Dana Goldstein

This was the law no child left behind.

This was the law no child left behind.

which, of course, today is remembered for being really controversial. Kind of draconian, really. Yes, because it required kids to take tests every year in math and reading, and it threatened to punish schools if the students didn't do well on the tests. And so it led to a lot of teaching to the test, and nobody likes that. Teachers don't like that. Parents don't like that. Right.

which, of course, today is remembered for being really controversial. Kind of draconian, really. Yes, because it required kids to take tests every year in math and reading, and it threatened to punish schools if the students didn't do well on the tests. And so it led to a lot of teaching to the test, and nobody likes that. Teachers don't like that. Parents don't like that. Right.

But it was a really big bipartisan push under a Republican president to strengthen the federal role in education. So exactly the opposite of what's going on now with President Trump. I always have an image in my mind of, you know, what a big issue education was for President George W. Bush. You know, he was sitting on the morning of 9-11, 2001, reading a book to public school students.

But it was a really big bipartisan push under a Republican president to strengthen the federal role in education. So exactly the opposite of what's going on now with President Trump. I always have an image in my mind of, you know, what a big issue education was for President George W. Bush. You know, he was sitting on the morning of 9-11, 2001, reading a book to public school students.

And it was part of his, you know, general emphasis on education. And it was at that moment reading the book to the children that an aide whispered in his ear to inform him of the attack on the World Trade Center.

And it was part of his, you know, general emphasis on education. And it was at that moment reading the book to the children that an aide whispered in his ear to inform him of the attack on the World Trade Center.

Yeah, President Obama agreed on a lot of the fundamentals with President Bush. He agreed that the federal government needed to hold schools accountable. He wanted to make those tests better and higher quality, but he also added some additional pressure around them. He created incentives for states to evaluate teachers according to how well their individual students did. did on those tests.

Yeah, President Obama agreed on a lot of the fundamentals with President Bush. He agreed that the federal government needed to hold schools accountable. He wanted to make those tests better and higher quality, but he also added some additional pressure around them. He created incentives for states to evaluate teachers according to how well their individual students did. did on those tests.

So in other words, whether you got a positive or negative employee evaluation at the end of the year would be based around this. That was also incredibly controversial. But it's just notable to talk about how Republican and Democratic presidents for many years were really in support of a big federal role.

So in other words, whether you got a positive or negative employee evaluation at the end of the year would be based around this. That was also incredibly controversial. But it's just notable to talk about how Republican and Democratic presidents for many years were really in support of a big federal role.

Yeah. So what happened is that under President Bush and President Obama, all of this emphasis on standardized testing really became super unpopular. Democrats hated it. Republicans hated it. Teachers hated it. Parents hated it.

Yeah. So what happened is that under President Bush and President Obama, all of this emphasis on standardized testing really became super unpopular. Democrats hated it. Republicans hated it. Teachers hated it. Parents hated it.

President Obama signed a law that was passed by Congress called the Every Student Succeeds Act.

President Obama signed a law that was passed by Congress called the Every Student Succeeds Act.

And it rolled back a lot of this federal pressure around teacher evaluation and testing. And it returned a lot of the power over education to states and school districts.

And it rolled back a lot of this federal pressure around teacher evaluation and testing. And it returned a lot of the power over education to states and school districts.

Which was the status quo when President Trump came into office for his first term.

Which was the status quo when President Trump came into office for his first term.