President Barack Obama campaigned on a message of change, but when it comes to K-12 education, he appears to be walking in the policy footsteps of his recent predecessors, including George W. Bush. Obama is sounding themes of accountability based on standards and assessments. He is delivering tough talk on teacher quality, including a call for performance-based pay. And he is promoting an expanded charter school sector. To be sure, his economic-stimulus package shows he is ready to pump far more money into education than Bush did. And Obama says he opposes private school vouchers, a consistent Bush agenda item. Still, some observers see little difference between the two so far--and are not happy at the similarities. Alfie Kohn, an education author and longtime critic of standardized testing, warns that if Mr. Obama holds to that pattern, his agenda may pose a challenge for some of his natural constituencies.