By Randy Clemens
Since last spring I have blogged about the Race to the Top Fund, the federal government’s $4.35 billion dollar competitive grant program (The Race Begins Today, With “Race to the Top,” We All Lose, Part I and Part II, and A History of Reform, a History of Failure). The fund supports four goals:
- Adopting internationally-benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;
- Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals;
- Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices; and
- Turning around our lowest-performing schools.
I have been critical of the initiative for several reasons. First, the federal government is using money, not research and consensus building, to coerce change and implement the administration’s targeted reforms. I understand the rationale: education needs to improve and something needs to be done immediately. Constituents expect California’s politicians to pass the necessary legistlation, which they have, in order to compete for $700 million. I worry, however, that the government is throwing good money after bad.
Second, the reforms overtly emphasize the economic benefits of education to the detriment of the democratic purposes. Third, education has a long history of failed reforms. The favored changes, borrowing heavily from popular education rhetoric, including words like benchmark, accountability, data-driven, are trends presented as sure-fire solutions. Many occurred previously with little success. And I am certainly not the only one to voice my concerns.
Still, despite my apprehensions, the race continues. The application is in for California, along with 39 other states and the District. The Department of Ed selected 58 reviewers and provided an overview of the “transparent” process and selection criteria. California’s website presents useful information, including the final copy of the application. I urge you to stay active in the process. And I hope, for the benefit of our students, that the reforms improve education.
