"We need to put a college education within reach of every American. That's the best investment we can make in our future."
» Bettendorf, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2007

Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., education proposals stretch through college, but he says that investing in early childhood education is critical. He says that for every dollar invested in high-quality, comprehensive programs supporting children and families there is a $7 to $10 return to society in the form of higher graduation and employment rates, less crime, less use of the public welfare system and better health. Here are some of his proposals.

Reform No Child Left Behind program

• Create assessment models that provide educators and students with feedback on how to improve student learning and measure readiness for college.

Invest in zero to five early childhood education

• Create grants to stimulate and help fund state "zero to five" efforts. Quadruple the number of children eligible for the Early Head Start program, and ensure all children have access to preschool.

Recruit, prepare, retain and reward teachers

• Transform the teaching profession by ensuring that it offers high-quality opportunities for professional growth and career development. Eliminate teacher shortages in hard-to-staff areas and subjects, improve teacher retention rates, strengthen teacher preparation programs, improve professional development and better utilize and reward accomplished teachers.

Make math and science education a national priority

• Obama says that math and science education is in crisis at all American schools, and that everyone needs to master those two subjects. He notes that 80 percent of the fastest-growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and math. Obama says that his teaching service scholarship program would prioritize recruiting math, science and technology graduates.

Help the most at-risk children succeed in school

• Obama says that the typical school day is a throwback to America's agricultural era and is not on par with that of other developed countries. Longer school days or longer school years could help provide additional learning time for students to close the achievement gap. Obama says he'll create a $200 million program for states and districts that want to provide additional learning time for students in need.

Reduce the school dropout rate

• Address the risks at appropriate times rather than waiting for the ninth grade to start taking action. Obama has introduced the Success in the Middle Act that provides federal support to improve education of middle-grades students in low-performing schools.

Make college affordable for everyone

• Simplify the application process for financial aid. The process is cumbersome and complex and it may be a reason why some students never apply for college.
• Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit to ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition at the average public college.
• Expand Pell Grants for low-income students. The award needs to keep pace with the rising cost of college.

*Sen. Barack Obama's voting record on education issues:

Voted Topic Date YES $52 million for "21st century community learning centers." Oct. 2005 YES $5 billion for grants to local educational agencies. Oct. 2005 YES Shifting $11 billion from corporate tax loopholes to education. March 2005

*Members of Congress sometimes vote on different versions of a bill. Voting yes or no on one doesn't mean they'll vote the same way on succeeding versions.