"There’s something sadly desperate about Race to the Top" WP today.

[madfloridian]

Valerie Strauss is right. There's a hopeless feeling when states are passing laws that are ill-planned and ill-researched just to get Arne's money.

There is not much that public education can do to defend itself against this onslaught. The other side has all the money and power it needs to put forth its position.

Our side only has a few bloggers willing to speak out.

The desperation of Race to the Top

To make today’s deadline, many of the participating states rushed major education bills through their legislatures to meet the contest’s requirements and engaged in furious negotiations with unions against artificially set deadlines. They passed laws allowing more charter schools to open -- even though studies show that charter schools on average are no better than regular public schools -- and tying teacher compensation to standardized test scores, even though the tests aren't designed to assess teachers.

Is that not a great way to commit serious education reform? Just today, preliminary results of a study were released showing that a performance-based compensation program that heavily relies on student test scores to evaluate teachers showed no improvement in Chicago.

Yes, the program was one of Duncan’s efforts when he ran the Chicago schools, and yes, tying student test scores to teacher compensation is one of Duncan’s big ideas for helping students achieve more.

Of course this new analysis, which you can read more about here, is hardly definitive, but that’s exactly the point: We are rushing, again, into school reform initiatives with billions of dollars without much evidence that where we are headed is the right direction, and, in some cases, with evidence that it is clearly the wrong one.

Her ending paragraph is quite true.

At some point, it might occur to the president that he allowed Duncan to push an education agenda that was not sound and that will leave public schools in no better shape than they are now. Here’s hoping it’s not too late.

Diane Ravitch recently said that this push to privatize education is causing much tension.

DR: Yes, Race to the Top is encouraging state legislators to take punitive steps towards schools and teachers that will lead nowhere.

OMC: What's the administration's theory about how withholding this money from districts in need affects the children in that district?

DR: This is simply a threat. It should never become reality. No child will benefit if the funding to his or her school is withheld. Race to the Top has ignited an outburst of meanness, not a race to help kids and teachers and schools.

Strauss is right about Chicago and merit pay bonuses. A new study out today shows that it has done nothing to improve the system in Chicago.

New report on Chicago's merit system.

A study released today by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. shows no evidence that the Chicago Teacher Advancement Program improved student math and reading tests when compared with a group of similar schools that did not use the system, Education Week reported.

Chicago’s program is a version of the national Teacher Advancement Program, or TAP, which was first implemented in Chicago in 2007-08, when Duncan led the schools. The analysis looked at the first two years of a four-year program, which has multiple steps, including increased teacher development, and an incentive payment scheme in which teachers are paid more when their students do better on standardized test scores.

Slow down before too many teachers get fired or laid off. Wait and use a system that has been proven.

They need to slow down this mad rush and give people time to think things over without all the propaganda films and ads. Only one side has the advantage here, and it is not the public school systems.

[Rex]

1. The country will go through a dark ages before we start to praise

the people that help change lives and not just steal money out of your bank account.

[Initech]

9. Go through the dark ages? We're already there!!!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. "an outburst of meanness"

How very true.

[madfloridian]

11. Arne's atmosphere encourages people to criticize teachers...

It's like it is giving permission to do so.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Pitting teacher against teacher, school against school, state agianst state.

Instead of sharing information and learning from each other, they are forced to view each other as competitors..vying for the limited resources needed to teach, to keep their jobs, and to keep their schools open.

[madfloridian]

13. We used to work together and make lesson plans as grade levels.

We even had sharing set up with teachers at other schools. There was a store where we could buy and sell items we had used and no longer needed.

Learning does not thrive in a competitive atmosphere.

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Could not agree more...

[Ardent15]

4. And you thought NCLB was bad!

You ain't seen nothin yet!

[madfloridian]

6. All of his pictures have a very adverse effect on me.

He always looks smug, like he is proud of what he is doing to teachers.

[Ardent15]

7. That one is captioned: "I wonder how I can fuck the teachers over next?"

[Starry Messenger]

8. Drawing an eyepatch on him is very therapeutic.

I can attest to this personally.

[madfloridian]

10. Heh heh

And it is very appropriate.

[Starry Messenger]

5. It's the biggest boondoggle of our age.

It's all smoke and mirrors. It's just to cover the outright theft of money from the public commons. I read another blog that called education "Wall Street's newest casino". Anyone trying to tell us otherwise is blowing smoke up our asses.

[madfloridian]

12. It's overwhelming in the money and power being used.

And not a single Democratic leader standing up for public schools.

And not enough people care enough to fight back.

[ragemage]

14. NJ Gov just screwed our teachers...

So the NJ commissioner of education worked with the NJEA (teachers union) to hammer our some concessions and compromises they could both live with. It was presented to Gov. Christie ( R - of course...) He then goes and trashes it and sends in his original version. He basically publicly humiliated his own education commissioner and slapped the NJEA around. This is the article: http://www.nj.com/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1275461712171230.xml&coll=8 This will not pass the "Race to the Top" criteria and will most likely fail. On a personal note my wife has been a sub in our elementary school system for a few years and was on track to be hired full time this coming fall. As of right now the principal told her he is sorry but there is no way they can hire anyone, in fact there will be layoffs.

[madfloridian]

16. It's heartbreaking. Other states have screwed teachers, didn't get RTTT funds.

But it is too late to fix the damage done in some cases.

Someone needs to tell Arne to step back and think before doing more damage with his bribes.

But no one will because our party is just as much on board as the Republicans...probably more so in cases like Crist in Florida.

[2Design]

17. indoctrination schools foundation being built - control the agenda

bring in more teachers from other countries and make another living wage job become $8 an hour - I am not happy with the power elite that have taken over the last 40 years to destroy this nation and take us back to the dark ages and strict purtain religion

[Hannah Bell]

18. especially ridiculous because use of the cash is restricted to the rttt agenda items.

[jopacaco]

19. Things are not good in the trenches

This is my first post. I read DU daily and always look for posts by madfloridian because I am a teacher too. I have taught high school and middle school for more than 20 years in Maine. Most of the people who I have worked with were reasonably good at their jobs and cared about students. Those folks who go into teaching thinking that it is an easy job don't last long.
Over the last 10 years or so, as the state legislature has gotten involved in designing curriculum, teachers have gone through regular changes in what they were expected to teach - one year it's this, next year it's that and here's a new test that your students will take. This Federal Race to the Top plan is happening at lightning speed and has caused the legislature to overturn years of labor laws and taken away all local control of the education system and it happened almost overnight and I suspect that most people don't even realize it. The union didn't even send out an alarm, they didn't even bother to fight. Teacher assessments are now being driven by test scores. My rural district has a 90% (based on free and reduced hot lunch) poverty rate. We are on a school improvement plan, as are most of the schools in the area. We have close to a 30% special education population. Next year we have to have almost 70% of the students meet standards or face further sanctions. We have had to cut educational technicians, who are working with the neediest students, to put aside money for tutoring next year. Sylvan learning is rumored to be moving in to the area soon.
I am glad that I don't have too many years left until retirement. Even though I have loved being a teacher, I would not recommend to any student that they major in education. Our public education system is in trouble. I thought the Republicans were bad but the Obama administration is worse. God help us all.

[Starry Messenger]

20. Welcome jopacaco.

Duncan isn't listening to teachers. No one is. Stories like yours are so heartbreaking and are going to become more common. :(

[madfloridian]

25. Welcome to DU. Excellent first post.

It's just a tragedy to see our party being more foolhardy about education than Bush ever was. Bush couldn't be, we wouldn't let him be that way. Our party would have been his opposition.

In my area before I retired, all the teachers worshipped Jeb Bush. They had not a clue about his policies, but they were like sheep in supporting whatever he did.

The other day someone I used to teach with remembered when the principal told me to stop criticizing Jeb during school hours. I think more teachers are now waking up. Trouble it now it is both parties pushing for the privatization.

It's tragic. A lot of people have put me on ignore because they consider my posts on education too critical of Obama. Sorry they feel that way, but so be it. More need to be speaking out right now before it is too late. The "reformers" are ruthless and will stop at nothing.

[walldude]

21. K&R..

Whistling past the graveyard I believe is what we are doing. For some odd reason Education, which is basically our entire future, is treated like just another issue to score political points.


crap.. too late for the rec..

[Jakes Progress]

22. Kick. Even if the usual crowd will avoid these threads.

I was just on another thread where some of lamer posters were trotting out the "What's wrong with standardized tests determining teacher pay" and posts about how teachers have it easy.

Of course when it is suggested that their pay be determined by arbitrary and meaningless fill in the blank pencil tests, they complain that their jobs are too complex for that.

The wars are bad. The economy is bad. But the wars will end and most will eventually find some kind of job (although never as good), but the administration putting ronnie reagan's dream education plan into effect will be the end of our growth as a country.

It is a low and mean and cynical thing to use children this way.

[madfloridian]

26. "It is a low and mean and cynical thing to use children this way."

Indeed.

[donco6]

27. And it won't work, so eventually they'll dump it. But -

What will be left when they figure it out?

[Ardent15]

23. Another kick

[CBR]

24. Here is Delaware's Application Narrative and Appendix if interested:

http://governor.delaware.gov/docs/DERTTTNarrativeFinal1001190116.pdf

http://governor.delaware.gov/docs/DERTTTAppendixFinal1001190124.pdf

[burnsei sensei]

28. If the society despises and

disempowers teachers, then it deserves what it gets.
Education is expensive?
Try ignorance.

[Jakes Progress]

29. Despising teachers is a by product

of despising children.

Our society gives great lip service about loving children, but trashes our children's future environment, wrecks the economy they must live in, and mindlessly throws away their educational opportunity for the sake of saving a few tax dollars and giving those tax dollars to corporate interests.

[Jefferson23]

30. K&R

[midnight]

31. Wisconsin just resubmitted a second application for some of that money...

[madfloridian]

32. Florida claims teachers supported bid, but seems there are opt outs

Read this by WP Strauss...

Florida’s Race to Top application: Not what it seems

"No sooner had Tuesday's deadline passed for the second round of applications from participating states in the Obama administration’s $4 billion Race to the Top contest than we learn that at least one bid isn’t quite what it seems.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that while 54 of Florida’s 67 teachers unions had pledged to support the state’s reform program outlined in its application, several actually made “side agreements” with their school districts that would limit or eliminate some of the promised changes.

Florida came in fourth in the first round of the competition, in which states are fighting for a share of education reform money that can be won with education reform initiatives that Education Secretary Arne Duncan favors.

They include an expansion of charter schools (although the available evidence shows that these non-traditional public schools are in general no better than traditional public schools), linking teachers pay to the scores that students receive on standardized tests (even though the assessments weren’t designed for that purpose), and adopting the newly released Common Core standards for math and English.

.."But a Florida Department of Education spokesman told the Times that the application had noted that three districts had side agreements, and the newspaper had confirmed at least two more. Some of these agreements give the unions the right to object to -- and the power to stop the implementation of -- some of the promised reforms, the Times said, including the way teachers are paid and evaluated."