2016 Election: Match the Candidate to Their Quote on Education

While still almost 18 months away, it’s already starting to feel like election season. As politicians announce their candidacy and begin shaping or establishing their platforms on foreign policy and the economy, we decided to take a look at their stances on education. From the Common Core to school choice and everything in between, these presidential hopefuls are making their opinions heard on stumps around the country. To get you acquainted with the potential Commanders in Chief, we pulled a quote from each of the announced candidates as of June 25. Now it’s your turn to match the 17 announced candidates to their quotes.

Presidential Candidates (with a randomly assigned letter):

• A. George Pataki
• B. Jeb Bush
• C. Marco Rubio
• D. Donald Trump
• E. Lindsey Graham
• F. Rick Perry
• G. Bobby Jindal
• H. Rick Santorum
• I. Mike Huckabee
• J. Carly Fiorina
• K. Dr. Ben Carson
• L. Ted Cruz
• M. Rand Paul
• N. Lincoln Chafee
• O. Martin O'Malley
• P. Bernie Sanders
• Q. Hilary Clinton
• R. Chris Christie

And now for the quotes!

1. "Education has always been the great equalizer. No matter where you start, if you get access to a good education and work hard, you can succeed. As President Johnson put it in his ‘Great Society’ speech of 1964, ‘Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty.’ Each year that I have been governor I have made public education a priority, and that continues tonight. I propose an additional 38 million dollars to continue to accelerate Rhode Island’s K through 12 funding formula." (Jan. 2014)

1. “They say education is the great equalizer, but all schools aren't equal. Many of the schools in our large cities are functioning with low standards. Many of the schools have become dropout factories. Some schools lack discipline and are unsafe. I say the status quo is unacceptable.” (July 2014)

1. "Higher education shouldn’t be a privilege for those able to afford it. It should be an opportunity widely available for anybody with the talent, determination and ambition." (Oct. 2014)

1. “I think it is wrong to judge schools solely on the basis of narrow tests. We have to work on what kind of criteria we really need....A kid is more than a test. We want kids to be creative. We want kids to be critical thinkers. We also want schools held accountable for factors other than test scores, including how they meet the challenges of students from low-income families.” (April 2015)

1. "To make the dream true again, we must invest in universal Pre-K to help all of our children reach their God-given potential." (Feb. 2015)

1. “Common Core means a lot of things to different people, so they could be right based on what’s in front of them. I respect people having a view, but the simple fact is we need higher standards. They need to be state-driven. The federal government should play no role in this, either in the creation of standards, content, or curriculum.” (May 2015)

1. “Not everyone should be forced to get a four-year degree in order to find a job. There are millions of good-paying jobs out there, and we should allow people to have access to skills they need in a cost-effective way. In the twenty-first century, some of the best jobs require more than high school–traditional high school–but less than four years of college." (Feb. 2015)

1. "We should repeal every word of Common Core....Education is far too important to have it governed by unelected bureaucrats down in Washington....The federal government has no authority to do things like set the curriculum in education. That needs to be at the state level or, even better, at the local level.” (Mar. 2015)

1. "We're twenty-sixth in the world. Twenty-five countries are better than us at education. And some of them are like third world countries. But we're becoming a third world country." (June 2015)

1. "President Obama wants everyone in America to go to college. What a snob!" (Feb. 2012)

1. "The bigger our education department becomes, the worse our public education becomes. There's no connection between spending more money in our nation's capital and a better school system.” (Feb. 2015)

1. "I'm for rigorous standards. But I don't trust Washington….It should vary state by state....One of the beauties of America, quite simply, is that we are a very diverse country. New York City is not quite the same when it comes to education as Montana. They have different needs, different experiences, different things that have to be done." (April 2015)

1. "You know, this president feels like he can act unilaterally. He feels like with the pen and phone he can make decisions without congress. My party needs to be the party that says we've got real solutions on education, let's be for school choice, let's be for tenure reform. Let's say to the Democratic Party stopping being captive to the teacher unions, let's give every child the chance to get a great education." (Feb. 2014)

1. [On No Child Left Behind] "Yeah, that’s a cool name, but it’s a monstrous intrusion into our affairs" (April 2011)

1. "The rising cost of college also threatens middle class families, students, and the American dream. For too many, college is where students discover mountains of debt—but not a lifelong career. We must tackle the establishment and reform our colleges and universities so they make sense for the jobs of tomorrow." (May 2015)

1. "What's Common Core?...I'll address it. I don't know what it is. Sounds like a bad idea. I'll tell my staff, and I'll try to get a coalition together to take it off..." (Sept. 2013)

1. “I felt like we had to give it a fair chance, I think we did. We’ve given it a four-year chance. We don’t have buy in from parents, we don’t have buy in from educators. They feel as if it’s been imposed upon them from Washington, that their voice hasn’t been heard. And if you’re going to have the best local education you can have, you have to have your local educators and those families buying into what you’re trying to do. And so I think what I’ve done is more fair than what anybody else has done, some people just reflexively oppose things.” (May 2015)

1. “Pell grants already exist to pay for community college expenses for needy students. For those who are not needy, there is an old-fashioned remedy that is very effective called work. In fact work might even be beneficial for those who are needy. It certainly provided some very valuable experiences for me.” (Feb. 2015)

Answers: 1. N 2. M 3. Q. 4. P 5. O 6. B 7. C 8. L 9. D 10. H 11. J 12. A 13. G 14. F 15. I 16. E 17. R 18. K

By Brian Weidy