NEA weighs in on federal “Race to the Top” program

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel responds to $4.35 billion initiative

The Education Department announced its guidelines July 24 for the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” fund, which spells out how states can apply to win grants for innovation in education. The program is part of the nearly $100 billion allotted to education as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

At the U.S. Department of Education headquarters, President Obama appeared with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to provide long-awaited details and encourage public input on a number of education initiatives created by ARRA, including “Race to the Top” (RTTT).

Their goals are for states to use funds to drive reform in four main areas: teacher effectiveness/distribution, standards and assessments, data systems, and struggling schools. More specifically, the draft language would favor states that ease limits on charter schools, link teacher and principal evaluation to student achievement data and, for the first time, move toward common academic standards. It is part of a broader effort to improve school achievement with a $100 billion increase in education funding, more money for community colleges and an increase in Pell Grants for college students.

While NEA is generally supportive of the plan, not all aspects of the proposal are easily embraced. Said NEA president Dennis Van Roekel, “The Obama administration has continued to show its commitment to creating great public schools for every student, and educators around the country could not agree more with that goal. We are especially impressed by the administration’s willingness to listen and insist that the entire education community be involved in this process. As educators, we know that collaboration is key to transforming our schools and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the administration.”

The Association is guarded, however, about one tenet of the plan, which has already caught the media’s attention. It stipulates that states must have no “legal, statutory or regulatory barriers to linking data about student achievement or student growth to teachers for the purpose of teacher and principal evaluation.”

“We are concerned with some of the details included in the draft proposals and encourage the Education Department to think more broadly about what it views as the basic tenets of a student’s educational experience,” 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. Teachers should be evaluated on their practice using multiple criteria, not just one.”

Van Roekel also noted that it is necessary for teachers to have timely, accurate data about students to inform their instructional or curricular decisions, as well as high-quality professional development to help teachers use the data effectively.

“We need to keep in mind that a student is more than a test score, and if we truly want to know how students are doing, we need to look at all critical elements of their education. Now is the time to listen to our educators about what students need, such as reduced class size, better technology, parental support and access to quality afterschool programs,” stressed Van Roekel.