Obama and education

The following information was obtained through education.com. Next up in my look through the candidates and their viewpoints on various aspects of education is Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA
In General Senator Obama recently announced an $18 billion plan to enhance early childhood education, improve the dropout prevention rate and provide teacher incentives. Obama has tried to use his comparative inexperience with Washington politics to his benefit, promising to take a fresh, objective look at the age-old debate over education issues. “A truly historic commitment to education – a real commitment – will require new resources and new reforms,” Obama says. “It will require a willingness to break free from the same debates that Washington has been engaged in for decades – Democrat versus Republican; vouchers versus the status quo; more money versus more accountability. And most of all, it will take a President who is honest about the challenges we face – who doesn’t just tell everyone what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.” Where does Obama stand specifically on the most pressing education issues? Let's take a look:
Standardized Testing
Standardized testing is stuck in the crossfire in the debate over accountability, and Obama has stepped up to take aim. He says that too often standardized tests fail to provide valuable or timely feedback. Meanwhile, “creativity has been drained from classrooms, as too many teachers are forced to teach to fill-in-the-bubble tests,” Obama says. While we do need some form of assessment, he says those tests should be measuring what is valuable for students to learn. “I will provide funds for states to implement a broader range of assessments that can evaluate higher-order skills, including students’ abilities to use technology, conduct research, engage in scientific investigation, solve problems, present and defend their ideas."
School Choice
Obama says his focus is on providing good schools for all kids, and that's why he does not support vouchers that allow parents to use public school money for private school. “We need to invest in our public schools and strengthen them, not drain their fiscal support,” he says. “In the end, vouchers would reduce the options available to children in need. I fear these children would truly be left behind in a private market system.” Obama is more open to charter schools working within the public school system, calling them “important innovators” which improve healthy competition among public schools. However, Obama says there needs to be strong accountability measures in place.

No Child Left Behind
Obama's catch phrase for this topic is, “ No Child Left Behind left the money behind,” meaning that unfulfilled funding promises have limited the program's effectiveness in improving public education. He says that the design of the law is also flawed; there needs to be better assessment and a greater effort to ensure that every child has a successful teacher. “Particularly at a time when our nation is facing a shortage in teachers due to retirement and retention problems, it is important to ensure that we can attract, support, and retain high-quality teachers,” he says. How does Obama propose we do this? By experimenting with alternative preparation, mentoring and professional development programs, in addition to providing fresh incentives for serving high-need schools. Specifically, he plans to provide funding for 200 new Teacher Residency Programs, an idea he introduced in the Senate last year. In these programs, individuals completing coursework for teacher certification could serve as apprentices in the classrooms of veteran teachers, as long as they pledged at least three years of service in the sponsoring district.

College Funding and Affordability
America lags behind many nations in the world when it comes to making college affordable. How does Obama plan to get us caught up with the rest of the world? The solution, he says, lies in his American Opportunity Tax Credit. “This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university,” he says. “And by making the tax credit fully refundable, my credit will help low-income families that need it the most.” Obama says he also plans to free up more money for aid by using public instead of privately funded loan providers.

Universal Preschool
The first step in closing the achievement gap is making sure that children are prepared when they start school, according to Obama. And that, he says, means providing funding for voluntary, universal preschool programs . “Research shows that early experiences shape whether a child's brain develops strong skills for future learning, behavior and success. Without a strong base on which to build, children, particularly disadvantaged children, will be behind long before they reach kindergarten,” he says, adding that investing in early learning makes economic sense, as it can reduce the need for costly services, such as special education.

Obama says his education plans reflect a desire to “give every American child the chance to receive the best education America has to offer – from the moment they’re born to the day they graduate college.” And he says he would put the full resources of the federal government behind this plan. The big question for all the candidates is whether their plans can become realties, and, no matter how many bullet points they lay down or speeches they make, the answer ultimately lies in the hands of voters.
Alright, so my impressions are: Obama has good ideas in regards to fixing standardized testing and what standardized testing means, college affordability, and how the 'No Child Left Behind' Act really isn't doing much, but he really doesn't have any realistic means to bring change about (especially for a candidate whose campaign slogan promises change). He skirts the issues of school of choice and universal preschool, giving a lot of information that is pretty unrelated. Overall, I would say Obama is a victim of exactly what is doesn't want to be: a candidate who says the things that sound best to Americans. If he had realistic plans to back up some of his ideas, he may be worth a vote.