Minnesota School Boards Association's director of communications, Greg Abbott, queried the Obama and McCain campaigns about the presidential candidates' stance on education.

In reply, Abbot received answers to his questions from the Obama campaign and excerpts from a John McCain speech to the NAACP. Here, in alphabetical order, are the two candidate's responses:

John McCain
Education should shake off old ways and reform
Delivered to the NAACP Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 16, 2008

Nowhere are the limitations of conventional thinking any more apparent than in education policy. After decades of hearing the same big promises from the public education establishment, and seeing the same poor results, it is surely time to shake off old ways and to demand new reforms. That isn't just my opinion; it is the conviction of parents in poor neighborhoods across this nation who want better lives for their children.

Just ask the families in New Orleans who will soon have the chance to remove their sons and daughters from failing schools, and enroll them instead in a school-choice scholarship program. That program in Louisiana was proposed by Democratic state legislators and signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal. Just three years after Katrina, they are bringing real hope to poor neighborhoods, and showing how much can be achieved when both parties work together for real reform. Or ask parents in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. whether they want more choices in education. The District's Opportunity Scholarship program serves more than 1,900 boys and girls from families with an average income of 23,000 dollars a year. And more than 7,000 more families have applied for that program. What they all have in common is the desire to get their kids into a better school.

Democrats in Congress, including my opponent, oppose the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. In remarks to the American Federation of Teachers last month, Senator Obama dismissed public support for private school vouchers for low-income Americans as, "tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice." All of that went over well with the teachers union, but where does it leave families and their children who are stuck in failing schools?

Over the years, Americans have heard a lot of "tired rhetoric" about education. We've heard it in the endless excuses of people who seem more concerned about their own position than about our children. We've heard it from politicians who accept the status quo rather than stand up for real change in our public schools. Parents ask only for schools that are safe, teachers who are competent, and diplomas that open doors of opportunity. When a public school fails, repeatedly, to meet these minimal objectives, parents ask only for a choice in the education of their children. Some parents may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private school. Many will choose a charter school. No entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that opportunity.

We should also offer more choices to those who wish to become teachers. Many thousands of highly qualified men and women have great knowledge, wisdom, and experience to offer public school students. But a monopoly on teacher certification prevents them from getting that chance. You can be a Nobel Laureate and not qualify to teach in most public schools today because they don't have all the proper credits in educational "theory" or "methodology." All they have is learning and the desire and ability to share it. If we're putting the interests of students first, then those qualifications should be enough.

If am elected president, school choice for all who want it, an expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, and alternative certification for teachers will all be part of a serious agenda of education reform. I will target funding to recruit teachers who graduate in the top 25 percent of their class, or who participate in an alternative teacher recruitment program such as Teach for America, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and the New Teacher Project.

We will pay bonuses to teachers who take on the challenge of working in our most troubled schools -- because we need their fine minds and good hearts to help turn those schools around. We will award bonuses as well to our highest-achieving teachers. And no longer will we measure teacher achievement by conformity to process. We will measure it by the success of their students.

Moreover, the funds for these bonuses will not be controlled by faraway officials -- in Washington, in a state capital, or even in a district office. Under my reforms, we will put the money and the responsibilities where they belong -- in the office of the school principal. One reason charter schools are so successful, and so sought after by parents, is that principals have spending discretion. And I intend to give that same discretion to public school principals. No longer will money be spent on rigid and often meaningless formulas. Relying on the good judgment and first-hand knowledge of school principals, education money will be spent in service to public school students.

Under my reforms, parents will exercise freedom of choice in obtaining extra help for children who are falling behind. As it is, federal aid to parents for tutoring for their children has to go through another bureaucracy. They can't purchase the tutoring directly, without dealing with the same education establishment that failed their children in the first place. These needless restrictions will be removed. If a student needs extra help, parents will be able to sign them up to get it, with direct public support.

Some of these reforms, and others, are contained in a Statement of Principles drafted by a group dedicated to finally changing the status quo in our education system. The Education Equality Project has brought together leaders from all across the political spectrum.

But one name is still missing, Senator Obama's. My opponent talks a great deal about hope and change, and education is as good a test as any of his seriousness. The Education Equality Project is a practical plan for delivering change and restoring hope for children and parents who need a lot of both. And if Senator Obama continues to defer to the teachers unions, instead of committing to real reform, then he should start looking for new slogans.

Barack Obama
Response to education questions, August 2008 (note that two questions are specific to Minnesota):

1. Did you vote to approve NCLB? What are your impressions of the law now? What is working? What needs fixing?

Sen. Obama was not in the Senate at the time NCLB was enacted. He favors overhauling NCLB so that problems associated with the law are remedied. He has said repeatedly that the goals of NCLB are the right ones; the problem has been structural flaws in the law's design, funding inadequacy, and ineffective implementation. Obama supports NCLB's emphasis on raising learning and achievement for all students, closing the achievement gap, and getting highly qualified teachers into every school and every classroom. At the same time, NCLB needs major revisions to make sure it focuses on the most important kinds of learning, accountability for improvement, and creates genuine educational opportunity for all our children.

Sen. Obama intends to reform NCLB so that it focuses on improving schools, rather than punishing them. He will do this by improving the law's accountability measure so that it better tracks continual student progress and by working with the states to develop higher quality and broader assessments. His focus is not rolling back the law's sanctions, but rather ensuring that we have better metrics to use before they are invoked. That's why it's important to fix how we are measuring AYP - so that schools are not being unfairly punished by measurements that do not take account, for instance, where a particular student started at the beginning of the year and whether the school achieved progress in moving students closer to proficiency targets. Similarly, Senator Obama believes that if we improve the assessments that states use so that they are testing for a broader range of skills and evidence of deeper learning, NCLB could lead to a more rigorous form of instruction in the classroom and a richer curriculum - instead of the "teaching to the test" and crowding out of other subjects that we've observed. Both of these improvements could lead to a NCLB that is closer to the original goals of the law: improving schools and raising student achievement for all kids.

2. The reauthorization of ESEA (NCLB) has funding targets written into the law. However, the federal government has not come close to matching those targets. Would you increase funding to match those funding levels. If not, what mandates in the law would you do away with to save schools the expense of complying with all the rules of NCLB?

Sen. Obama's education plan calls for an investment in a reformed NCLB and, unlike the Bush Administration, he is committed to funding the law.

3. What is your stance on vouchers? Do you favor expanding vouchers nationwide? How do you compensate for the loss of money to public schools if vouchers are expanded? Would you require voucher schools to meet the same NCLB requirements as public schools, even if they are private, religious schools?

Sen. Obama opposes school vouchers. He believes that we should commit to fixing and improving our public schools, rather than abandoning them and passing out vouchers. He supports public charter schools.

4. How did you vote on the most recent reauthorization of IDEA? What are your impressions of the law now? What is working? What needs fixing?

Sen. Obama was not in the Senate when IDEA was last authorized, but he has a strong record in support of funding increases for IDEA so that the federal government finally meets its commitment to this critical program.

5. Ever since IDEA was approved, the federal government has not come close to the 40 percent funding of the cost of special education mandates in that law. Would you increase money to meet those funding levels? If not, what mandates in the law would you do away with to save schools the expense of complying with all the rules of IDEA?

Congress promised to shoulder 40 percent of each state's "excess cost" of educating children with disabilities, but it has never lived up to this obligation. Currently, the federal government provides less than half of the promised funding (17 percent). In addition to fully funding IDEA, Obama will ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the Act.

6. If you had to name three people who might be in position to be the next Education Secretary, who would they be and what qualities and policies would you be looking for in your Education Secretary?

Sen. Obama believes that it is important that the Secretary of Education is, first and foremost, an accomplished individual in the education field. Someone who has widespread respect within the profession. And, importantly, someone who is willing to work with the teachers unions and who views unions as partners, not enemies. Senator Obama will also select someone who is forward thinking and willing to come up with new and innovative ideas.

7. In Minnesota, many of the sanctions from NCLB aren't helping the students the law is trying to help. Example: After two years of missing goals, schools must bus students to another school in the district that has met adequate yearly progress goals. But Minnesota has had open enrollment and charter schools for years, so hardly any students find this alternative attractive. Instead of a big stick approach, would you favor a carrot approach to NCLB? What incentives would you be willing to provide to help poor-performing schools help the lowest-achieving students?

In addition to reforming NCLB as noted above, Sen. Obama will provide funding for innovation at the local level that is designed to help high-needs schools raise student achievement. Under Obama's Career Ladder Initiative, districts will be able to design programs that give educators who serve as mentors to new teachers the salary increase they deserve. They'll be able to reward those who teach in underserved areas or take on added responsibilities. And if teachers learn new skills to serve students better, or if they consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

Obama also supports offering incentives to recruit teachers to shortage subject areas and to high-need school districts. As president, he will launch a Service Scholarship program that pays undergraduate or graduate teaching education costs for those who commit to teaching in a high-need school, and he will prioritize math and science teachers. His proposal to create Teacher Residency Academies will also add 30,000 new teachers to high-need schools.

8. What is your stance on local control of schools? Do you feel there are instances where city takeovers or state takeovers are needed to solve problems? Do you think school boards should be eliminated? How can the federal government help boards to improve student achievement?

As both an Illinois State Senator and president of the Annenberg Challenge's Board of Directors, Senator Obama played an active role in education reform in Chicago - from directing millions in funding to innovative projects to working to expanding charter schools within the public school system to passing legislation to improve accountability to increasing local control of Chicago's schools. Sen. Obama understands that education is primarily a local concern, but he strongly believes that Washington should provide a helping hand, not just strings and conditions for our schools. And with a real partnership, we can improve the quality of education all our children receive.

9. Minnesota has a large achievement gap among white and minority students. Much research points to early childhood programs, Head Start and full-day kindergarten as a way to close those gaps before students come into the school system. What would you do to bolster early childhood programs, fund early learning incentives, fund full-day kindergarten and ensure that kids from the lowest income levels have access to these early learning programs?

Research shows that half of low-income children start school up to two years behind their peers in preschool skills and that these early achievement gaps continue throughout elementary school. Obama has been a champion of early childhood education since his years in the Illinois legislature, where he led the effort to create the Illinois Early Learning Council. Obama has introduced a comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan to provide critical supports to young children and their parents by investing $10 billion per year to create: Early Learning Challenge Grants to stimulate and help fund state "zero to five" efforts; quadruple the number of eligible children for Early Head Start and increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both; work to ensure all children have access to pre-school; provide affordable and high-quality child care that will promote child development and ease the burden on working families; and create a Presidential Early Learning Council to increase collaboration and program coordination across federal, state, and local levels.

10. What is it in your education platform that sets you apart from your opponent? What would make school board members vote for you?

Barack Obama has been a leader the fight to reform our school system and ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. He knows that a good education can be the ticket to opportunity for all Americans-regardless of their circumstances. And he believes that the way to fix our schools isn't by draining their limited resources. Obama believes that the single most important factor in our children's education is having an excellent teacher. That's why he's introduced a comprehensive plan to recruit and prepare a new generation of high quality teachers-and implement new methods for rewarding their success in the classroom.

Sen. John McCain has not put forward a comprehensive education agenda. He's been in Washington nearly 30 years, he's got a pretty slim record on education, and when he has taken a stand, it's been the wrong one. He voted against increased funding for No Child Left Behind to preserve billions in tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans - tax breaks he wants to extend without saying how he'd pay for them. He voted against increasing funds for Head Start, and Pell Grants, and the hiring of 100,000 new teachers again and again and again. In fact, his most significant proposal seems to be recycling tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice - and expanding them only in the District of Colombia.