Just say no (thank you)?
August 20, 2009 pm31 6:18 pm
From what I have been reading, Race to the Top money is tied to systems that create
- effective teaching, defined as
- teaching that leads to measurable student growth,
- growth which is based on measures of student achievement,
- which means test scores.
So, I assume that we are trying hard to change this whole way of looking at teaching? And not just trying to convince the administration that all states qualify?
But if we fail to convince them of either,
if they won’t qualify New York State,
and they won’t back off the test score sickness:
Could we say no? Can we just take a pass on this money?
How big a chunk of our budget is it?
Maybe turning it down is the best thing we can do.
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JD2718 
Thanks for this post. Teachers should weigh in on this issue. One aspect that concerns me is the extent to which an even greater emphasis on testing deters teachers from taking positions in more difficult environments. We would be foolish to take funding if we could only spend it on programs that undermine the mission of teachers in schools where they face overcrowding, lack of parental support or violence that impair their ability to be “effective” under such a narrow definition as the Federal DOE is proposing.