Abstract
There is no clear-cut legal stipulation obliging the U.S. federal government to give financial support to compulsory education at state government and school district level. In practice, however, the government has been providing help in the form of multifaceted grants. This situation gained prominence from the 1960s in the context of the civil rights movement actively promoted by minorities at this time. The motivation for increasing educational finance had been based on the concept of "equality", and was endorsed by the Democratic Party. But then this concept began to change. The Reagan Administration changed the emphasis from "equality" to "excellence", and at the same time, the federal education budget was cut. The next Administration, under George Bush (the 41st President), reacting to dissatisfaction with the concept of "excellence", introduced the concept of "choice," and interest began to focus more on students' achievements. This interest at the federal level in students' achievements led to a national ability testing program under the Clinton Administration. This meant both the Republicans and the Democrats came to share a common policy with students' academic ability. The federal government's interest in student academic ability became more apparent with the birth of the Administration of George W Bush (the 43rd President). This Administration has emphasized the concept of "accountability." While there was an expectation of more federal spending on education, more was also expected from students in terms of higher achievement levels.
