Give Obama Some Credit for Education Reform Push

President Obama ought to be applauded for pushing eduction reform, despite political risks. Obama's agenda is based on two ideas: That failing schools should face consequences and that teachers and principals ought to be evaluated based on student results. Each principle could benefit the system, writes Michael Gerson for the Washington Post. But both are politically dangerous.

At the last Democratic Convention, about one in 10 delegates belonged to teachers' unions. And many conservatives oppose any federal involvement in education. But that's just the point, says Gerson. "Education policy points to the limits of federalism," he writes. "When local institutions seriously fail, higher-level institutions should intervene." President Obama and Arne Duncan are doing just that—and credit is due.
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