History and Policy: The Convergence of K–12 and Higher Education Since 1965

• In Event: Convergence: U.S. Education Policy 50 Years After the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act of 1965

Abstract

Since the seminal “A Nation at Risk” report of 1983, the U.S. has witnessed growing skepticism about the performance of its K-12 schools and increasingly aggressive federal policies intended to reform them. Until quite recently, American higher education was viewed—and treated—quite differently with average citizens and political leaders alike praising the reputation of our colleges and universities and the increasing rate of college attendance. In recent years, however, a growing body of research has exposed that our higher education system shares many of the problems of our K-12 system with low completion rates, high costs, inequitable access, and insufficient academic rigor. The shifting conversation in both sectors is being driven by international comparisons that highlight the ways in which America is falling behind the rest of the world educationally and the economic consequences of this development. This paper analyzes how and why K-12 and higher education reform have rocketed to the top of the national political agenda since the ESEA and HEA of 1965 and how this has shaped federal and state policies designed to “reform” both sectors.
Signed by President Lyndon Johnson, the ESEA and the HEA injected the federal government into the nation’s education system, providing institutions with new funding and millions of young people with the opportunity to go to school. The two laws would also ultimately reshape and complicate education governance and policymaking. In the last decade policymakers and the public alike, concerned over the perceived inadequacies of the education system, have sought to reform it by focusing their efforts on outcomes and accountability. It started in 2002 when President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), overhauling the ESEA by instituting a broad based testing and accountability regime.
Now, it’s higher education’s turn. Since the economic downturn hit five years ago, state-level funding has plummeted and tuition has climbed. Spiraling dropout rates and student debt combined with reports of “limited learning” in college and high unemployment after have widened the calls for NCLB-like reform to be applied to the higher education sector. In last year’s State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama said he intended to overhaul the HEA, which is up for reauthorization, by asking Congress to amend the legislation “so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid.” In addition the U.S. Department of Education recently plowed ahead with its plan to develop a ranking system for colleges and universities similar to the report cards already required of elementary and secondary schools. Nearly five decades after the ESEA and the HEA revolutionized the federal role in education, the nation’s education system has changed dramatically, and along with it the foundational policies governing that system. The Convergence panel will explore the evolving relationship between K-12 and higher education reform—where it came from and what it means for the future of education in this country.

Authors

• Patrick James McGuinn, Drew University

• Christopher P. Loss, Vanderbilt University