Political science is not a discipline whose theories and methods will likely contribute to a better understanding of how specifi c policies can be designed to increase student learning. Rather, its empirically-based theories can help specify the conditions under which policies are likely to change or remain stable, explain how politics shapes education policy, and in turn, how those policies infl uence political participation and future policy design. Its normative theories provide the rationale for why politics has a legitimate role in public education, and more importantly, for why education should be a valued collective good in a democratic society.