Demystifying Goliath: An Examination of the Political Compass of Education Reform

ABSTRACT There are competing popular beliefs about whether education reform is a fundamentally bipartisan or conservative movement. Yet, despite the popularity of these prevariling depictions, there has been minimal effort expended toward systematically observing the political beliefs of the key players in the education reform movement. I gauge the political compass of education reform by administering anonymous political surveys to individuals affiliated with the two largest educational philanthropies and the nation’s largest convening of education policy scholars. Overall, I observe that, contrary to both popular competing characterizations of education reform, education reformers-those who receive philanthropic support to execute reform and those who produce education research to guide reform – overwhelmingly align with the Democratic Party and progressive political positions. The revealed political homogeneity of education reform indicates that it might be fertile terrain for groupthink to flourish. Implications and potential remedies are discussed.