Executive Agendas

Education Week reviews the 2005 education agendas and outcomes for all 50 governors, and notes their 2006 priorities.

Governors are focusing much of their attention on two critical areas of education policy—high school and preschool—a 50-state look at the nation’s governors and their leadership on education over the past year shows.

At least 22 governors proposed significant policies last year aimed at improving high schools, or have made such proposals so far in 2006, Education Week found in preparing this special report. At least 20 governors began last year or have initiated in current legislative sessions pushes to expand prekindergarten for 4-year-olds or other early-childhood programs.

Several other topics drew the interest of governors in 2005, including incentive pay or other changes in teacher compensation, school choice, school- and district-level consolidation, child...