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The rhetoric of education today tends to divide the world in two: between those who favor 鈥渞eform鈥� and those who don鈥檛.

Many who consider themselves reformers say they stand in opposition to the 鈥渟tatus quo.鈥� Some of them speak of the need to challenge the 鈥渆ducation establishment,鈥� or the education bureaucracy. Many also describe their policies as putting the needs of children and students first, as opposed to the ideas favored by their critics, who by implication are focused mostly on the concerns of adults.

A set of stock phrases, sound bites, and buzzwords has come to dominate the public discourse on education, summoned reflexively, it often seems, by elected officials and advocates who speak a shared, accepted language.

The current lexicon groups one set of policies鈥攚hich generally includes support for charter schools, tougher standards and testing, evaluating and paying teachers based on performance, and challenges to teachers鈥� unions on traditional job protections鈥攗nder the favorable heading of reform. Resistance to those ideas is often branded as misguided at best, and obstructionist at worst.

Using rhetoric to frame policies in a flattering or negative light is, of course, as old as politics itself.

But the pervasiveness of today鈥檚 education language, often echoed uncritically in the media, is striking, and reflects the extent to which self-described supporters of reform have seized the rhetorical high ground in making their case.

References to 鈥渞eform鈥� and 鈥渟tatus quo鈥� fill policy papers churned out by advocacy groups and opinion pieces from newspaper editorial boards. They color the speeches of politicians in both parties, including President Barack Obama and his secretary of education, Arne Duncan, and Republicans like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as well as the remarks of forceful and charismatic advocates, such as former District of Columbia Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

鈥淚t is both fortuitous and to some degree a matter of public relations design,鈥� Grover J. 鈥淩uss鈥� Whitehurst, a former top federal education official, said of the phenomenon. Elected officials and policy proponents who identify themselves as reformers 鈥渒now each other, and they have a shared set of goals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f one of them uses a phrase that packs a punch, everyone seems to pick it up.鈥�

Mr. Whitehurst, a senior fellow and the director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, served as the director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, during the second Bush administration. He believes some of today鈥檚 policies dubbed 鈥渞eforms鈥� may have merit, though he considers the research supporting them weak, compared with the evidence supporting other approaches, such as improving curriculum.

He says that assigning labels, particularly those such as 鈥渟tatus quo,鈥� to policies comes at a cost.

鈥淭hat kind of labeling exercise hardens positions and makes people defensive,鈥� Mr. Whitehurst said. 鈥淲e need to be able to consider anything out there, including what is considered 鈥榯he status quo.鈥� 鈥�

Others say that using terms like 鈥渞eform鈥� and 鈥渟tatus quo鈥� is appropriate, because they aptly describe the challenges facing U.S. schools and the difficult work necessary to overcome obstacles to change.

The message is that 鈥渢he present conditions in education aren鈥檛 good enough,鈥� said Peter Cunningham, the Education Department鈥檚 assistant secretary for communications and outreach. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about changing the way we do business.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not language chosen to divide people, but to challenge everybody,鈥� added Mr. Cunningham, and to put a question to public and policymakers: 鈥淲hat are you willing to do differently?鈥�

President鈥檚 Megaphone

President Obama often turns to the language of reform to convey that message and to tout his education policies. One such occasion came in July, when he lamented the United States鈥� mediocre showing on international tests and defended his administration鈥檚 creation of the federal Race to the Top competition, a $4.35 billion program that encouraged charter school growth, new approaches to paying and evaluating teachers, and common academic standards, among other policy prescriptions.

鈥淲e鈥檝e tolerated a status quo where America lags behind other nations,鈥� Mr. Obama said. He added: 鈥淲e鈥檝e talked about it, we know about it, but we haven鈥檛 done enough about it. And this status quo is morally inexcusable, it鈥檚 economically indefensible, and all of us are going to have to roll up our sleeves to change it.鈥�

He lauded 鈥渟tates, educators, reformers鈥� who supported the Race to the Top, and argued that criticism of the program partly 鈥渞eflects a general resistance to change. We get comfortable with the status quo even when the status quo isn鈥檛 good.鈥�

Mr. Duncan frames his arguments similarly, as was evident during a Nov. 16 speech to the , in which he praised a report commissioned by that group that called for higher standards in teacher training.

The organization had shown 鈥渢remendous leadership and resolve in taking on the status quo,鈥� Mr. Duncan said, by producing a document that 鈥渃aptures this emerging spirit of reform.鈥�

The next day, the secretary stayed on the theme in a speech in Washington urging school officials to take bold and potentially controversial steps鈥攕uch as raising class sizes and paring back nonessential costs鈥攖o control spending during a financially difficult era.

鈥淐hallenging the status quo will take courage,鈥� Mr. Duncan said at the free-market-oriented American Enterprise Institute, adding: 鈥淚 am convinced that we have a special window for reform that will shape the education system for the next 20 to 30 years.鈥�

In using such language, the president and the education secretary were following a tradition that has an indelible place in American politics and policymaking.

The term 鈥渞eform鈥� is often associated with the Progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which gave rise to efforts to battle political corruption, promote worker safety and fair business practices, and establish women鈥檚 suffrage, among other causes.

Politicians from many eras routinely lay claim to the reform mantle. President Obama described his efforts to change the nation鈥檚 health-care system as health-care reform. President George W. Bush called for immigration reform and Social Security reform, and joined congressional Democrats in describing the No Child Left Behind Act as education reform. President Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans cooperated on welfare reform.

But education policy, in particular, has been a magnet for the reform brand. Many of the efforts during the standards and accountability movement of the 1980s and 1990s, following the 1983 report A Nation at Risk鈥攊tself a potent phrasemaker鈥攚ere labeled reforms.

The term has very different meaning in mathematics education, where supporters of moving away from what they see as rote teaching by memorization describe their efforts as reform鈥攚hile opponents use the term to denigrate those efforts.

What鈥檚 Implied

The word 鈥渞eform鈥� has a positive and even somewhat magical connotation, observes Thomas W. Benson, a professor of rhetoric at Pennsylvania State University, in University Park, Pa.

While many advocates of changes in education use the term to convey the image of sweeping policy overhauls, the term鈥檚 appeal to politicians and the public is more complicated, he suggests. 鈥淩eform鈥� evokes images of substantive change鈥攜et change that is gradual enough not to be disruptive, argues Mr. Benson, a widely published scholar who has studied the uses of rhetoric in politics and culture.

The word is, in fact, 鈥渁 benign sort of term,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has a suggestive aura.鈥� Throughout recent American history, Mr. Benson said, 鈥渞eform鈥� has connoted a 鈥渕iddle way, that preserved the institution while inching it in the way of progress. ... It鈥檚 reassuring, isn鈥檛 it?鈥�

A sharper-edged variation on that language is used to great effect by Ms. Rhee, the former schools chief in Washington, who has emerged as perhaps the nation鈥檚 most recognizable champion of improving teacher quality through steps such as restricting tenure, financially rewarding teachers deemed most effective, and firing poor-performing ones.

Ms. Rhee recently founded an advocacy organization called , which seeks to lend political and financial support to candidates for office who back the group鈥檚 agenda. The idea that the organization鈥檚 policy priorities reflect the needs of children鈥攁nd that opposition reflects the interests of adults鈥攊s one that Ms. Rhee regularly puts forward in her public appearances.

Her organization鈥檚 website urges visitors: 鈥淐hallenge the bureaucracy. Put students first.鈥�

Ms. Rhee delivered that message during a Feb. 9 appearance before a legislative subcommittee in Florida, during which she was greeted as 鈥渢he utmost talent in the education reform movement鈥� by state Rep. Erik Fresen, the Republican who chairs the panel.

鈥淎s you know, being among the first to challenge the status quo will not make your lives easy,鈥� Ms. Rhee said in prepared remarks.

She went on to praise Florida legislation that seeks to limit teacher tenure and change teacher pay and evaluation, saying that 鈥渁ll of these reforms together are a strong part [of] putting students first in Florida.鈥� The state鈥檚 existing tenure policy, Ms. Rhee argued, 鈥渏ust does not put students first.鈥�

In a speech the next day in Georgia, Ms. Rhee used much the same language, telling state lawmakers that her organization was created to counterbalance the influence of powerful interest groups, such as teachers鈥� unions and the textbook industry.

Ms. Rhee urged Georgia legislators to do away with policies that lead school districts to protect teachers from layoffs on the basis of seniority, rather than their performance.

鈥淭he defenders of the status quo are very strong, they鈥檙e very organized, they鈥檙e very strategic,鈥� said Ms. Rhee, who did not respond to requests from 澳门跑狗论坛 for comment.

Of protecting teachers from job losses based on seniority, she said: 鈥淚f we think about students first, what is in the best interest of children, then we would have to, necessarily, change the way that we鈥檙e doing those policies.鈥�

Bipartisan Usage

Just as many of the 鈥渞eform鈥� ideas put forward on charter schools, merit pay, improved data systems, and other subjects are bipartisan, so is the rhetoric used to promote those policies.

Gov. Christie called improving education a 鈥渢ransformational issue鈥� during an appearance on ABC鈥檚 鈥淕ood Morning America鈥� in January. He said it could 鈥渂ring both parties together, if we just rise above the interests, the special interests that want to protect the failed status quo.鈥�

U.S. Rep. George Miller of California, the leading House Democrat on education issues, responded to President Obama鈥檚 recent State of the Union speech by saying: 鈥淚f we fail to take action to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we are sentencing our students to the status quo. I鈥檝e been fighting too long to let that happen.鈥�

The phrase 鈥渆ducation establishment,鈥� something of a catch-all descriptor often used to refer to teachers鈥� unions and general administrative and bureaucratic stasis, is also used by both parties.

鈥淒emocrats have shown their true priorities, jumping at the chance to discard education reform to salvage an unpopular bailout for the education establishment,鈥� U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said last year in a statement criticizing a $10 billion federal spending measure designed to prevent school layoffs. Mr. Kline is now the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

The California state director of Democrats for Education Reform, Gloria Romero, described the same forces at work in criticizing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown鈥檚 appointments to the state board of education. She voiced worries that they would not support policies in areas such as new approaches to teacher evaluation and allowing parents to petition for leadership and structural changes to schools. 鈥淭he education establishment is back in school again,鈥� she told 澳门跑狗论坛.

鈥楴arrowing the Discourse鈥�

Describing policies, particularly those that challenge teachers鈥� unions, as pro-student has become popular in some state capitals.

In Indiana, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and Gov. Mitch Daniels, both Republicans, have put forward a broad legislative and policy agenda titled which includes calls to expand charter schools and evaluate and pay teachers and administrators based on performance measures, including student test scores.

In Idaho, Republican state schools chief Tom Luna, with the backing of Republican Gov. C.L. 鈥淏utch鈥� Otter, in January unveiled a broad proposal to support merit pay and virtual education, raise class sizes, and limit teachers鈥� collective bargaining rights.

It鈥檚 hardly unusual for advocates to try to define their goals and those of their opponents, Mr. Whitehurst said, noting that members of George W. Bush鈥檚 administration were just as determined to do so as they promoted the federal No Child Left Behind Act and other policies.

But the messages pushed along by proponents of today鈥檚 reforms, he argued, carry more weight because they originate from so many different sources鈥攏ot just the Obama administration, but also state and federal policymakers in both parties, advocacy groups, and well-funded foundations.

The overall effect is often to label skeptics of certain policies as belonging to the 鈥渆stablishment bucket"鈥攅ven if those critics have spent years working for substantial changes to schools, Mr. Whitehurst said.

鈥淚t does them a disservice to say they鈥檙e pushing for adults, and not for kids,鈥� he said.

The reform brand today is 鈥渧ery narrowly defined,鈥� said Pedro Noguera, a sociologist and professor of education at New York University, in New York City. Mr. Noguera supports some elements of the"reform鈥� movement, such as charter school growth and innovation, but says he is skeptical of strategies in some areas, such as testing and teacher quality, which he believes policymakers are far too willing to accept uncritically.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a simplistic message,鈥� Mr. Noguera said."When you look at schools that are successful, it鈥檚 never one thing. It鈥檚 complex. But complexity frustrates policymakers.鈥�

Today鈥檚 reformers 鈥渉ave been able to dominate the public discourse,鈥� he said. But 鈥渢he narrowing of the discourse and the shutting down of alternate perspectives has the effect of limiting our ability to come up with creative solutions for our schools.鈥�

The education historian Diane Ravitch, a former assistant U.S. secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush, has emerged as a leading critic of many of the prevailing reform ideas. She said the language used to describe them is effective in marginalizing opposing views. That rhetoric, she argued, also creates gives the misleading impression that 鈥渞eform鈥� advocates are fighting an uphill battle, when in fact they dominate the current political, business, and media landscape.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no interest in getting both sides,鈥� said Ms. Ravitch, who . 鈥淭hese people are the 鈥榮tatus quo.鈥� They have captured the language. ... There鈥檚 no one to say, 鈥榃hoa, wait a minute.鈥� 鈥�

Yet others, like Mr. Bennett, of Indiana, said language such as 鈥淧utting Students First"鈥攚hich he said was a product of a team of trying to come up with a way to define its policy goals鈥攔eflects the reality that many previous education policy changes have 鈥渢erribly missed the mark鈥� in not improving schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the rhetoric,鈥� Mr. Bennett said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a question of 鈥楲et鈥檚 show you what鈥檚 behind these ideas.鈥� ... More than the language, it鈥檚 the concepts, which are seen by the vast majority of Hoosiers as common sense.鈥�

The Indiana official also noted that his critics are adept at assigning their own labels to his ideas, which he says falsely suggest he wants to privatize public schools, or weaken them.

鈥淒o you think I want it on my headstone that I tried to kill public education?鈥� Mr. Bennett said. The goal, he said, is to 鈥減reserve and enable public education to prosper.鈥�

Claiming High Ground

Michael J. Petrilli, the executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank, notes that many critics of current proposals to improve teacher quality or expand charter schools are quick to brand those strategies 鈥渂ig-business鈥� or 鈥渃orporate-style reforms.鈥�

Advocates always reach for labels 鈥渢o claim the moral high ground,鈥� Mr. Petrilli said. Doing so does not allow for much nuance, he said. 鈥淏ut it works on both sides.鈥�

Mr. Petrilli said he identifies today鈥檚 reform movement mostly with efforts to challenge the influence of teachers鈥� unions. But he agrees with others that the term 鈥渞eform鈥� is somewhat amorphous, and says that people within that camp often have very different opinions on school choice, testing, common standards, curriculum, and other matters.

While Mr. Petrilli, who served in the Education Department under the second President Bush, said he considers himself a member of that reform group, he added that the Fordham Institute sees part of its mission as challenging dubious ideas that emerge from the movement, on teacher evaluation and other issues.

鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of groupthink within the reform community,鈥� Mr. Petrilli said.

Robert M. Freeman, a social studies teacher in Los Altos, Calif., supports some aspects of the current movement, such as changing teacher-tenure rules to make it easier to remove ineffective teachers. But he is deeply skeptical of others, such as charter school expansion, which he believes is driven by private-sector profit motives. He says the education jargon of the day frustrates him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a completely false dichotomy,鈥� said Mr. Freeman, who became a teacher nine years ago after a career in the computer industry. He is also the founder of a nonprofit group, One Dollar for Life, that collects $1 donations from students to support the construction of schools and other projects in the developing world.

鈥淛ust because I don鈥檛 support charter schools doesn鈥檛 mean I鈥檓 not in favor of improving education,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the case that 鈥榬eform鈥� is necessarily virtuous. ... I just don鈥檛 happen to believe in their version of reform.鈥�

Yet when a brand works its way into the education lexicon, it can be difficult to shake.

Mr. Whitehurst recalled his sense that he was on the losing end rhetorically when, during the 1990s, he argued in favor of introducing instructional approaches common in elementary school into prekindergarten.

But opponents of that strategy 鈥渃alled what they were doing 鈥榙evelopmentally appropriate practice,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat did that leave me with?鈥�