Next Bunch of Obama Education Reforms to Offer More Carrots

Patrice Wingert:

When the Obama administration first proposed having states duke it out for a share of a $4 billion education-reform fund, critics expected the whole enterprise to either be largely ignored or dissolve into political infighting. But instead, the Race to the Top competition has proved so successful in motivating states to accelerate their education-reform efforts that the administration has new plans to offer such competitions on an annual basis. President Obama will also announce tonight that the Department of Education will be offering a new competition to push states to create more and better preschool programs. During a briefing Tuesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that the country doesn’t “need any more studies” to prove that high-quality preschool education can significantly close the achievement gap between rich and poor. Instead, he said, the country just needs to offer such programs to more kids. The president “wants to dramatically increase access and give kids a level playing field,” Duncan said. “If kids don’t come to school ready to learn and ready to read, it’s very tough for even the best kindergarten teachers to close that gap.” During the presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly promised that he would expand early education programs but has focused little attention on the issue during his first year.