Neither political party has an 'education' message worth hearing

The critical issues of teaching, learning, assessments, and academic outcomes get less attention with each election.

Who has a better message about education for voters, Democrats or Republicans?

My friend Ravi Gupta has a piece you should read that answers this question. He gives an edge to the GOP, who he says are taking on the role of change agents while Democrats become the party of the status quo.

I’m not so sure, but I’m considering his point.

Before I say more, I offer a qualification. I voted twice for Ralph Nader, I volunteered for Jesse Ventura's Minnesota campaign for governor, and the only two political parties I've ever been a sustaining member of are the Libertarian Party and the Green Party.

I'm not afraid of long shots and contrarian opinions. I hate conventional wisdom, especially when it comes from the duopoly.

That said, here are some main points I gleaned from Ravi’s piece:

• He predicts the 2024 presidential election will be a significant education-focused election.

• Recent polls show that parents are dissatisfied with the U.S. education system, with only 7% rating it as excellent and 22% rating it as poor.

• On the GOP side:

  • Republicans are running as change agents, advocating for private school choice, weakening tenure protections, and promoting a Parent's Bill of Rights.

  • They aim to allow parents to “take back control” of their kids' education from "radical leftists."

  • And they are promoting their historic expansion of Education Savings Accounts to allow every family to access the best schools.

• On the Democrat's side:

  • Democrats are defending the status quo and offering incremental improvements, such as expanding pre-K, increasing teacher pay, and reducing student debt.

  • They traditionally have an advantage on education issues, but their narrative needs to be more grounded and compelling.

  • And they should feel some urgency to start telling a clear, compelling, and coordinated story about our kids' future.

My quick response to these points:

First, I don’t believe in education-motivated voters. We want to believe Americans care enough about education as much as advocates do. They don’t.

Second, we trust polls too much. I don't want to sound like your anti-science uncle, but even pollsters believe something is "broken" about polling. I concede that a little respect for reading the best polls can help to predict election victories, except when they don't.

Third, neither Democrats nor Republicans run on education anymore. Gone are the days of bipartisan belief in systemic change based on evidence and data about what is working and what is not. Neither is engaging the public in a big vision of what it will take to raise a post-pandemic generation of learners who hit a high watermark of literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking.

I'll take these three points in order.

Are there really any education voters?

The education commentariat tells us a critical mass of voters cares so much about school choice and education policy that it swings elections.

They said Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis owes his 2018 win to nonwhite moms supportive of school choice.

Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin owes his political win to white moms’ alienation by the public education blob.

Both stories are oversimplified and perfectly tailored for education advocates who need wishful thinking.

I wish the public - especially the voting public - cared more about education - enough to punish political candidates with threadbare education plans, but have you noticed that nobody wants to be the “education president” anymore. Both sides have abandoned all accountability for a system that produces results.

Perhaps it’s because when you ask Americans what’s important, education tumbles down the list of priorities.

Look at this Pew Research Center from 2022, which is the most hopeful of the polls I’ve seen. It shows that education is a top concern after the economy, health care, and coronavirus.

But, looking at Gallup polling that ranks more issues, education falters.

See:

While American students fell massively behind in school due to the pandemic, and many graduates seem to need more critical thinking skills, education is not a top priority right now.

The flailing of right-wingers about “parents’ rights” and the left’s bourgeois tantrum about student loan debt make it seem like there is fire for our issue, but it seems like a candle in the wind.

Of course, I wish there were more single-issue education voters, and I wish there were greater public curiosity about what gets schools from good to great.

I wish.

Polls are not the gods we think they are

People talk about polls much like my cousin, who smokes too much weed, talks about horoscopes.

My email inbox is filled each week with polls traded from left, right, and center, and after reading them along with the commentary of their senders, I'm convinced you can make them say whatever you want.

While we talk about the certainty of things we learn from polls, perplexing questions remain because of the difference between what people tell pollsters and what they do in real life.

People of color support school choice. They vote for people who kill school choice.

Even white Republican voters who are the most agreeable to choice vote for GOP candidates who slow-walk or block choice proposals.

White liberal parents highly value integration and diversity, yet they often select schools with the least diversity.

Americans express dissatisfaction with the education system overall but cling to their local public schools with the religiosity of a nun.

Finally, even if polling is solid, how small is our vision for education if we are guided by the largely uninformed whims of people we gather through surveys?

The missing education agenda

My bottom line is that I’m sick of the left-right dumb duopoly, and I’m reading for a science-based third option to their lack of vision. As a Nader and Ventura guy, I’d love to tell you this is a space for Andrew Yang and the Forward Party to gain ground.

Stop rolling your eyes.

I wish the adults of years ago who were able to occupy a rare middle space long enough to form a shared pursuit of better student achievement for all could return from exile.

The Democrats and Republicans have developed allergies to school reform, education data, assessments, and equal accountability for inputs and outcomes. Some states are doing good things on these fronts, but their politicians aren’t running on those unsexy issues.

That’s a shame.

We need a nonpartisan education agenda that isn’t based on what polls tell us wins in the next election. It could include several key areas of improvement.

First and foremost, there could be a focus on remaking the systems that prepare and support teachers, from induction to embedded professional development opportunities, and with competitive salaries.

Additionally, focusing on an evidence-based curriculum could ensure that students receive high-quality instruction backed by research. The use of assessments, data, and outcomes could also play a strong role in shaping policies, as these tools can provide valuable insights into student progress and inform instructional decisions.

Finally, logical pathways that allow students to pursue their interests and lead to either college or career readiness could help to ensure that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs and goals. By coming together to support these key areas, policymakers from both sides of the aisle could help to build a stronger, more equitable education system that benefits students, families, and communities across the country.