Friday, November 13, 2020

Valerie Strauss: What Does the Biden Transition Team Tell Us About His Education Agenda? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Valerie Strauss: What Does the Biden Transition Team Tell Us About His Education Agenda? | Diane Ravitch's blog
Valerie Strauss: What Does the Biden Transition Team Tell Us About His Education Agenda?



We have all been guessing about what President-Elect Joe Biden will do in education. Will he keep his campaign promises and set federal policy on a new direction, away from No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, ESSA, high-stakes testing, and school choice, or will he stick with the stale and destructive status quo?

No one knows for sure but many have tried to divine his intentions by the composition of his transition team for education. At first glance, it is worrisome that so many of its members come from the Race to the Top era. But Valerie Strauss offers a different perspective on the transition team’s purpose and significance.

She writes:

Now that President-elect Joe Biden has named a 20-person education transition team, the education world is trying to glean insight from its makeup as to what the next president will do to try to improve America’s public schools.


Some progressives are worried that the list of members is heavy with former members of the Obama administration, whose controversial education policies ultimately alienated teachers’ unions, parents and members of CONTINUE READING: Valerie Strauss: What Does the Biden Transition Team Tell Us About His Education Agenda? | Diane Ravitch's blog