Do voters care about education in 2016?

Even for those following the 2016 campaigns closely, the odds are that they haven't seen a lot of attention devoted to education. The Harvard Political Review has observed that candidates "on both sides of the aisle, have ignored a plethora of worthy discussions" and that "the most glaring example is ... education policy." The Huffington Post succinctly headlined one story "Why Education Isn't a 2016 Campaign Issue." Laura Moser of Slate has wryly noted, "None of the candidates are talking about education. Like, at all."

Though the presidential candidates have sometimes discussed education on the campaign trail, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton talking up "free college" and pre-K and GOP nominee Donald Trump occasionally cheering school choice and slamming the Common Core, education has clearly not been at the forefront of the debate.

What should we make of this? After all, while education is rarely a top-line issue in national elections, concerns like college costs and the Common Core have drawn substantial attention in recent years. Of course, this is also a year dominated by Trump's antics, Clinton's scandals, acts of terror and economic gloom.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/education/297109-do-voters-care-about-education-in-2016