1. Politics in States and Communities (15 Ed.)
Thomas Dye and Susan MacManus

2. The Politics of Education
Chapter 16
The Politics of Education

3. Learning Objectives Describe the three main goals in education policy.
Discuss the various educational performance measures, and assess the quality of student outcomes in the United States.
Analyze the effectiveness of efforts to reform education through increased spending, magnet schools, and charter schools.
Explain how school vouchers work, evaluate the arguments for and against them, and describe how voters and the courts have reacted to voucher programs.
Explain how virtual schools work, and evaluate the arguments for and against them.
Outline the Common Core educational standards that have been adopted by most states.
Trace the expansion of federal involvement in education policy, and describe the financial contributions for education by federal, state, and local governments.
Discuss the core features of No Child Left Behind and the Obama administration’s position on the law.
Describe Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, and contrast it with George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind.
Outline the organizational structure that states have developed to provide public education, and describe the financial contributions states provide to local school districts.
Describe the inequality in “per student” school funding across states and school districts, evaluate why such inequalities exist, and assess the impact of these inequalities on educational outcomes.
Outline the decision-making processes used in school districts, and assess the impact of teachers unions on these processes.
Describe the reach of higher education in the United States, the organizational structure of the higher education system, and the policies enacted by both federal and state governments to fund higher education and student loans.
Evaluate the arguments for and against public support for private schools, discuss the constitutional limits on such support as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court, and summarize the current status of prayer in public schools.
Outline the challenges schools face in protecting students from criminals and bullies while at school.
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4. Goals in Educational Policy
Educating Citizens
Advancing Social Goals
Strengthening the Economy
Inputs – Measures of resources expended on education
Outputs – Measures of what pupils are learning
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5. Educational Performance Measurement
Educational Attainment
The Dropout Rate
Event Dropouts
Status Dropouts
High School Graduation Rate
SAT Scores: Verbal, math, and writing scores obtained on the national College Board Scholastic Assessment Test, required for admission to many colleges and universities
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6. Educational Attainment by Race
[Note that the top chart has an obvious error in the high school graduation rate for Blacks in 2008; the correct figure (from Table 229) is 83.0, not 19.6.]
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7. SAT Score Trends
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8. Average SAT Scores by Race/Ethnicity
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9. Educational Performance
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10. Educational Reform
Sociologist James Coleman demonstrated that pupil expenditures, teacher salaries, classroom size, facilities, and materials were unrelated to student achievement.
Educational Spending
Magnet Schools: Schools emphasizing instruction in particular areas in an effort to improve quality and attract students.
Charter Schools: Schools operated with public funds by private community groups under a charter from public school districts or other granting agency.
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11. The Debate over School Vouchers
The Pro-Voucher Argument
Opposition to Vouchers
Voters Reject Vouchers
Vouchers as a Constitutional Issue
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12. Virtual Schools
A school where classes are taught entirely through online methods which can be attended by the student at any location by logging on to their computers and receiving instructions over the Internet.
Two formats:
Fully online classes: All course instruction and activities are completed via computer.
Blended learning classes: Virtual school courses that combine in-person and online instruction.
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13. The Common Core State Standards Initiative
The governors and the state education commissioners, through the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, worked together to create a set of common standards in English Language arts (writing, speaking and listening, language) and mathematics to be used at the K-12 level to prepare students for success in college, work, and life.
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14. The Federal Role in Education
Early Federal Aid
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I) – The Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act later amended into a federal block grant (Title I) to states to improve education.
Head Start
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15. Sources of Funds for Public Education in the United States
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16. No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Testing
Parental Choice
State Flexibility
Controversy
No Child Left Behind Waivers
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17. Obama’s Education Agenda
Race to the Top
Tying teacher and principal pay to student test scores
Adopting international benchmark standards and assessments
Finding effective programs to turn around failing schools
Building data systems that measure student success and track students throughout their educational career
Loosening legal requirements for charter schools
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18. Organizing Public Education in the States
State Supervision
State Boards of Education
State Commissioners of Education
State Departments of Education
School District Consolidation
State Financial Control
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19. Battles Over School Finances
Variation among states: In 2012, per pupil expenditures ranged from $6,683 in Arizona to $18,616 in New York
Inequalities among school districts: Funding usually linked to property taxes, which vary widely
School inequalities as a Constitutional issue: Supreme Court ruled that a state does not have to equalize its educational resources
State funds versus local property taxes: A problem of equity
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20. Financing Public Schools
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21. Governing Local Schools
The school district superintendents: Are usually professionally trained educators, either appointed or elected
School boards: 90,000 people serve on them, though disproportionately from “educational families”
Teachers unions: Most of the nation’s 4 million teachers are organized, into either the NEA or the AFT
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22. The Politics of Higher Education
Community Colleges
University Governance
University Presidents
The Faculty
The Unions
State Legislatures
Federal Role
Federal Student Aid
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23. Higher Education in America
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24. Reading, Writing, and Religion
“Free Exercise” and Private Religious Schools
The Meaning of “No Establishment”
Support for Public Aid to Religious Schools
Opposition to Public Aid to Religious Schools
“Excessive Entanglement” and the “Lemon Test”
Prayer in the Schools
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25. New Challenge: Creating Safe Learning Environments
Making schools a safe learning environment has become a very difficult but vital task for state lawmakers, local school officials, and college and university administrators.
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26. Bullying Is a Problem that Spans across Demographics
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27. On the Web
The National Education Association
The American Association of School Administrators
U.S. Department of Education
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