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Obama Wins Second Term as President

President Barack Obama walks on stage with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha at his election night victory party early Wednesday in Chicago.

—Carolyn Kaster/AP

By Alyson Klein

President Barack Obama—who pushed through an unprecedented windfall of education funding in his first term and spurred states to make widespread changes to K-12 policy through competitive grants—has been re-elected, the Associated Press reported tonight.

Although school issues were a major focus of the president’s first four years in office, he did not outline a particularly robust second-term agenda for education during a campaign dominated largely by the economy. As the Democratic standard-bearer, he reiterated a pledge, made earlier this year, to recruit and train 100,000 new math and science teachers, but otherwise steered clear of trumpeting new initiatives. Instead, he focused on the differences between his record and that of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his Republican rival, on education funding.

Mr. Romney, who made expanding school choice and a slimmed down Education Department part of his campaign platform,...