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Race to Top Leaves Some School Reformers Weary
Education Reformer has become synonymous with charter school advocate.
By Stephanie Banchero
President Barack Obama's signature education initiative has encouraged the overhaul of state laws governing charter schools, teacher evaluations and student-testing systems.
But ahead of the Tuesday deadline for states to apply for the second phase of Race to the Top, some education reformers were complaining the changes have not been as bold or widespread as expected.
"It's the dog that didn't bark," said Andy Smarick, a former education department official under George W. Bush who supports the initiative. "I don't want to underplay what has happened, but we have not seen revolutionary changes from coast to coast."
The $4.5 billion federal program aims to spur innovation by rewarding states that promote charter schools, adopt rigorous learning standards, tie teacher pay to student achievement and intervene in chronically low-performing schools.
Forty states applied for the first round of the competition. Only Delaware and Tennessee won funds. They received a total of $600 million.
Applications for the second round are due by the end of Tuesday with winners to be chosen in September. Thirty-seven states filed notice with the Department of Education that they planned to apply, but Minnesota, Idaho and West Virginia have subsequently dropped out. Others may apply without giving formal notice.
Since the competition kicked off last year, at least 23 states have approved laws that better position them for a win.
The Education Department isn't obligated to give out all of the funds, but if it doesn't award it all by Sept. 30, the leftover money must be returned to the Treasury.
Several states, including Louisiana and New York, pushed through major legislation just last week.
Delaware and Illinois mandated teacher evaluations be tied to student achievement. Michigan and Massachusetts passed laws allowing state intervention in low-performing schools or districts. Tennessee and Iowa eased restrictions on the number of charter schools, public schools typically run by private entities created to foster competition in public education.
Peter Cunningham, spokesman for the education department, said that while his office was "stunned" at what he saw as the quick pace of legislative changes, "education reform is a journey and Race to the Top has advanced us on the journey," he said. "We have a lot further to go."
But Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, said many of the changes—especially on the charter school front—have been "inconsequential."
In New York, lawmakers pushed through legislation Friday afternoon that eased the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460. But it placed restrictions on the schools by barring for-profit organizations from opening new ones. Gov David Paterson signed it Friday night.
Peter Murphy, policy director for the New York Charter Schools Association, said banning for-profit charter expansion was a setback for the charter movement and a "bitter pill to swallow" but said, overall, the legislation was a "monumental step forward."
Mississippi also passed charter-school legislation, but it prohibits the creation of charters in the traditional sense. The law doesn't allow private groups to open new charters. It simply allows low-performing schools to convert to charters if parents vote for it. Parents would run the school, but budget and curriculum decisions could be overridden by state or district officials.
"Politically, it was a huge victory that we got a bill through with the word 'charter' in it," said Rachel Hicks, executive director of Mississippi First, a nonprofit advocacy group for education reform. "Policy wise, it's meaningless."
Similar complaints have surfaced about the breadth and depth of changes to teacher evaluation and tenure laws.
Florida lawmakers passed a reform package that would have done away with teacher tenure all together. But Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed it. The state still plans to apply for funding.
Colorado lawmakers passed sweeping legislation last month that made it tougher for teachers to earn and keep tenure by requiring they prove they are helping students succeed academically. But other states did not go nearly as far.
At least nine states passed legislation tying student achievement to teacher evaluations. But few took the additional step of tying the evaluation to teacher compensation and tenure decisions.
In most districts, teacher pay is determined by length of service and degrees earned. Tenure is typically granted after two or three years and even though teachers can be terminated for poor performance once they are tenured, they rarely are.
Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said states made modest changes in response to Race to the Top but did not build comprehensive systems that guarantee a high-quality teacher in every classroom.
"We are pleased with the considerable activity at the state level, but most of it has not been ground breaking," said Ms. Jacobs, whose nonprofit group seeks improvements in teacher recruitment and development.
Tim Daly, of the New Teacher Project, pointed out that education reform is an incremental process. "Race to the Top has accelerated the conversation about school reform and that is a major victory," said Mr. Daly, who supports performance-based teacher evaluations.
— Stephanie Banchero
Wall Street Journal
2010-06-01
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704366504575278512965173120.html?mod=djemITP_h
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