The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and their associated high-stakes testing are key parts of the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) initiative. There has been considerable resistance to both CCSS and related testing, particularly from conservative actors. This resistance suggests that CCSS has caused substantial tension within the conservative…

The federal government's annual budget process was kick-started this year with a bold proposal that has implications for anyone who provides child care. But keeping child care front and center in Washington will take a lot of effort in 2010. On February 1, the Administration released the Budget Proposal for Federal Fiscal Year 2011. It calls for…

The federal Hope Scholarship program, designed as a middle-class tax break, required substantial negotiation and diverse, often conflicting tactics to become policy. The story of the idea's creation and its journey to policy, based on interviews with over three dozen college officials, Clinton administration aides, lawmakers, and others is…

Federal social programs in the 1960s allowed for the emergence of a Black middle class. Current government proposals for massive budget cuts in social programs limit the traditional avenues of access to the middle class and deny many poor Blacks the opportunity to attain the American dream. (Author/MJL)

Three decades after massive government commitment to financial aid, minority and low income access is declining and aid going to middle class students. Policies and political deadlock have worsened the situation of those in need, and hard choices must be made if college access is to be restored without greater expenditures. (SK)

The current system of financial aid is reviewed. It is noted that higher education is now more accessible to more people, but at a great cost in terms of both money and values, since the middle class is reluctant to make financial sacrifices for its children. Specific grant and loan programs are reported. (LBH)

Over the last century, Americans have formed a social contract with higher education through the development of and changes to student financial aid programs. These federal, state, and institutional programs are the manifestation of the value we place on who should and who does pay the costs of higher education. Grants versus loans and low-income…

Contends that educational policy during the Reagan Administration has been characterized by restrictive attempts to reconcile cultural diversity with traditional values, while reducing federal support to public schools. Argues that a democratic education must extend excellence and equity to all citizens. (FMW)

In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

The Republican proposal to cut the federal student loan program is examined, and some of the other challenges and changes likely to be faced by higher education due to Republican politics are outlined, including appropriations for discretionary programs, welfare and immigration reform, social and economic policy issues affecting the middle class,…

This study examined the use of education tax credits at four community colleges using data from the Federal Quality Assurance Program in 1998, the first year of the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit (LLTC). Preliminary estimates indicated that the two tax credits were expected to primarily benefit middle-income tax filers with…