.

// **Race to the Top** // is Obama's core educational policy currently. It focuses on rewarding schools for doing well, revamping and even axing schools that are under-performing, and funding programs state's propose with the promise of a certain amount of improvement on state or federal tests.

These issues are at the heart of education reform. These programs and their effectiveness (or lack thereof) will shape the future of education in the United States of America. Schools have all made an effort to bid for federal funding from programs such as RTTT, and will continue to attempt to reach the goals and deadlines of federal mandate. But are they getting the help they need?

The Rhode Island Strategic Plan is clearly in line with RTTT, vowing to hold schools accountable for student learning via tests, as well as asserting that failing schools must not be allowed to exist.

II. Relevance of Problem or Issue in Rhode Island Schools
Lead Editor: Kathryn Lyons

In August 2010, the U.S. Department of Education announced that Rhode Island was a winner of a $75-million Race to the Top grant. "Authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Race to the Top Assessment Program provides funding to consortia of States to develop assessments that are valid, support and inform instruction, provide accurate information about what students know and can do, and measure student achievement against standards designed to ensure that all students gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the workplace. These assessments are intended to play a critical role in educational systems; provide administrators, educators, parents, and students with the data and information needed to continuously improve teaching and learning; and help meet the President's goal of restoring, by 2020, the nation's position as the world leader in college graduates." (ed.gov/racetothetop)

== III. Relevance of Problem or Issue to the Charter Schools Movement == Lead Editor: Kelsea Adams

The issue of the Federal Government's programs and policies in the Department of Education are relevant to the charter schools movement because it seems that many traditional public schools are being replaced with charters. Many parents and members of schools district communities are not happy with the current and past policies of the Federal Government in the Department of Education. They want their children to receive a well-rounded education filled with the core subjects as well as art, music, history, physical education, health, etc. The programs and policies of the Federal Government such as "No Child Left Behind" and "Race to the Top" are putting too much stress on school districts to perform well on standardized tests. The schools districts in return want to keep their funding from the Federal Government and therefore focus solely on these core subjects on the standardized tests. These unhappy parents want their children to be prepared for society and not just to ace a standardized test for the school district. By attending a charter school, students will be able to think creatively and innovatively, rather than drilling these topics and how to fill in a bubble. In general, these trends affect the enrollment in public schools, the curriculum, the staff and the general way things are run in public schools.

IV. Research Summary
Lead Editor: Kelsea Adams

After doing our individual research, we can all come together as a team to properly understand the policies and programs of the Federal Government in the Department of Education. We individually researched "No Child Left Behind", "Race to the Top" and political candidates and their policies towards education. We found more information about these topics and if they have been effective in the U.S. or what affects they've had on student learning. Concluding our research, we can make an informative discussion on how the Federal Government's programs and policies affect student learning both negatively and positively.

V. Group Product Overview
In our presentation, we will first be presenting our research in an open discussion. Afterwards, we will be implementing two activities that demonstrate the topics we have just discussed with the class. The first activity is a questionnaire with five questions revolving around a similar topic, getting increasingly difficult. As the students answer the question, they will be writing their answer on a piece of paper, which will be checked. If they get the answer correct, they will receive a tally check on the board and a hint for the next question. If they get the answer wrong, they will not get a tally check or a hint for the next question. As the quiz goes on, depending how many tally checks you receive, is the amount of hints you get for the next question. This quiz represents the achievement gap of students and schools getting larger and larger, because if you don't learn the first basic concepts,such as 2+2, you will never be able to completely advance to the next concept such as division. The hints represent the differentiating gap and the money needed to advance to the next level. The second activity is another questionnaire with five questions revolving around a similar topic, getting increasingly difficult. The students will each be given five m&m's, and as they answer the questions correctly they will be rewarded with another m&m. If they answer the question incorrectly they will lose an m&m. This represents the Federal Government bribing the schools with money to receive high standardized test scores. If you do not reach the required standards, you will not be awarded with money and you will lose funding.

VII. Research Questions and Reference Summaries
Lead Editor: Kelley Carpenter


 * || **Research Question** || **Researcher** ||
 * 1. || How effective has No Child Left Behind been in the U.S.? || Kelsea Adams ||
 * 2. || How effective has Race to the Top been in the U.S.? || Kathryn Lyons ||
 * 3. || How has or might each candidates policies on education affected student learning? || Kelley Carpenter ||

VIII. Group Reaction/Opinion(s) about Issue
Lead Editor: Kathryn Lyons

Our reaction about No Child Left Behind, Race To the Top and the Education system has not been very effective for the student's learning and is not giving students the adequate skills they need to go to college and get a job when they are out. It is easy to play the "game" in school which is to just get good grades and then later on forget about the material, however, it is the absolute downfall of the American education system. There has been enough evidence that Bush's No Child Left Behind was not an effective program, and Obama's redirection in his Race to the Top program and has not been very effective either. I understand he is trying to redirect the education system and its focuses, but giving out a a federal grant as some sort of motivational tactic for children to work harder will make richer schools even better, and poor schools fall behind. It is great that almost any school can apply for the federal grant as long as they know they can meet the academic standards. However, it is too optimistic to think that children will be motivated by a grant given to their school, I am sure most students do not care for their schools to have more money for more resources if they do not already.