Political Education

In this volume, political insider Christopher Cross updates his critically acclaimed bestseller with new chapters and important new insights into future education policy. Cross draws on his own experience in Washington, along with research and interviews, to present a highly readable history of federal education policy, from WWII to the Obama administration. The book highlights the key players who helped shape federal policy because, as Cross writes in his introduction, “policy development is woven of personalities, events, and timing.” This fascinating chronicle demonstrates, among other things, how federal policy has been a constant influence on what states and local districts do, especially with respect to students most at-risk.

“As we enter the next chapter in the education policy debate, it is important to understand how we have arrived at the policies in place today and to consider the lessons learned. As Political Education so clearly documents, we need to engage in a dialogue that is about our expectations and our commitment to education as a national priority.”
—From the Foreword by Governor Brian Sandoval, 2013–2015 chair, Education Commission of the States, and Jeremy Anderson, president, Education Commission of the States

“[This book] comes at a crucial time. Now that some states are withdrawing from Common Core Standards because policymakers are characterizing a multi-state initiative as federal intrusion, that Courts are viewed as the refuge for parents fighting teacher tenure, and inequities within education and more generally are sharper than ever, we need Cross’ clear analysis of our complicated system more than ever.”
—Susan Fuhrman, president, Teachers College, Columbia University

“An incisive update of this comprehensive analysis of the evolving historic and future federal role. Cross provides the politics, personalities, and underlying ethos that shape trends and eras of federal policymaking.”
—Mike Kirst, president, California State Board of Education, and professor emeritus, Stanford University

Critical Acclaim for Political Education—

“Concise but illuminating...chock-full of historical nuggets.”
—Education Week

“The book is clearly written, informative, and generally well-balanced.”
—Harvard Educational Review

“Rarely does one find a book on educational policy as accessible and as fact-filled as this volume by Christopher Cross.... It will help educators of all stripes to better understand the how, why, and who of federal education policy.”
—Book Review Digest