Connecticut is unlikely to receive any of the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" funds that are a part of President Obama's economic stimulus plan unless it changes some of its laws says one education expert.
Alex Johnston, President of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) an education advocacy organization based in New Haven, said that the state's policies capping charter school funding and its rules on the certification of teachers do not match federal guidelines. In addition Connecticut has not set up a system that allows student test score to be linked to teacher evaluations as federal law requires, he said.
The "Race to the Top" program was announced by President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in late July. States can apply for money to fund programs that 1) improve teacher effectiveness, 2) create better assessments aligned to rigorous standards, 3) fix failing schools, or 4) use data systems to track student achievement.
"Connecticut must change its policies to become competitive for these funds," said Mr. Johnston. "The federal government is providing states with incentives to adopt its approach to education."
The proposed selection criteria released by the Department of Education have clear requirements of what a state must do to qualify for funding. A threshold requirement is that a state must not have any legal barrier to linking student achievement data to teacher and principal evaluations.
While Connecticut does not have any such prohibitions Johnston said the state Department of Education lacks an adequate data system that can support this implementation. In particular he said that Connecticut does not have a teacher ID system that matches teachers to students and it does not have the capacity to communicate with college data systems to track outcomes back to high school performance.
The guidelines also require that Connecticut allow alternative routes to certification for teachers and principals. This runs counter to legislation that was passed just this year which would require teachers being certified after 2012 to have not only an undergraduate degree but also to complete 30 hours of graduate coursework.
On the question of charter schools, the guidance also indicates that states will be judged on “the extent to which the State has a charter school law that does not prohibit or effectively inhibit increasing the number of charter schools in the State or otherwise restrict student enrollment in charter schools…[and] the extent to which the State’s charter schools receive equitable funding with non-charter schools and a commensurate share of local, State, and Federal program and revenue sources”
Johnston said Connecticut's legislative framework for charter schools fails on all of these counts.
NorwalkNet contacted the State Department of Education for their perspective. Thomas Murphy a spokesperson for the State Department of Education responded in an e-mail, "We are preparing an application for Race to the Top funding." (I will attempt to contact Mr. Murphy again to get a better response).
Given the number of changes that have to be made Connecticut's laws it seems unlikely that state will be successful for "Race to the Top" funds in Phase 1 of the program. The deadline for applications will be in late 2009. The possibility remains however that the state can overhaul its educational policies to apply for Phase 2 which opens in Spring 2010.
Monday, August 10, 2009
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The data system that links teachers to their students is one thing, but one that also links them to the students grades once they are in college is quite a stretch. I doubt that any state has a database like that.
ReplyDeleteThe failure of CT leadership, both the Governor and in the Legislature, to address the growing achievement gap is a serious issue that will utlimately affect our State's ability to compete in jobs and quality of life. Our leadership is proving that it does not take seriously the necessity of meaningful education reform, adequate teacher preparation, and the opportunities for innovation.
ReplyDeleteThis can only have long term consequences that will handicap our children. It is outrageous and should stimulate an outcry from all citizens who care about the future of our children.
It will be too bad if CT can not compete in the Race to the Top competition. The state requirement that limits funding for charter schools may be well-advised, because only 17 percent of the nations' charter schools proved to be proficient. There is always the question about the difficulty of the tests taken. What if CT, with its lack of qualifications for competing for the Race's funding, came out on top, that would prove that there are many ways to skin a cat. Which is so often true when it comes to education.
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