President Barack Obama's "first 100 days" come to an end today, as you may have noticed from the barrage of fawning press coverage (not all of it on the editorial pages). I agree with the majority of the country that the President is doing many things right, but when it comes to the one issue that I know a fair amount about, I worry that he's doing many things wrong.
It shouldn't surprise us that President Obama is "straddling the Democratic divide" on education. During his campaign he was careful to placate both the teachers unions and the reformers within his party, and that's the way he's governing too. But what the reformers may not want to admit is that they have gotten a raw deal so far.
Consider our Reform-o-Meter. It may not be a scientific instrument for gauging the reform-mindedness of the new Administration, but I'd argue that it's a reasonable indicator. And the cumulative rating for Team Obama to date is: "Neutral." How uninspiring. How not "bold."
But it gets worse. So far I've rated 17 actions of the Administration. Eight of these have pertained to appointments, which have earned an average rating of Warm. Another four of the ratings were for "bully pulpit" stuff--speeches, charter school visits, etc.--and these earned an average rating of Luke Warm. That leaves five actions that relate to actual policymaking-three concerning the stimulus bill (in draft form, final passage, and administrative guidance), one for the new Title I regs, and one concerning the D.C. voucher program. Their average is downright Chilly.
What this means is that the Administration has so far put together a great team, given some fantastic speeches, but mostly dropped the ball when it comes to making decisions that will actually impact the lives of real children. It borrowed $100 billion from future generations to bail out the education system while getting very little reform in return, and it has refused to fight its allies on Capitol Hill in order to protect school vouchers for 1,700 impoverished children in the District of Columbia.
Over the next few months we might get to see the contours of Secretary Duncan's "race to the top" fund, and we'll get more clarity about the future of the voucher program. I fervently hope that the next 100 days show President Obama to be much more serious about education reform than has been apparent during the first 100. Do you agree? Post a comment below.
