CSUN University News Clippings

California schools may miss out on federal funds

(July 27, 2009)

By Diana Lambert
Published: 07/25/09

California schools may already have lost the Race to the Top.

The state isn’t likely to see any of the $4.35 billion in competitive federal grants that will be passed out as part of the American Recovery Act if legislators don’t rescind a law that prevents teachers from being evaluated based on student test scores, say federal officials.

“Any state that makes it unlawful to link student progress to teacher evaluation will have to change its ways if it wants to compete for a grant,” President Barack Obama said in a news conference Friday.

California’s education code states that a system tracking teacher data, to be online next year, is not to be used in combination with student information to evaluate teachers.

Only Wisconsin and Nevada have similar laws.

Officials from nearly a dozen states joined Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan Friday at the Education Department to announce the criteria for Race to the Top funds.

The president wants states to do four things: adopt tough academic standards, find better ways to recruit and keep effective teachers, institute plans to deal with failing schools and track student performance.

State schools chief Jack O’Connell told The Bee Friday that the California law is misunderstood. He said the law pertains only to the state. It doesn’t prevent school districts from using student assessment results for teacher evaluation or compensation. He said the Long Beach and Garden Grove school districts are doing just that and that a dozen other districts are contemplating using student data to judge teacher performance.

“This is simply a matter of local control that appropriately ensures school districts handle their own personnel decisions,” O’Connell said in a prepared statement.

But the president contends California is lagging in teacher accountability.

“There are 300,000 teachers in California,” Obama said. “The top 10 percent are 30,000 of the best and the bottom 10 percent are 30,000 of the worst, but there is no way to tell which is which.”

California has yet to put a data system tracking student performance online, though it plans to do so in a month. The system will track a student’s classes, grades and test scores. It also will include teacher information that can be tied to student outcomes, said Rick Miller, deputy superintendent of California schools.

A statewide system tracking teacher data is scheduled to be online next year.

California teachers are not opposed to tying teacher evaluations to student scores, said David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association. He said, however, that the union would never agree to merit pay or tying student achievement to salaries.

He said teachers should be evaluated at the district level.

“It would create another bureaucracy we don’t need,” Sanchez said of a state system.

He expressed disappointment at the president’s words.

“Reading scores have gone up and math scores have gone up,” he said. “It’s getting more and more challenging these days, asking us us to do more with less.”

He said the speech is particularly disheartening to California’s educators.

“Teachers have gone through a hell of a year,” he said.

In addition to Race to the Top grants, the federal government plans to release another $5.6 billion in education-related stimulus money.

California’s failure to meet other federal funding criteria – and some of the state’s budget cuts to education – could put that money in jeopardy

“When we look at Race to the Top dollars and other discretionary funds, we are going to be taking a look at how funds were distributed,” said Justin Hamilton, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education. “And if you violated the intent of how the money was to be used, we will take that into account.”

But California officials seem to be on board with the Obama administration’s efforts to reform education.

“Their goal is the same as ours – increase student achievement and close the achievement gap,” O’Connell said.

Obama said the U.S. education system is simply falling short.

Statistics show that only one-third of U.S. students could read and do math at the current grade levels on national tests in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available. And the high school dropout rate is one in four kids.

“America will not succeed in the 21st century unless we do a far better job of educating our sons and daughters,” Obama said.

The Race to the Top funds are part of the $100 billion in stimulus funds directed to education. Duncan said the funds would go to 10 to 20 states that can serve as models of innovation. Applications for the funds will be available in October and due in December. The first round of awards will be given in March.

O’Connell said California will apply.

Publication: Sacramento Bee