Dems, GOP Likely to Find Common Ground on Education Reform - Newsweek

Dems, GOP Likely to Find Common Ground on Education Reform - Newsweek

Collaborative Learning

Amid predictions of partisan gridlock in Washington, education reform just might happen.

Illustration by Nicole Barth

Washington can seem like a Venn diagram where the two circles—Republicans and Democrats—will never touch. But on the issue of education reform, the two parties may be able to come together. The Republican agenda of reform—imposing standardized test-based accountability for schools and teachers and fostering competition among schools—has been embraced and aggressively promoted by the Obama administration. President George W. Bush’s signature achievement on this front, No Child Left Behind, has been due for renewal since 2007. Democrats are gearing up to pass a revised version of the law, possibly as soon as next year,