She Said, She Said

It's been largely absent from every public debate in the 2008 presidential primary, much to the chagrin of educators, parents, and advocates, but last week education got front-page treatment by the presumptive presidential nominees. Not the candidates themselves exactly. Rather, the senior education advisers for Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama focused on the issue to the Association of Educational Publishers' Great American Education Forum in Washington, D.C.

Under questioning from a panel of journalists, policy wonks, and advocates (including NEA's own Joel Packer) the McCain camp's Lisa Graham Keegan and Obama proxy Jeanne Century outlined their candidates' positions on everything from No Child Left Behind to merit pay.

And what of NCLB? Keegan, the former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, said it is "immoral" if teachers are waiting for the threat of sanctions to compel them to focus on reading and math. She added that teachers should be worried about teaching a rich curriculum, not worrying about teaching to the test. "Let's not talk about No Child Left Behind," Keegan told the audience. "Let's talk about our work. Take it off the table." Century, director of the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education, countered that she doesn't "know any teacher who teaches reading and math because they'll be penalized. They teach reading and math because it's part of their full rich curriculum."

Here's what else they said:

* In response to Packer's lightning-round question about whether their candidates support or oppose federal vouchers for private schools, Keegan said McCain is "supportive of choice at the state level." Century replied simply, "opposed."

* Asked about merit pay, Century said Obama is "against traditional merit pay that ties individual teacher pay to student outcome." He wants to collaborate with teacher organizations and school districts to come up with alternatives, such as paying teachers for being leaders or mentors, or attaining additional education that displays deeper knowledge of their subject area. Keegan said that McCain favors an "innovative compensation system" that rewards teachers "for classroom excellence." But she would not specify if that meant student test scores. Stakeholders would have to define what classroom excellence meant, she said.

Asked to give a final soundbite about their candidates, Keegan and Century offered starkly different blurbs. Said Keegan of McCain: "He does not care if you don't agree with him," pointing to McCain's stance on immigration reform, which brought considerable criticism from those in his own party. Century focused on Obama's desire to "absolutely confront the barriers in education."

To read more for yourself about Obama and McCain's education policies and voting records, head to Education Votes.