Our Insights: Education by Paul Massey, A New Congress, November 10, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 In 2010, education was very much a part of the national conversation, fueled in part by the ups and downs of high-profile reformers such as D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the release of Davis Guggenheim's documentary Waiting for Superman, about the current state of public education. States struggled with crushing budget deficits, impacting funding for education; while at the same time they grappled with how to recruit, assess and retain high quality teachers.

In Washington, legislators' most significant education accomplishment was the passage of the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act, which invested in college aid, expanded access to student loans and eliminated subsidies for private bank lenders. Community colleges found themselves a vocal champion in the White House for their role in helping people build new skills and acquire job training—critical for people navigating high U.S. unemployment rates.

So what happens now? Will the focus on education as a national policy priority continue in light of the midterm election results? With the debut of a new Republican majority in the House, likely led by Speaker Boehner, there's unlikely to be fast – if any – action on education. After all, the Republican Pledge to America contains no discussion of education. Instead, as the Chronicle of Higher Education recently predicted, the focus is like to be on cutting government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, which will likely result in cuts in education funding – and specifically, funding for additional Pell Grants, a federal program that provides need-based grants to low-income students.

The White House, for its part, may view this as an opportunity to pursue bi-partisan collaboration on education policy, perhaps hoping to catch lightening in a bottle again, as in 2001, when bi-partisan efforts led to the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Yet, practically speaking, it's unlikely that much will be accomplished on reauthorization of this law given concerns by many constituencies over the structure and complexity of complying with the law. It also stands to reason that the Tea Party's interest in reducing the size of the federal government may also slow Republican efforts on NCLB, also known as the Elementary & Secondary Education Act. Similarly, President Obama's Race to the Top grant program, which has been championed by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, will likely be confronted with limited funding to sustain its grants to state reform efforts.

With all of these developments, and the improbability of significant federal action on education policy, close observers will turn their eyes toward state and local efforts to press education reform. Teacher quality will continue to be a front-burner issue, particularly with efforts of private funders such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support innovative pilot projects to measure and support quality teachers.