- Hillary Clinton has remained vague on Common Core but supports standards-based education. She cites her involvement in No Child Left Behind as evidence of her support for federal standards. - Ted Cruz believes Common Core was an abuse of executive power and wants to repeal it. He also wants to eliminate the Department of Education. - John Kasich opposes federal learning standards and the idea that education is dictated at the federal level. - Marco Rubio wants to stop Common Core and return education decisions to local control. He once supported the program that encouraged Common Core adoption. - Bernie Sanders neither endorses nor opposes Common Core but is against penalties for test performance. He favors giving teachers flexibility and supporting students.

1. Common Core
Clinton has remained vague on Common Core, though the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest contributor to the
Clinton Foundation, and al Jazeera America reports Clinton and
former President Clinton are longtime supporters of stan-
dards-based education form. She hails her key involvement in
the authoring of No Child Left Behind as evidence of her
support for federal standards.
Hillary Clinton:

2. Common Core
The Texas senator has said, “We should repeal every word of
Common Core,” and believes Race to the Top was an abuse of
executive power. He does not have an explicit education
platform, aside from the idea that the U.S. Department of
Education should be eliminated as part of an overall plan to
shrink the federal government.
Ted Cruz:

3. Common Core
The Ohio governor is running on a platform that stresses
education is local and decries the idea of federal learning
standards. Ohio has implemented Common Core standards,
though the state’s education authority decided to dump the
PARCC testing companion.
John Kasich:

4. Common Core
“Let’s stop Common Core and send education decisions back
to the local level.” The Florida senator has been a vocal
opponent of the federally-backed education standards, but he
once supported Race to the Top, the Obama administration
grant program that encouraged Common Core adoption as
an incentive.
Marco Rubio:

5. Common Core
The Senator from Vermont neither endorses nor opposes
Common Core outright, but if his thoughts on No Child Left
Behind (which he does discuss at length) are an indicator, it
stands to reason he would not favor federal standards that have
penalties attached for underwhelming test performance. He
instead favors “a more holistic method of education that gives
teachers more flexibility and students more support systems.”
He does, however, oppose the elimination of
Common Core standards.
Bernie Sanders:

6. School Choice
In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” Trump said
vouchers and increased school choice are healthy for a
capitalist economy. “Who’s better off? The kids who use
vouchers to go to the school of their choice, or the ones who
choose to stay in public school? All of them. That’s the way it
works in a competitive system,” he wrote.
Donald Trump: