POL Final Exam Study Guide

What is a Nation at Risk?

A Nation at Risk was a report during the Reagan administration in the 1980s which outlined how the public school system was drastically failing in the U.S.. The report focused on increasing educational excellence and competition between schools and blamed the faulty education system as a threat to the defense of the nation and the reason for the eroding economy. The report was extremely significant due to its call to action which triggered a new wave of education reforms at all levels of government. A Nation at Risk drove the standards movement forward because of the public backing bold for reform the reform caused

What was the common school movement?

A movement started in the 1840s led by education reformer Horace Mann. The main goals of the movement were to create a free education system that was available for all students in the U.S. regardless of their class background. The movement was characterized by its egalitarian and majoritarian values that have characterized the U.S. political culture surrounding the education system in the decades since.

What are vouchers?

A way to implement school choice by allowing students to use public monies to attend a private school, but hasn't had much political impact.

What are charter schools?

Charter schools are autonomous educational entities that operate within the public school system. They receive a contract from a public authority to operate for a specific period of time, provide a particular education program, and achieve specified results. There are less regulations on charter schools and they receive public funds for each child that is enrolled. Charter schools began in the early 1990s but increased in popularity throughout the 2000s.

What is Common Core?

Common Core was an education reform that passed in 2010 in response to the failings of the NCLB. The reform created a new set of universal standards that were meant to be fewer, cleaner, and higher. It also included a financial incentive called Race to the Top which was a competitive grant given to schools who were implementing common core well. Like other major education reforms, Common Core initially passed with strong support that was rapidly adopted across the states. Common Core continued to stay on the same policy path that was originally set with the passage of the ESEA.

What exactly did ESEA do?

ESEA linked federal money to special needs categories in education as well as sending funding for primary and secondary education. ESEA also created high standards and accountability at a national level.

What is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)?

ESEA was an education reform act passed in 1965 as a part of Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty and was one of the most far reaching education reform efforts of the time. ESEA stipulated that money would be linked to special needs categories and helped fund primary and secondary education. Also established high standards and accountability at a national level. Resistance to a national education reform was a distinctive feature until confidence in the education system began to declines in the 1950s due to declining literacy rates. ESEA began the general path of increasing federal government intervention in the education system like NCLA and ESSA which are reauthorizations of the reform

What is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)?

ESSA was another reauthorization of the ESEA that was passed by the Obama Administration in 2015. Under the ESSA, the national government could no longer mandate state spending on costs not covered by ESSA, could not endorse any curriculum, and could not develop a national exam. Although the ESSA still followed the basic structure of the standards movement, the small changes to accommodate the states in education shows how path dependence and federalism (institutions) sometimes clash.

Under what administration was ESSA passed?

ESSA was passed under the Obama Administration as a reauthorization of ESEA.

What is Head Start?

Head Start was a preschool education program which began as a part of the War on Poverty reforms of the 1960s. Head Start was a targeted program for children from low income households that provides early childhood education as well as health and nutritional services. The creation of Head Start is a prime example of the ongoing trend of decentralization of the public sector in preschool education during the 20th century which created a patchwork of policies across the states that exist today. Head Start is also based on values of equal opportunity that is a driving force behind education reform.

Who started the common school movement?

Horace Mann

What is intergenerational dependency>

Intergenerational dependency is a prominent critique of welfare programs. The critique usually uses an example of a young girl whose mother received welfare was more likely to receive payments as an adult. The problem of intergenerational dependency an example of the problem stream going into the policy making window

What was New Federalism?

New Federalism was another attempt at welfare reform by the Reagan administration which proposed to have the national government take over medicaid from the states while the states would take over AFCD. This was an attempt by the Reagan administration to reverse the trend of national involvement into welfare. Reagan's proposal was never introduced into Congress

What is No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?

No Child Left Behind was a reauthorization of ESEA under the Bush administration in the early 2000s and became one of the most influential reforms to the education system in the U.S.. The main goal of the NCLB was to raise education standards through rigorous testing to measure school performance and use harsh accountability measure to raise school performance. NCLB also attempted to fund transfers, supplemental education programs, and other choices for parents if their child's education was not satisfactory. The NCLB act is the zenith of the standards movement and worked around the institutions like federalism by allowing states some things while allowing national government others.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PRWORA)?

PRWORA was a monumental reform to welfare that passed in 1996 under the Clinton Administration. The act ended individual entitlement benefits, enforced strict work requirements, and also abolished the AFDC and JOBS which were replaced by TANF. PRWORA was the first major welform reform passed since the EITC. POlitical and policy streams as well as the problem stream all set the agenda for reform. The debate for welfare reform shifted in a conservative direction after the 1994 elections. Conservative Democrats took control of the reform to help work with Republicans to help its passage and Clinton centered himself on the debate. PRWORA was essentially a victory for conservative reform strategies for welfare.

What are the three streams in the policy formation window for agenda setting?

Problem stream, policy stream, and politics stream

What is school choice?

School choice is an approach to education reform that is based on the view that education should be operated like a market. There are several methods of implementing school choice such as charter schools, vouchers, and magnet schools. Having multiple choices for schools means that parents can move their children out of schools that are not suited for the child and schools that get higher enrollment are rewarded while schools with falling enrollment. Vouchers have had little political impact but charter schools have been a more popular way to implement school choice. School choice in education reform falls back on typical American values of economic freedom and trust in the market. Aspects of school choice have be included in the NCLB and other major reforms.

What does school readiness mean?

School readiness is the term used to describe the goal of preschool to help prepare children to learn when they enter kindergarten. The importance of school readiness has been a driving force behind preschool education reform. School readiness is significant because it emphasized the political culture in the U.S. of creating equal opportunity for all citizens regardless of their class. If students lack proper preschool education compared to other students these academic challenges can widen and grow over time

Why are people against charter schools?

Schools may be tempted to hide poor performance to get, takes away funding from public schools, and might increase segregation especially because lower income people may not have as much of a choice as higher income people.

What does targeting with universalism mean?

Targeting with universalism is an approach to welfare policy in the U.S. that provides benefits to everyone but provides disproportionate benefits to low income individuals. Targeting with universalism is a great way to help the poor without talking about the poor. This method can be successful because of the spread costs, the broad coalitions that are stakeholders who want to protect the policy, and have a sustained moral imagery. But, others argue that it is inefficient since those who are already rich will still get benefits they don't need.

When did the common school movement begin?

The 1840s

Under what administration was NCLB passed?

The Bush administration

Under what administration was the Program for Better Jobs and Incomes formed?

The Carter administration

What is the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit?

The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit was a national effort to help promote family choice. The Child and Dependent care tax credit explains why economically secure families rely on the private sector and it is another example of America's hidden welfare state.

What is the Comprehensive Child Development Act?

The Comprehensive Child Development Act was passed in Congress in 1971 and provided a permanent national framework for universal provision of preschool services. However, it was never enacted due to being vetoed by Nixon. The veto led to preschool advocates to turn to the states when the national level failed them in an example of venue shopping. By turning away reform at the national level, states now became the major stakeholders in preschool policy. This has led to the decentralization of preschool care.

What is earned income tax credit?

The EITC was created in 1975 as a way to give tax supplements to the wages of low income workers. The emphasis on working to gain credit contributed to the popularity of the program and has allowed it to grow over the years. Expansions of the EITC have avoided political attacks or debates due to its incremental expansion through omnibus budget acts. The EITC is an example of the U.S's hidden welfare state.

What is the Family Assistance Plan?

The Family Assistance Plan was an attempt in the Nixon Administration to reformulate American income support policy by using the negative income tax approach. The Plan included a minimum income guarantee of 1600 dollars for a family of four as well as work requirements for all families and a high phase out rate. The plan was never passed because of concerns that reflected the welfare policy traps. Not enough money to properly enact the benefits, and liberals didn't like it because the benefits were too low for children while conservatives were worried that the work incentives for parents were too low which reflects the dual clientele trap.

What are three major examples of welfare reform failure?

The Family Assistance Plan, The Program for Better Jobs and Incomes, and New Federalism

What is the Family Support Act of 1988?

The Family Support Act was a revision to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children that emphasized work, child support, and family benefits. The Family Support Act reflected an emerging consensus on the importance of work in welfare which dramatically shifted the path of the AFDC. It passed due to compromise between conservative and liberal approaches toward increasing the work orientation of the program.

Under what administration was ESEA passed?

The Johnson administration

Under what administration was Common Core implemented?

The Obama Administration (2010)

What are the four frameworks to view U.S. social policy?

The Political Culture Framework, the Power Resources Theory, Institutions Theory, and Policy Development (path dependence, policy feedback, and timing and sequence)

What was the Program for Better Jobs and Incomes?

The Program for Better Jobs and Incomes was an attempt at welfare reform by the Carter administration that created a two tiered program that depended on whether recipients were expected to work and had heavy emphasis on public service jobs and training slots. The bill never even reached the floor since everyone found something not to like about it.

Under what administration was a Nation at Risk published?

The Reagan administration.

What is the Work and Responsibility Act of 1994?

The Work and Responsibility Act of 1994 was an attempt to reform to welfare during the Clinton Administration that required work requirements after two years of AFCD, established paternity tests and child support reforms, and required no new tax revenues. It never passed due to the unwieldy and partisan task force assigned to construct it. Election year politics undermined the coalition.

Why did support for NCLB fail?

The accountability policies used in the NCLB strained school capacity and efforts to help school improve were underfunded.

What is the dual clientele trap?

The dual clientele trap refers to the fact that welfare serves two constituencies: parents and their children. Children are seen deserving of welfare but parents are not seen as deserving so forming policy that appeals to children doesn't work without acknowledging the parents. Welfare reform consistently raises issues of race, class, and sex. It is impossible in policy making to create policy in welfare that is desirable without also getting something also deemed undesirable.

What is the money trap?

The money trap is another welfare trap in the policy making process that that reform requires spending more money than the public thinks is necessary and than Congress wants to spend. Reform in education, job training, and workfare replacements means that there will be larger budget deficits, spending cuts, or tax increases which is undesirable for the public.

What is the negative income tax?

The negative income tax is another approach to welfare in which the government guarantees a minimum income level and benefits are taxed back at a fixed rate until they disappear. This plan typically is criticized as a plan that falls into the perverse incentives trap.

What is the perverse incentives trap?

The perverse incentives trap is another welfare trap that refers to the fact that no plausible welfare program can avoid creating new perverse incentives or making existing ones worse. Additional support for welfare benefits reduces incentives to work and benefits for single families might cause an increase in those forms of families to get the benefits. This trap often affects public confidence for reform proposals

"End of Welfare as We Know it"

The phrase was President Clinton's pledge to reform welfare to focus on work and personal responsibility. Clinton used the current sentiment that there needed to be someone to take on the status quo to change welfare programs. Increasing policy innovation in the states at the time also created a bandwagon effect that put pressure on national officials like Clinton to fallow suit.

Why do people support charter schools?

They can combine the best of private and public education and also create a market for education which furthers innovation in educational curriculum when teachers can actually teach how they want to.

Under what administration was Head Start passed?

Under the Johnson administration in the 1960s as a part of the war on Poverty

Under what administration was the Family Assistance Plan brought before Congress?

Under the Nixon administration