President Clinton recently presented a 10-point plan titled "Call to Action for American Education" that outlines proposals aimed at improving education from early childhood to college and graduate school. The President expressed his commitment to providing the best education in the world during his annual State of the Union Address. In his fiscal 1998 budget plan, he proposed significant funding increases for student aid, school reform, and other Department of Education programs.
The President’s budget proposal and State of the Union speech demonstrate his strong focus on education for his second term. A quarter of his hourlong speech was dedicated to his education proposals. The day after his speech, the President traveled to Georgia to highlight the state’s academic standards and commend its scholarship program, which serves as the basis for his tax incentives for higher education. He emphasized the importance of the American people accepting the challenge to make American education the best in the world and striving for higher standards.
One of the most audacious proposals in the plan is the creation of voluntary tests in reading and mathematics to assess whether students are meeting national standards of excellence. President Clinton also intends to allocate $105 million to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to support its goal of certifying 100,000 teachers as masters in their profession by 2006.
Another component of the plan includes tax incentives to assist families in financing college expenses, subsidies to offset interest costs for school construction, trained volunteers to help young children with reading, character education to foster good citizenship, funding for new charter schools to promote competition among public schools, vouchers for unemployed workers to use for job training, and increased federal technology spending to connect every school to the Internet.
While the administration enthusiastically endorsed this ambitious agenda, Republican leaders in Congress, whose support is crucial in passing these proposals, expressed reservations. They particularly disagreed with the President’s call for a national crusade for education standards and a federally-led effort to develop new tests. Republican leaders, such as Rep. Robert L. Livingston and Rep. Bill Goodling, emphasized the importance of providing resources to teachers in the classroom rather than relying on federal control.
The President’s focus on national academic standards reopens the debate about the role of the federal government in determining the content of education. This will be an ongoing discussion between the administration and Republican leaders in the coming years.
"We must begin by acknowledging the fundamental principle that there ought to be national standards of excellence in education," stated Mr. Clinton during his speech at Augusta State University on February 5th. He was quick to clarify that he would not undermine the authority of state and local policymakers to set curricula. However, since the basics of reading and math are universally applicable, what is taught in schools across the nation should reflect that notion. "Algebra is the same in Georgia as it is in Utah," he emphasized.
Detailed Testing Plan
To evaluate whether students meet these standards, the Department of Education would administer 90-minute assessments based on the reading test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the math section of the Third International Math and Science Study, explained Marshall S. Smith, the undersecretary of education. States would have the option to decide whether or not to participate. Last week, Mr. Smith confirmed that the initial round of tests would be available in 1999 and would be provided to school districts for free that year. In the subsequent years, states and schools would be responsible for a fee of approximately $5 per student to partake in the assessments. This year, the department is prepared to allocate $7 million for development costs and anticipates requesting similar funds from Congress over the next few years. The objective is for every student in the United States to perform at or above the basic level on the NAEP reading test. However, only 60 percent of those assessed achieved this level in the most recent test conducted in 1994.
While some congressional Republicans expressed skepticism regarding the extensive plan, administration officials were encouraged by the endorsement from Governor John Engler of Michigan, an influential Republican figure on education matters. "This is good news," stated Pat Marsserant, a spokesperson for Governor Engler, following the president’s speech. The proposed national assessments would provide Michigan officials with a means to compare the progress of their students against their peers nationwide and globally, a measurement that Governor Engler has long advocated.
Ambitious Plan for Teachers
Regarding the teaching aspect, Mr. Clinton proposed allocating $105 million over the next five years to assist the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in certifying 100,000 master teachers within the next decade. "In order to have the best schools, we must have the best teachers," he emphasized. The additional funding would enable the private project based in Southfield, Michigan to handle the workload of teachers they aim to certify by 2006. Currently, only 511 teachers have successfully completed the rigorous certification process. While Mr. Clinton’s request would not cover the entire $2,000 fee that each candidate must pay the board for administering and scoring the assessments, it would provide incentives for states and districts to contribute to the cost.
In addition to these major points on his education agenda, Mr. Clinton had previously announced the basic structure and certain details either during his re-election campaign or through specific announcements since then. He reiterated his desire to recruit 100,000 college students as part of a team of 1 million volunteer reading tutors in elementary schools. Mr. Clinton’s proposal for tax incentives to assist families in paying for college tuition remains largely unchanged since its announcement. Likewise, his plans to subsidize school construction with $5 billion, which the administration estimates would generate $20 billion in construction over the next four years, remain consistent.
