Consistent with endorsements from several education advocacy groups, 87% of respondents of a blind poll of K-12 issues selected democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as the best choice for education.
This election cycle has been devoid of education talk for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that education isn't a particularly "sexy" topic in such a contentious race. As former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said during the ASU-GSV conference in April — which took place during the primary season of the election, "Donald Trump isn’t going to talk education because you can’t cuss first graders, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand that he wants the very best for his new grandchild."
Common Core and other federally-backed standards
Ed Dive readers were pretty split on the idea of federally-backed standards; 52% thought the conversations should be left to local leaders, while 48% supported a set of common standards to ensure all of the nation's students are moving in the right direction.
Here's where the candidates stand:
School choice
Readers were also fairly split on charter schools as a vehicle for school choice. Only 28% of respondents said they "love" charter schools, but an equal amount — 36% — said they "hate" them because they "drain resources from public schools" and don't have a strong opinion on them, as long as public schools are properly funded.
And while Hillary Clinton is staunchly opposed to the idea of school vouchers and Donald Trump strongly supports them, 59% of Ed Dive readers believe funding that follows students will "decimate some schools and further the inequality gaps that are already plaguing this country," compared to 41% who favor the system as a means to bridge the gap with funding that is proportionate to enrollment.
Teacher pay
More than 3/4 of readers believe there are too many variables involved in student success to tie teacher pay to student outcomes — an idea that is more consistent with Clinton's beliefs — while 24% favored this system as a means to hold teachers accountable.