Gore, Bush compete for high marks on education.(The Dallas Morning News)

Vice President Al Gore, speaking Friday in Gov. George W. Bush's back yard, criticized public education in Texas, called the governor's education plan too conservative and outlined his own ``revolutionary'' agenda for the nation's schools.

Yet Gore's outline included a key component of the plan Bush has been touting for more than a month: the threat of withholding federal money from underperforming schools.

The difference is Bush's plan would redirect those dollars toward vouchers that students could use to attend private schools. Gore, who strongly opposed private-school vouchers, would put the money back into public schools.

``Governor Bush says he cares about education and wants to improve our schools, but he has a bad plan,'' Gore said. ``We need to invest more and demand more _ not aim too low, invest too little …