ABSTRACT
Since the 1960s, the Democratic education agenda has stressed human capital economics, which asserts that investment in public education will reduce poverty and grow the economy. Investment in education has not ended poverty, reduced income inequalities or increased the number of available jobs. Since the 1960's War on Poverty, the Democratic Party has pursued federal policies to end inequality of educational opportunity and equality of economic opportunity. The Obama administration recommended expansion of public charter schools, in contrast to for-profit charter schools, to provide alternatives to low-income students. The 2016 Democratic platform advocated universal preschool in the context of educating a global workforce. Until the 2016 election, many Democrats and Republicans supported national and state curriculum standards to ensure that all students were exposed to the same academic content. Unexpectedly there was a strong backlash to the standardized testing required by No Child Left Behind and many state governments.
