Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton: Where They Stand on Education

Donald J. Trump will visit a charter school in Cleveland on Thursday, where he is expected to deliver remarks about the state of education in the United States. Education is an issue that the Republican presidential nominee has not focused on much in the course of his campaign, but one in which his approach is in stark contrast to that of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, particularly with regard to the role of the federal government.

Here’s a look at where they stand on some of the central questions on education today.

Common Core

Mr. Trump: While he breaks from Republican orthodoxy on many issues, Mr. Trump’s opposition to Common Core — a set of clear college- and career-ready educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade adopted by 42 states and the District of Columbia, the Common Core website says — is largely in line with his party’s stance. He regularly refers to the program as “education through Washington D.C.” Mr. Trump wants to end Common Core and “educate locally.”

Mrs. Clinton: She also does not appear to be a big fan of Common Core, but has stressed the importance of national educational standards. In an interview with Newsday in April, Mrs. Clinton said that the rollout and implementation of Common Core was problematic, but that common benchmarks were important. “I’ve always believed that we need to have some basis on which to determine whether we’re making progress, vis-à-vis other countries who all have national standards,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/us/politics/donald-trump-vs-hillary-clinton-where-they-stand-on-education.html?_r=0