EducationDevolution at its finest.

Historical Federal Policy The official Department of Education

website reads “Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. ”

However, Federal funding does make up about 10.8% of school funding.

Judicial Policymaking Actions

The Judicial Branch’s main influence in Education has been in ruling in cases such as Brown v. Board, guaranteeing no segregation in schools, as well as in cases such as Morse v. Fredrick, questioning what rights students have in school.

Executive Policymaking Actions

The Executive Policy is generally shaped through what they encourage to be passed into law and what they veto/don’t veto.

One example of this type of encouragement is this year’s State of the Union, where Obama made Education a central focus of the speech.

Legislative Policymaking Actions

The majority of federal effects on education come from the legislative branch

The legislative branch writes into law the 10.8% of public school funding that comes from the federal government.

They also establish programs such as the Child Nutrition Program, which is what sets up school lunchrooms.

Role of Non-Governmental Groups

First, many teachers are unionized, resulting in the formation of a large group which can, and does influence policy.

Second, the AEA is an interest group designed to represent teachers.

Impact of Policymaking The most obvious impact of

Education Policy is in our international testing. We test lower than other countries, and policies aim to fix that.

The long term impact of Education policy is that it creates a stronger economy by inducing innovation.

Current Status of Policy Decisions

A large number of policies are being slashed in an attempt to cut the federal budget.

No Child Left Behind is widely considered a failure, and likely will fade out soon.

Analysis of Current Policy The majority of current incentives within

the education system will and do miserably fail.

No Child Left Behind hasn’t shown a proven increase in standards overall.

Race to the Top is so limited in scope, and doesn’t actually reward the correct things.

Our students still don’t do near as well as other countries on international tests.

Solutions to Current Flaws The major solutions have to work out

two major problems. First, they must better the quality of teachers, and second, they must have students at school prepared to learn.

The Sudbury Valley School, as intriguing as it might sound to pop psychologists, is not a sufficient solution beyond the age of 7.

Solutions for Teachers The primary solution to the problem with

teachers is to increase incentives to become a teacher so that there isn’t a shortage, meaning they could fire underqualified, as well as flat out bad teachers.

In other words, teachers need to be better paid, even if this means cutting tenure, and accountability needs to be raised to eliminate bad teachers.

Solutions for Students The reason why underprivileged

students tend to do worse than those from wealthier neighborhoods is that their parents aren’t present.

Unless you can change the culture of lower income neighborhoods to raise parent presence, they’re stuck.

You can, however, offer monetary incentives to parents whose students excel.