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This morning, I testified before the United State's Senate HELP committee on the topic of college affordability. My written testimony can be found here .  The text of my oral testimony follows, and I have added a q&a to respond to several questions I expect to receive.  I welcome your feedback. TESTIMONY Good morning, Chairman Harkin, Senator Alexander, and Members of the Committee. Thank you all for this opportunity. There’s never been a more important time to address the issue of college affordability.  College is now the main road to a stable, secure life, and in this age of global knowledge markets, it is college-educated workers who will be the main driver of the U.S.’s prosperity. But the research evidence is clear:  most families and students find the high cost of college attendance unbearable, and it’s affecting their choices about whether to attend college, where to go, and even whether or not to finish the degrees and certificates they start. As access ...

It will be an incredible honor and immense responsibility to appear this Tuesday morning before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for a hearing about college affordability. I am especially happy that the focus of this hearing is on the perspectives of students and families, since they view policy as enacted, not policy as intended. The hearing will be webcast here beginning at 9 am Central/ 10 am Eastern.  My written testimony has been submitted and will be posted on the website following the hearing-- it is substantially longer and more detailed than my oral testimony, since I only get 5 minutes for that. This committee is chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, and (be still my heart!) includes both Senator Tammy Baldwin and  Senator Elizabeth Warren. I'm told they will both be present, and that Senator Baldwin will deliver my introduction. I will be joined by a representative from the U.S. PIRG and two students. I look forward to this imp...

The chatter among the education cognescenti this week is about what is and what isn't in the bipartisan ESEA draft released by Senate education chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-WY). Let me repeat my prior contention that, politically, ESEA reauthorization is an issue for 2013 -- not 2011 or 2012. The Republican-led U.S. House is not going to give President Obama any kind of a political victory, despite the solid compromise put forth by the Senate HELP Committee. For that reason, the work currently underway is in part about laying the groundwork for a future compromise, in part a genuine attempt to get something done (despite the House), and in part political cover. The bill itself represents a sensible step back from a pie-in-the-sky accountability goal of 100% proficiency in favor of annual state data transparency, continued data disaggregation among subgroups, and greater state flexibility over educational accountability. Personally, I am not an accountabi...

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is holding a hearing this morning on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind. Today's hearing focuses on the teacher and school leader elements of ESEA. Among the witnesses are: Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers Stephanie Hirsch, Executive Director, National Staff Development Council Jon Schnur, CEO, New Leaders for New Schools Ellen Moir, CEO, New Teacher Center Timothy Daly, President, The New Teacher Project Thomas Kane, Professor of Education and Economics, Harvard University and Deputy Director, U.S. Education, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation UPDATES: A video replay of the hearing -- as well as links to the participants' testimony -- is available here .