ONE FISCAL CLIFF DOWN, THREE MORE TO GO?: Congress Reaches Agreement on Fiscal Cliff; Decisions Still Loom on Sequestration, Debt Ceiling, and Fiscal Year 2013 Spending Article
January 14, 2013On January 1, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to extend tax cuts for most Americans and temporarily avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” that was scheduled to go into effect on January 2, 2013.
A SYSTEM IN NEED OF REPAIR: Federal Student Financial Aid System Must Be Changed to Focus on Completion, Not Access, Says New Alliance Report Article
December 10, 2012A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education outlines serious problems with the current federal student financial aid system and calls on policymakers to simplify both the process and the programs and shift the system’s emphasis from simply access to providing the overall support resulting in postsecondary degree completion.

WEBINAR: Experts Discuss Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy Article
December 10, 2012On November 26, the Alliance held a webinar on its new report, Inseparable Imperatives: Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy.
Economic Impacts
ON SECOND THOUGHT: While Less Positive Than 2008, American Public Believes Obama Can Improve Education in Second Term Article
November 26, 2012Although President Obama was unable to shepherd a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act through the U.S. Congress during his first term, he did encourage states to enact education reforms through the Race to the Top competition and provide additional flexibility under NCLB through waivers.

TALKING ‘BOUT THE YOUNG FOLKS: Record Shares of Young Adults Have Finished Both High School and College Article
November 12, 2012In 2012, a record 33 percent of the nation’s twenty-five- to twenty-nine-year-olds completed at least a bachelor’s degree, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
BACK TO BUSINESS: Averting “Fiscal Cliff” Next Priority for Obama and Congressional Leaders Article
November 12, 2012With their re-elections secure, President Obama and leaders in the U.S. Congress quickly turned to the immediate business of preventing the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the informal name given to the mix of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that are scheduled to go into effect on January 2, 2013.
Economic Impacts

FOUR MORE YEARS: Obama Wins Re-election, Plans to Continue Education Reforms Through Race to the Top, NCLB Waivers Article
November 12, 2012By defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on November 6, President Barack Obama earned a second four-year term in the White House.
NO DEAL: Americans Believe Cuts to Federal Education Funding Should Not Be Part of Plan to Reduce Debt or Deficit, Poll Finds Article
October 31, 2012Three out of four Americans oppose reducing federal education funding to lessen the debt and deficit, according to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Economic Impacts
“EDUCATION DRIVES AMERICA”: Education Secretary Duncan Reports on Cross-Country Bus Tour, Offers Education Reform Goals for the Future Article
October 15, 2012In an October 2 speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reflected on his cross-country bus tour, which included more than 100 events in a dozen states across the country, and outlined education reform goals for the future, saying now is “no time to retreat,” but that it is time to “double down” on what is working.

EDUCATION DEBATE: Obama and Romney Highlight Education Positions During First Presidential Debate Article
October 15, 2012Although moderator Jim Lehrer of “PBS NewsHour” did not select education as one of the six segments on which the two candidates would focus during the first presidential debate, both President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney devoted a significant amount of time to the issue.