Bush-Obama School Reform: Lessons Learned

Frederick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane have gathered a diverse group of scholars to examine the shifting federal role in education across the presidential administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. While the administrations were vastly different, one thing remained constant: an ongoing and significant expansion of the federal role in education. Moreover, many of the key principles underlying federal reform remained consistent: an emphasis on standards- and test-based accountability; teacher quality as measured by test scores; school choice; and the importance of research in evaluating improvement initiatives.
 
Rather than evaluating the merits of particular reforms, the book’s contributors look at how federal involvement shaped the ways these initiatives were taken up—and by whom—as well as the sources and contours of political resistance. The contributors address a wide range of topics, from standards and accountability to charter schools to the federal role in education research and the civil rights paradigm as a way of framing education issues. The book pays special attention to the political dynamics that shaped the success or failure of prominent reform initiatives, including No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, Common Core, and teacher evaluation, and each chapter concludes with a series of “Lessons Learned” that highlight key takeaways for moving forward.
 
By examining the federal role in education across two such different administrations and over a sustained period of time, Bush-Obama School Reform offers a wealth of insight into the factors that support or constrain an expanded federal role in a range of education reforms and provides invaluable guidance for a changing era.

Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). An educator, political scientist, and author, he studies K–12 and higher education issues. His books include Letters to a Young Education Reformer, The Cage-Busting Teacher, Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age, Cage-Busting Leadership, The Same Thing Over and Over, Education Unbound, Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins, and Spinning Wheels. He has edited influential books on the Common Core, entrepreneurship in education, education philanthropy, the impact of education research, and the Every Student Succeeds Act. Hess’s work has appeared in scholarly and popular outlets, such as American Politics Quarterly, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Teachers College Record, National Affairs, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He also authors the popular Education Week blog Rick Hess Straight Up. A former high school social studies teacher, Hess teaches or has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University.

Michael Q. McShane is the director of national research at EdChoice. His analyses and commentary have been published widely in the media, including in the Huffington Post, National Affairs, USA Today, and the Washington Post. He has also been featured in education-specific outlets such as Teachers College Commentary, Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, and Education Next. In addition to authoring numerous white papers, McShane has had academic work published in Education Finance and Policy and the Journal of School Choice. He is the editor of New and Better Schools, author of Education and Opportunity, and coeditor of Teacher Quality 2.0 and Common Core Meets Education Reform. A former high school teacher, McShane is also an adjunct fellow in education policy studies at AEI and a research fellow in the Economic and Policy Analysis Research Center at the University of Missouri.