'Race to the Top' School Plan Unveiled

Van Roekel: Collaboration with educators key to program's success

Monday, July 27, 2009 -- The Education Department's $4.35 billion 'Race to the Top' program is on, but the release of draft details of the grant funding plan Friday indicate that it is the beginning of a long marathon.

The fund is intended to reward innovation in education focusing on four main areas: teacher effectiveness/distribution, standards and assessments, data systems, and struggling schools. It is part of the nearly $100 billion set aside for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

A peek at the draft reveals preference for grant funding is likely to go to states that ease limits on charter schools, use student achievement data in the evaluation of teachers and administrators, and move toward common academic standards.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, who attended the event at the Department of Education along with other NEA leaders, applauded the Obama administration for showing a significant financial commitment to creating great public schools for every student and for its willingness to include teachers in the discussion about how 'Race to the Top' can accomplish that goal.

But some of the draft details for the grant plan are cause for concern, said Van Roekel. "If we continue to focus narrowly on test scores, then students in need of the most support will continue to get more test prep rather than the rich, challenging, engaging education they deserve," he said. As for those student test scores being used to evaluate teachers, "they should be evaluated on their practice using multiple criteria, not just one."

Which is not to say that NEA opposes states' gathering and use of student data. Such data is essential for teachers developing students' instruction and curriculum. When it comes to evaluating the teachers themselves, multiple criteria should be used.

In the 30 days set aside for comments on the plan, NEA will analyze the details of the proposal to find common ground with the Administration, Van Roekel said.

"While we may not agree on every tactic or proposal the department puts forward, our commitment to the end result could not be clearer," Van Roekel said. "We want a great public school for every student in this country, and we know that it will take serious measures to achieve this goal."

COMMENTS:

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Sara | 2010/01/12

you can not have the no child left behind working with a program like this that has merit pay. No matter how many and how good the resources are there are tons of children that will never get high scores on test unless you completely segregate the gifted from the ordinary and only count those scores making it appear like we are a brilliant country...like china does.

Karen | 2009/11/12

Merit pay for test scores will be a great idea WHEN all children come to us equally equipped and having had equal experiences.

Jason | 2009/11/11

This from an administration that NEA supported. What a joke.

Mary | 2009/08/13

Please notice the the Benchmarks mentioned are INTERNATIONAL not National. The following is quoted directly from the application requirements, "For Phase 1 applications: The extent to which the State has demonstrated commitment to improving the quality of its standards by participating in a consortium of States that is working toward jointly developing and adopting, by June 2010, a common set of K-12 standards (as defined in this notice) that are internationally benchmarked and that build toward college and career readiness by the time of high school graduation, and the extent to which this consortium includes a significant number of States."

Diane Aoki | 2009/07/27

I comes down to: charter schools, performance pay, national standards. Those who win the race will be those states who make the most movement in that direction. It is so far from the vision of what we want to see in terms of reclaiming our profession. Teacher quality will be linked to students' test results in their scheme. THEY have not been listening. Also, there is every indication to believe that the push for national standards will be followed by a high-stakes national test. And if teachers can't show that their students can't cut the tests, they will again be scapegoated, perhaps even fired in their "turn-around" plan. Which is why the charter school leg is there. Setting us up for failure, anti-union businesses will open disguised as charter schools. The 3 prongs in their plan are there for a reason. And it is not to respond to the needs of children. NEA! If you let this happen without a fight, we will crumble, which is probably the plan as well.

please advise | 2009/07/27

as a 20 year member of the NEA/CTA i am deeply concerned about the underpinnings of "Race to the Top". Namely, the ending of TEACHER TENURE and MERIT PAY!!! i am looking for "marching orders" from the NEA in opposing these main provisions of this anti-teacher plan!!!