Obama's "Plunge to the Bottom" will not improve education

[Hannah Bell]

President Obama spoke to the National Urban League this week and defended his "Race to the Top" program, which has become increasingly controversial. Mr. Obama insisted that it was the most important thing he had done in office, and that critics were merely clinging to the status quo.
Mr. Obama was unfazed by the scathing critique of the Race by the nation's leading civil rights organizations, who insisted that access to federal funding should be based on need, not competition.

The program contains these key elements: Teachers will be evaluated in relation to their students' test scores. Schools that continue to get low test scores will be closed or turned into charter schools or handed over to private management. In low-performing schools, principals will be fired, and all or half of the staff will be fired. States are encouraged to create many more privately managed charter schools...

The latest example of how test results can be doctored is the New York state testing scandal, which broke open this week. The pass rates on the state tests had soared year after year, to the point where they became ridiculous to all but the credulous The whole house of cards came crashing down this week after the state raised the proficiency bar from the low point to which it had sunk. In 2009, 86.4% of the state's students were "proficient" in math, but the number in 2010 plummeted to 61%. In 2009, 77.4% were "proficient" in reading, but now it is only 53.2%.

Meanwhile Secretary Duncan travels the country urging districts to adopt mayoral control, so they can emulate New York City. He carefully avoids mentioning Cleveland, which has had mayoral control for years and remains one of the lowest performing districts in the nation...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-ravitch/obamas-race-to-the-top-wi_b_666598.html

[MadHound]

1. Thankfully my state lost out on RTTT this year,

But I'm sure that will change. With this economy, and the fact that property tax revenue is going to be down for years to come, more and more states are going to be forced into this program, if for no other reason than to remain financially afloat.

I've already seen the results of NCLB walking through the college doors, I shudder as to what it will be after a generation of RTTT.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. The mayoral control part is something key to keep an eye on

The simple questions is why? Why are they so keen to take democratically elected school boards out of the picture and put all the power in one pair of hands?

I personally think the obvious answer is the correct answer - it's a lot easier to "persuade" one person than ten to accept a particular plan or charter or group to run a school.