Resources For Week Two Discussion: Policy Making In The Fede

Resources For Week Two Discussion Policy Making In The Federal Syste

Resources For Week Two Discussion – Policy-making in the Federal System Before participating in this week’s discussion, “Policy-making in the Federal System,” review these resources: 1. Read this chapter from the text, American Government: a. Chapter 3 – Federalism. 2. Watch these videos: a. A Quick Study of American Federalism. (2012). A Quick Study of American Federalism [Video]. Available from (This three-part video (15 minutes) describes historical debates about the division of power between national and state government and describes concepts used in modern debates about it.) b. A More Perfect Union Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). (2013, May 7). Episode I - A more perfect union [Series episode]. Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Retrieved from sagal/watch/a-more-perfect-union/ 3. Read this article from the ProQuest (Search All) database in the Ashford Online Library: a. Federalism revised: The promise and challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act. Wong, K. K. (2008, December). Federalism revised: The promise and challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act. Public Administration Review: Special Issue on The Winter Commission Report Revisited, S175-S185. (This academic article describes how federal education policy has evolved, since the mid-1990s, from being compliance-driven to performance based (i.e., No Child Left Behind). It describes how state and local education policies respond to performance-based federal expectations.) 4. Read three of these articles from the ProQuest (Search All) database in the Ashford Online Library: a. G.O.P. anti-federalism aims at education. Gabriel, T. (2011, October 9). G.O.P. anti-federalism aims at education [News analysis]. New York Times (Late Edition (east coast)), A28. (This brief article reviews Republican views on expensive federal programs that fund different approaches to state educational reform.) b. Federalism key to America’s future. Gessing, P. J. (2011, May 9). Federalism key to America’s future. The Deming Headlight. (This brief article advocates a pragmatic approach to federal policies on education and other subjects.) c. Dependent states usher in a new federalism. Greenblatt, A. (2010, January 22). Dependent states usher in a new federalism. National Journal. (This brief article discusses how the financial problems of states lead them to support federally funded policy in local matters such as education.) d. Expand ‘No Child’ through federal standards, funding. Hettleman, K. R. (2009, December 24). Expand ‘No Child’ through federal standards, funding. The Baltimore Sun, A11. (This brief article defends a pragmatic approach to federally funded programs that improve education through national student achievement standards.) e. Forum seeks a new vision for U.S. role: Report calls for moving away from K-12 tests and sanctions. Hoff, D. J. (2008, April). Forum seeks a new vision for U.S. role: Report calls for moving away from K- 12 tests and sanctions. Education Week, 27(34), 1, 24. (This brief article discusses a report that criticizes federal education policies that require K-12 tests and sanctions for low performing schools.) f. Charting a course toward a better education. Lips, D., Feinberg, E., & Marshall, A. (2007, March). Charting a course toward a better education. USA Today, 70-73. (This article critiques the federal No Child Left Behind law and argues for federal funding for states to experiment with charter schools.) g. Huckabee’s education stances pose a problem for the right. Jeffrey, T. (2008, January 7). Huckabee’s education stances pose a problem for the right. Human Events, 64(1), 5. (This brief article discusses a former Republican presidential candidate’s opposition to federally funded vouchers for parents who want to send their kids to private schools with taxpayer funds.) h. House panel floats common themes on ESEA renewal. Klein, A. (2011, February 23). House panel floats common themes on ESEA renewal. Education Week, 30(21), 27. (The brief article reports on possible congressional consensus about education policies in which the federal government sets high achievement standards while letting states use local initiative to reach such goals.) i. Obama stands firm on education agenda amid qualms from law makers, advocates. Klein, A., & McNeil, M. (2010, August). Obama stands firm on education agenda amid qualms from law makers, advocates. Education Week, 29(37), 26-27, 31. (This brief article summarizes President Obama’s “Race to the Top” education policy.) j. Turning the page on the equity debate in education. Riley, R., & Coleman, A. (2012, February). Turning the page on the equity debate in education. The Education Digest, 77(6), 20-27. (This academic article reviews debates about federal education policies based on the ideal of “equity." It suggests an alternative based on a more strategic allocation of scarce resources.) k. Getting past ‘No Child.’ Will, G. F. (2007, December 9). Getting past ‘No Child.’ The Washington Post, B7. (This brief article by a national conservative commentator critiques President Bush’s No Child Left Behind law as a failure to achieve its stated goals.)