You may choose to respond to one of these questions or provide your own thoughts about the readings:
Education policymaking at the federal level has historically been
limited. It was not until the 1950s with the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and
1960s with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that
the federal government became involved in education policymaking to any significant degree. Historically state and local governments had discretion over curricula,
standards, teacher credentialing, etc.
In more recent times, Federal intervention in
education became more intrusive. In 2001 Congress passed, with bipartisan support,
the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which established criteria to hold states and
districts responsible for meeting numerous benchmarks. For many, this was a step too far, and as a result, federal involvement has been scaled back recently.
PLEASE REFER TO ALL READINGS PROVIDED.
Based on your knowledge of our federal system, where should education
policymaking reside (federal, state or local)? Why? How would this level of government help to ensure that students receive a quality education?
Dye describes several interest groups involved in education policy. Often these groups have competing
agendas, resulting in policies that are frequently a compromise between the wants and desires of these groups.
Describe some of the ways in which these interest groups have helped and harmed
education. Are there other stakeholders that you can think of?
