oflovefaithhopedream

The chatter among the education cognescenti this week is about what is and what isn't in the bipartisan ESEA draft released by Senate education chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-WY). Let me repeat my prior contention that, politically, ESEA reauthorization is an issue for 2013 -- not 2011 or 2012. The Republican-led U.S. House is not going to give President Obama any kind of a political victory, despite the solid compromise put forth by the Senate HELP Committee. For that reason, the work currently underway is in part about laying the groundwork for a future compromise, in part a genuine attempt to get something done (despite the House), and in part political cover. The bill itself represents a sensible step back from a pie-in-the-sky accountability goal of 100% proficiency in favor of annual state data transparency, continued data disaggregation among subgroups, and greater state flexibility over educational accountability. Personally, I am not an accountabi...

Predictions that Florida Governor Charlie Crist's veto of a monstrosity of a teacher effectiveness bill back in April 2010 would cause his state to lose the Race to the Top competition have proven false. Charlie Barone (Democrats for Education Reform), Mike Thomas ( Orlando Sentinel columnist), Clayton Christensen , and others wrote at the time that Crist's veto would cost Florida its Phase Two Race to the Top funding. Nope. Even former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Andy Smarick (a favorite to be next New Jersey education commissioner) intimated that Crist's move was the wrong step and could harm Florida. But, lo and behold, the sky did not fall and Republican Crist is still standing (as an independent running for U.S. Senate). And the feds are cutting a $700 million check to the Sunshine State any day now ( Orlando Sentinel ).

Where do I begin in critiquing such wrong-headed and vitriolic analysis of Florida Governor Charlie Crist's veto of SB 6 , which would have eliminated tenure for teachers and based their evaluations primarily on a single year of student test scores? One cannot accurately and fairly evaluate an individual educator's performance by test scores alone, especially based on a single year's worth of data (as the Florida legislation would have done) and particularly for new teachers . I've said it before and before that -- and I'll undoubtedly say it again. On this specific issue, I'll take the "what they said" approach. Read Claus von Zastrow , Sherman Dorn , David Kirp , and Steve Peha who provide the right amount of counsel and insight. Today's blog post by Rick Hess on value-added methodologies is also worth reading. But, first, I'll say a little more. It appears that a fair number of the forces pushing SB 6 and now bemoaning its veto admi...

Thomas W. Carroll, the president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, provides a sound analysis of states' chances of winning Race to the Top funding in phase one. [Hat tip: Alexander Russo ] I would agree that Florida and Louisiana are the likeliest winners in phase one, and would be surprised if Delaware and Tennessee were not, at least, semifinalists. I'm not as keen on Colorado and Michigan , but agree that Georgia is a likely semifinalist as well. Here are some other possible phase one semifinalists from my vantage point: Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Massachusetts, North Carolina , Ohio and Rhode Island . Much will depend on how many states make the cut (Rick Hess says 10-15) and where Secretary Duncan draws the cut line. Semifinalists are expected to be announced this coming week, possibly as early as Monday. Teams from those states will be invited to make a formal presentation before a panel of reviewers in Washington, DC sometime in M...

NATIONAL AFT chief vows to revise teacher-dismissal process ( Education Week ) Strong applications versus stakeholder support? (Flypaper) RttT fire drills ignore the fact that 52% 0f state application is based on PAST reform and achievement (Eduflack) ALABAMA Governor Riley links charters, Race chances ( Dothan Eagle ) FLORIDA 53 of 67 school districts on board; only 5 with union backing ( Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog) GEORGIA Governor Purdue pitches performance pay ( Atlanta Journal Constitution blog) ILLINOIS Bill to strengthen educator evaluations passes state House ( The State Journal-Register ) IOWA Legislation needed to boost state's competitiveness ( Des Moines Register ) Governor Culver presses for RttT legislation in State of the State ( Des Moines Register blog) Bill passes first legislative hurdle ( Des Moines Register blog) KENTUCKY House passes low-performing schools bill ( Louisville Courier-Journal ) LOUISIANA State board endorses application ( T...

Playing catch up following the holidays and the birth of our second child ... here are the major Race to the Top updates a week before round 1 applications are due on January 19th... NATIONAL 39 States and DC to apply in round one (U.S. Department of Education) 'Race To Top' Viewed as Template for a New ESEA ( Education Week ) 'Race To Top' Driving Policy Action Across States ( Education Week ) Two State Unions Balking at 'Race To Top' Plans ( Education Week ) CALIFORNIA Assembly passes reform bill ( Sacramento Bee ) Governor signs bill to improve state eligibility in Race; opposed by teachers' unions ( Los Angeles Times ) Governor seeks to ease teacher firings ( Los Angeles Times ) COLORADO Summary of state plan ( INDenver Times ) FLORIDA Unions: State RttT plan is 'fatally flawed' ( Orlando Sentinel ) Editorial: Unions must not walk ( Miami Herald ) Editorial: Racing to the top ( Orlando Sentinel ) ILLINOIS Editorial: State legislature t...

NATIONAL Creative RttT Lawmaking (Politics K-12) RttT Hopefuls: Clear The Week of March 15, 2010 (Politics K-12) States Struggle With Pk-20 Data ( Education Week ) CALIFORNIA State senate passes RttT reform bill (AP) Bill addresses failing schools ( San Francisco Chronicle ) Final bill could be passed "before the holidays" ( Los Angeles Times ) Assembly Speaker: Race is 'on track' ( San Jose Mercury News ) FLORIDA Teachers union says 'no' to state plan (Teacher Beat) Unions balking on Race ( Orlando Sentinel ) Florida Dems cry foul ( St. Petersburg Times - The Gradebook blog) 63 of 67 school districts sign on ( Miami Herald ) HAWAII Failure to address teacher furlough could jeopardize RttT chances ( Honolulu Star-Bulletin ) IDAHO State supe stumps for RttT ( Times-News ) Luna: Charter school cap to stay ( Times-News ) ILLINOIS RttT funds could target lowest performing schools ( Chicago Daily Herald ) INDIANA DoE rolls out RttT proposal summary ...

UPDATED! NATIONAL List of Contending States Grows ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) 37 States to Apply in Round 1 ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) Will Local Teachers' Unions Sign Off On State RttT Plans? ( Education Week Teacher Beat blog) A RttT Scorecard (National Council on Teacher Quality) A Race to Nowhere ( Education Week - Bridging Differences blog) FLORIDA Editorial: Districts should embrace teacher merit pay and RttT ( Orlando Sentinel ) KENTUCKY Districts sign off on RttT ( The State Journal - Frankfort) MAINE In for round 2 (Maine School Management Association) MASSACHUSETTS RttT bill weakened, critics charge ( Boston Globe ) Commentary: Whose needs come first in schools? ( Boston Globe ) MINNESOTA Teachers' union may withhold support for state application (Minneapolis Star Tribune ) NEVADA Legislative attempt to qualify for competition ( Las Vegas Sun ) NEW YORK Governor Paterson: Raise charter school cap ( New York Post ) OHIO Troubled wat...

NATIONAL: New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles ( Education Week ) ALABAMA: Governor touts charter schools ( Andalusia Star-News ) CALIFORNIA: Guvinator will 'veto' Assembly-passed RttT reform bill ( San Diego Union-Tribune ) Assembly passes reform bill ( Los Angeles Times ) Editorial: 'Assembly failed California's schoolchildren' ( San Jose Mercury News ) COLORADO: Educator evaluation changes focus of bill, Race ( Denver Post ) DELAWARE: State targeting students at risk of dropping out ( The News Journal ) FLORIDA: State is a serious contender ( Eduwonk ) Op-Ed: Ed commish calls Race 'a defining moment' for Florida's schools ( Miami Herald ) School districts asked to line up for Race ( St. Petersburg Times ) IDAHO: Community meetings focus on RttT (KPVI-TV) ILLINOIS: Advance Illinois advances RttT blueprint ( Catalyst Chicago ) KENTUCKY: State ed dept wil lseek authority to remove superintendents, school board members in struggling d...

CALIFORNIA: December vote on Race to the Top bills FLORIDA: State may ask for a quarter of $4 billion RttT pot of funds IDAHO: Governor Otter praises RttT plans MASSACHUSETTS: Lawmakers stiff Governor on RttT bills MISSOURI: State may focus on RttT, Round 2