Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog: DFER commends Obama Administration and Secretary Duncan for Bold Reform Initiative; Obama Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education Grants

Sec. Duncan released the final guidelines for Race to the Top and it was
90%+ of everything we could have hoped for. Sure, they tossed a few tiny
bones to the unions, but overall, despite enormous political pressure and
huge efforts by the unions, they didn't back down, so this is a GRAND
SLAM!!! It would be hard to overstate the importance of this - states are
broke and REALLY want this money, so they're responding in a BIG way.

Here's the opening of the DFER press release:

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) commends the Obama Administration and
Education Secretary Arne Duncan for their steadfast support of the bold and
innovative Race to the Top fund, and supports the new guidelines announced
today. DFER hailed those states that have made substantial policy changes in
anticipation of Race to the Top, and called out states that have dragged
their feet in producing true, ambitious and fundamental reforms.

"Today marks the official start of President Obama's historic Race to the
Top school reform initiative," said Joe Williams, executive director of
DFER. "In the final guidance, Secretary Duncan has shown that he is dead
serious about real school reform and about kicking off a Race to the Top
that truly lives up to its title."

"The bright lines from the draft guidelines around issues like the
student-teacher data firewall and radically overhauling low-performing
schools remain intact. Secretary Duncan has shown he has the political
backbone to stand up to indefensible state and local policies and to demand
that states change these failed policies if they want to even get to the
starting line."

"At the same time, the Department of Education has bent over backwards to
correct misperceptions about Race to the Top priorities around issues like
teacher evaluation and charter schools, while making substantive changes
based on feedback from educators and administrators. In our opinion, they
have struck exactly the right balance; Duncan and his team have shown
leadership that is both principled and flexible."

And here's the NYT article on the Race to the Top guidelines, with a nice
quote from Joe Williams:

Three months after provoking an outpouring of criticism with preliminary
plans for the nation's largest competitive education grant program, the
Obama administration has added flexibility in the final rules, released
Wednesday, drawing praise from a state governor who was initially critical
and from leaders of the national teachers' unions.

But the Race to the Top program, which will reward some states undertaking
bold school improvement initiatives with awards totaling $4 billion, retains
politically volatile elements.

Those include President Obama
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> 's emphasis on charter schools
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/charter_scho
ols/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> , using standardized test scores in
teacher evaluation and merit pay systems, and encouraging local districts to
dismiss entire staffs of thousands of failing schools.

After draft rules were published in July, some 1,200 public comments poured
into the Department of Education from educators, union leaders and nine
governors, many criticizing the program for seeming to replay approaches
embodied in the Bush-era federal No Child Left Behind
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/no_child_lef
t_behind_act/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> Law.

"Even after all the comments, the rules are as comprehensive and demanding
as before, they haven't changed," said Rahm Emanuel
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/rahm_emanuel/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> , Mr. Obama's chief of staff, in an interview.
"We're seeking reforms, so we haven't backed off anything."

...Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a
group often critical of the teachers' unions, said, "The administration
clearly listened to the unions, but they haven't backtracked."

Further articles on the guidelines are in the Wall Street Journal
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125799419446144683.html) and the Washington
Post (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR20091111188
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR200911111
88%2081.html> 81.html).

----------------------------

DFER commends Obama Administration and Secretary Duncan for Bold Reform
Initiative, but Cautions That Big Test is Yet to Come

"Race to the Top has catalyzed reform efforts across the country and
important steps have already been taken by key states in anticipation of the
competition."

"California and Wisconsin have torn down their data firewalls. States like
Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana have lifted their charter school caps.
Massachusetts, Kentucky, and other states are in the process of approving
more charter-friendly policies. Rhode Island has raised the bar for what it
takes to attain a teaching license, and acted to base teacher hiring and
promotion on quality rather than seniority."

"In states like Colorado, Delaware, and Louisiana, Race to the Top has
galvanized statewide coalitions, who have already begun to develop plans
that not only make them competitive for Race to the Top under the guidance
issued today - i.e., that they be data-proven, long-term, and sustainable -
but also work within Race to the Top's ample flexibility to meet their own
specific state needs."

"It is important, however, not to overrate what has happened so far. Many
state plans so far are promissory. Some states have simply corrected
indefensible policies or made changes that sound good but upon closer
observation are less than meets the eye."

'Wisconsin, for example, took down the technical firewall between teachers
and student data, but for all intents and purposes still prevents student
achievement from being used in teacher evaluations and tenure decisions. New
York seems to think it can get by simply passively letting its firewall law
expire and phoning their application in. Some members of New York's
political leadwership are actually bragging behind the scenes that the fix
is in and that they will get a Race to the Top grant regardless of the
integrity and ambitiousness of their school reform plan."

"So while today's guidelines represent an unprecedented resolve for real
reform accompanied by real dollars, the big test of the federal government's
courage and steadfastness is yet to come."

"Despite all the good things in today's guidance, Race to the Top will be a
failure if in awarding grants, the feds revert to the old way of doing
business where government officials succumb to political pressure and reward
states that have proven to be unable or unwilling to advance credible and
ambitious reforms. This path ensures that the education system we see three
or four years from now will look very much like the education system we have
today. It would represent a squandered opportunity of epic proportions."

"Race to the Top will be a success if, and only if, the federal government
chooses to make major investments in those states, and in only those states,
that have shown the willingness to break out of the old way of doing things,
and advance game-changing models that best serve our children. This path,
while more challenging, is the only one that will truly transform public
education."

"We have heard a lot this year about the dumbing down of standards when the
stakes matter. It's important that this not happen next year in the Race to
the Top competition."

"The states have been handed the questions and their bluebooks. We will see
early next year what they have come up before the bell rings. The key
challenge for the Administration will be to keep the bar high, and to resist
the temptation to grade states on a curve."

DFER will continue to monitor the Race to the Top to ensure that states
fulfill the policy promises they will make as they compete to receive funds.

About Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a political action committee whose
mission is to encourage a more productive dialogue within the Democratic
Party on the need to fundamentally reform American public education. DFER
was founded in June of 2007 by a group of Democratic contributors and
education reformers who were frustrated that the Democratic Party appeared
to be unfairly resistant to positive change in schools. www.dfer.org
<http://www.dfer.org/link_tracker.php?t=1176037&ref_id=122&email=WTilson@t2p
artnersllc.com&type=mailer&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dfer.org>

--------------------

November 12, 2009

After Criticism, the Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education
Grants

By SAM DILLON
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/sam_dillon/ind
ex.html?inline=nyt-per> , NYT

Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog

Saturday, December 05, 2009

DFER commends Obama Administration and Secretary Duncan for Bold Reform Initiative; Obama Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education Grants

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