Political Quotes

“In fact, this is why I made the statement I did at the outset. This is not uncharted waters at all. Mr. President, 30 years of research suggests that when background conditions and other factors are taken into account there are no significant differences in achievement between public and private school students. Supporters of vouchers also suggest that competition from vouchers will improve public schools; that competition will shake out the bad schools. I am all for business models in a lot of areas, but education is not widgets. The business model starts with a premise that there are winners and losers. An educational model that starts with that premise is not consistent with leaving no child behind. We cannot afford for any school or any child to be a loser. We cannot guarantee there will be winners, but we ought to be able to guarantee an equal opportunity to win. The idea that some are just going to fail and that's the way life is is not the way we ought to be dealing with elementary and secondary educational needs. I do not think we can afford for any school or child to be a loser in America. Just as there is no reliable research suggesting that voucher students outperform their peers, there is no reliable research that suggests that voucher programs improve public schools either. We know what does improve them: additional resources, better teachers, smaller class size, curriculum, model schools. Those are the things that make a difference.…”