Breaking News
Tennessee, don't put the brakes on reform!
By Devin Boyle, DFER's Communications Coordinator and Legislative Liaison
Tennessee, one of two Round 1 grantees of the Race to the Top competition, has been a trailblazer when it comes to the advancement of a comprehensive and well-developed teacher evaluation system. Over the last few weeks, however, some have tried to put the brakes on the progress of the State's implementation of their evaluation system. For the numerous states that won Race to the Top grants as well as those that jumped on the reform wagon since, these efforts to stall implementation could halt the momentum for reform that has emerged over the last several years.
If Tennessee, a state that has pioneered the development of a robust teacher evaluation system and has been lauded for its successful plan, is unable to carry out what it has proposed, what will be the result of intended reforms in other states? In order to ensure that meaningful reforms of teacher evaluation systems occur throughout our country, it is paramount that Tennessee holds its position as a trailblazer and does not falter in the face of opposition.
DFER for Teachers' Jocelyn Huber wrote an article last week in The Tennessean that said,"...as Tennessee begins to put the new system into place, the strength of the evaluation model is in jeopardy. Weakening the strong framework by watering it down or delaying its implementation would be a tremendous disservice to Tennessee's children, teachers and principals."
The Tennessean and the Knox County's Superintendent also weighed in.
And, on Friday, The New York Times editorial board concurred that Tennessee must lead by example for such reforms to succeed nationally.
Civil Rights Groups, Business Groups, State Education Officials, and Education Advocates on ESEA Proposal: "We Cannot Support the Bill at this Time"
Civil Rights Groups, Business Groups, State Education Officials, and Education Advocates on ESEA Proposal: "We Cannot Support the Bill at this Time"
Groups Stress Federal Accountability
Read the joint statement below (or click here for a PDF)
Click here and here to read previous coalition letters on accountability and teacher quality and effectiveness.
"As representatives of the millions of students with disabilities, low-income students, students of color, English-language learners and migrant students who are studying in our nation's schools, both boys and girls, we cannot support the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 at this time. The bill's weak accountability system excludes the vast majority of children we represent, and is a major barrier to our organizations' support.
We applaud the inclusion of much-needed reforms on college and career ready standards and assessments; accountability for dropout factories, more equitable funding within districts, a focus on access to high-level STEM courses for underrepresented groups, and improvements in limiting alternate assessments for students with disabilities and recognize the benefits that these provisions could yield for students.
In its current form, however, states would not have to set any measurable achievement and progress targets or even graduation rate goals. They would be required to take action to improve only a small number of low-performing schools. In schools which aren't among the states' very worst performing, huge numbers of low-achieving students will slip through the cracks.
Federal funding must be attached to firm, ambitious and unequivocal demands for higher achievement, high school graduation rates and gap closing. We know that states, school districts, and schools needed a more modern and focused law. However, we respectfully believe that the bill goes too far in providing flexibility by marginalizing the focus on the achievement of disadvantaged students.
Although we are unable to support the legislation in its current form, we hope to work with Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi to address our concerns as the process moves forward."
The following groups signed the letter:
American Civil Liberties Union
Business Coalition for Student Achievement
Chiefs for Change
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Democrats for Education Reform
The Education Trust
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights*
League of United Latin American Citizens
MALDEF (the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Council of La Raza
National Down Syndrome Society
National Urban League
National Women's Law Center
The New Teachers Project
Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Southeast Asia Research and Action Center
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Teacher Quality Bonanza
While a small number of cynics out there still argue that classroom teachers are not really an important ingredient in a child's overall education recipe, one of the most important developments in K-12 education policy in the last few years has been the recognition that decades-old teacher evaluations (where the best a child can hope for is a 'satisfactory' teacher over an 'unsatisfactory' teacher) aren't up for the task of recognizing which teachers are hitting the ball out of the park with their students.
At DFER, we've long believed that the widespread irrelevance of excellence itself in the K-12 world has created a culture that has actively done damage to the lives of too many children who deserved much, much better from our nation's most important public institution.
But there have been a lot of positive developments in this area of late. There's obviously a long way to go, and surely some of what has been done to-date will need to be changed/enhanced/expanded, but we are clearly closer to a day where the link between teaching and learning is more clear in workplace evaluations for educators. (And we continue to hope and believe that this will usher in a new era where successful teachers are treated more like the community heroes that we believe they are.)
Today, Democrats for Education Reform is releasing two new papers that look at this issue a little more clearly.
1. In IMPACT in Washington: Lessons From the First years, former Wall Street Journal reporter Barbara Martinez takes a look at the IMPACT teacher evaluation system in our nation's capital. Early results show that the system is doing pretty much what it was intended to do: recognizing and rewarding the most successful teachers, providing feedback and targeted professional development to help teachers improve, and dismissing the relative few who don't belong in classrooms. Read the full report here.
2. In Built to Succeed? Ranking New Statewide Teacher Evaluation Practices, Martinez joins Jocelyn Huber, DFER's teacher advocacy director, and Ron Tupa, DFER's director of state legislatures, in providing a pre-season "likelihood of success" ranking of 19 states that changed their teacher evaluation policies in the last few years. There are a lot of caveats attached to this type of project, since states tackled the problem in so many different ways, but we will obviously continue to monitor the practices in these states going forward. Read the full report here.
Here is a rundown of our state rankings:
For more information on Democrats for Education Reform, visit www.dfer.org.
Education Reform Coalition Releases Statement of Principles on Teacher Quality and Effectiveness as Key Elements in the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Education Reform Coalition Releases Statement of Principles on Teacher Quality and Effectiveness as Key Elements in the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Over 25 advocacy, business, civil rights, and think tank organizations have joined together to release a Statement of Principles on Teacher Quality and Effectiveness that we believe should be included in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The groups states that:
"[A] top-notch public education system...requires a structure for identifying, nurturing, and rewarding greatness in classroom teaching and school leadership. Unfortunately, most existing state and local systems are not equipped to measure excellence. All too often, these systems accept mediocrity as the fullest extent of a teacher's potential."
"We believe strongly that when ESEA is reauthorized it must compel states to create and implement more specific and finely tuned measures directed at improving the quality and effectiveness of teachers and principals and ensuring the equitable distribution of effective teachers across all schools, including those with high proportions of low-income and minority students..."
"...Evaluations, once in place, shall be used by districts to tailor professional development and other supports for teachers and shall serve as the basis for human resources decisions, including hiring, staffing, licensure, tenure, compensation, teacher assignment patterns, and dismissal"
DFER Statement on President Obama's Announcement on No Child Left Behind Waivers
One of the reasons we have supported a strong federal role in education is we have seen what happened when states were responsible for making sure all students were educated.
The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act determines how billions of dollars are spent on behalf of low-income and minority students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. The advances these groups have made over the life of ESEA, including those under NCLB in 2002, have been hard fought, in no small part because they put greater demands on those responsible for implementing them.
That dynamic and that history will be the 800-pound gorilla in the room of any regulatory "relief" discussion.
We heard some very reassuring things from the President today about his commitment to closing the achievement gap and have seen encouraging provisions in the waiver plan that suggest the Administration intends to provide flexibility only to those states that are engaged in robust reform efforts aimed at the goals of college and career readiness and an equal opportunity to learn and ultimately meet those goals for all students.
We profoundly hope states are better prepared for this responsibility than they were in the past. But looking across the landscape and at the available data, in the case of the majority of states, we'd be lying if we said we weren't worried.
Additional Resources:
DFER Advisory Memo on Flexibility: click here.
U.S. Department of Education ESEA Flexibility web page: click here.
Education Trust brief "Getting It Right: Crafting Federal Accountability for Higher Student Performance and a Stronger America:" here
Education Trust, the National Council of La Raza, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter: here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights letter: here.
National Council on Disability letter: here.
Campaign for High School Equity letter: here.
Democrats for Education Reform: Concerns and Recommendations on USDOE Waiver Process
Proceed, With Caution: Secretary Duncan's Waiver Plan Has Potential Risks and Opportunities for Education Reform
September 15, 2011
Last month, President Obama and Secretary Duncan announced that the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) will soon begin a formal process for considering state and local waiver requests of federal education laws. Today, Democrats for Education Reform issued a briefing memo that lists our concerns and recommendations on the process.
Key points:
- We are skeptical on the grounds of both process and substance. Some of the states that have made the least effort to improve the quality of education and close achievement gaps are now asking for waivers that in essence allow them to gloss over or abdicate responsibility for low-performing districts and schools;
- We do not question the Department's authority to solicit or issue waivers. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) clearly gives the Secretary this power;
- Many waiver requests have merit. There is an opportunity for some good to come from these waivers as part of an overall state plan consistent with the basic purposes of ESEA, such as states having "challenging standards" and working to "equalize the distribution of effective teachers;"
- Many other requests, however, are preposterous or at the very least misguided and should not even be considered for approval as happened last year in VA, when the state was allowed to set their annual goals after tests were already administered, as also was done last month for the 2010-11 school year for the state of Montana;
- States should be held accountable for some fundamentals around standards, assessments, and teacher effectiveness before a waiver request is considered, or as a condition for final waiver approval;
- Some states should be ineligible for goal-lowering waivers prima facie, such as California, where the state Superintendent opposed attempts to improve teacher equity by modifying "Last In, First Out" policies, or Mississippi, which has the lowest standards of any state, yet only identified 25% of its schools as in need of improvement, a policy that sweeps under the rug schools in which, for all intents and purposes, students are being consigned to ultimate academic and economic failure.
You can access a full copy of our list of recommendations on our website here.
DFER APPLAUDS CONGRESS FOR BIPARTISAN PASSAGE OF H.R. 2218 - THE "EMPOWERING PARENTS THROUGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT"
OVERWHELMING REJECTION OF KING AMENDMENT SENDS STRONG SIGNAL ON QUALITY AND GAP-CLOSING ACCOUNTABILITY
September 13, 2011
Democrats for Education Reform applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for its success today in advancing the "Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools Act" (H.R. 2218).
The overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in favor of the bill - 365 to 54 - signifies a growing consensus that high-quality public charter schools can play a powerful role in helping ensure all students have the opportunities they need to achieve to the highest levels.
We hope Congress' work today is a harbinger of future Congressional efforts to enact other urgently needed education reforms as part of its long overdue re-write of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
In H.R. 2218, Congress has delicately balanced the role of the federal government as charter school investor, cheer-leader, and standard-setter. The bill enables public charter schools to serve more students; it encourages states to develop, replicate, and expand high-quality public charter schools; and it provides strong incentives to states to improve accountability and oversight.
We also would like to congratulate Congress for decisively defeating, by a vote of 374-43, Representative Steven King's (R-IA) amendment which would have removed a key provision within the legislation that defines a high-quality charter school as one that demonstrates achievement gains with historically disadvantaged groups of students, including low-income and minority students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. With this vote, Congress has sent a strong message that achievement-gap closing is a top federal education policy priority.
DFER's Ed Reformer of the Month: NC State Rep. Marcus Brandon
Meet freshman North Carolina State Rep. Marcus Brandon, our Ed Reformer of the Month for August, and yet another example of a pragmatic Democrat willing to withstand attacks from his colleagues for the sake of progress.
Back in April, Marcus stood before the NC House and defended his support for eliminating the state's public charter school cap. At the time, he was the only Democrat who supported the bill.
Standing alone, he fielded tough questions from his Democratic colleagues, defending the bill with honesty and transparency.
Check out the video of Marcus' speech. You'll notice the, um, stuff that leaders in our Ed Reformer of the Month pool have to put up with from colleagues.
In June, this time joined by a group of national and local leaders, he again urged Gov. Bev Perdue to push for eliminating the public charter cap. Two weeks later, not only did the governor sign the bill into law, she did so with nearly unanimous support from legislators of both chambers.
You can scour the country looking for this kind of leadership.
Marcus defied orthodoxy to champion this bill. The status quo is strong in North Carolina and he faces a real risk of a primary challenge for his courageous stand.
Please make a contribution to Marcus' campaign today. Each contribution, large or small, demonstrates that he's not alone on the House floor.
Statement By Democrats for Education Reform on H.R. 2445 - The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act
The Republican majority on the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee today pushed through, on a strict party line vote, a sweeping bill that would disadvantage those students who are most in need of a high-quality education. Kudos to Democrats on the Committee, including ranking member George Miller (D-CA) and ranking subcommittee member Dale Kildee (D-MI), who worked as hard as possible to point out the weaknesses in the bill and offer constructive amendments to protect the most vulnerable schoolchildren, all of which were struck down without any serious consideration whatsoever.
We are deeply disappointed by the majority's decision to approve this deeply flawed bill, first and foremost because it would further disadvantage students in high-poverty schools by allowing states to waive the federal Title I funding formula.
The federal government targets funds to poor children, especially those in high-poverty schools, because states and local governments do not. Even with federal aid, children from schools in disadvantaged communities have less of everything - great teachers, excellent curriculum, modern technology - when it comes to those things that matter most in giving every child an opportunity to learn to his or her highest potential.
It is perverse and unjust that H.R. 2445 would allow states to shortchange these children, their teachers, and their schools even further especially because, as a new analysis that we have done shows, the federal government has made steady progress in remedying these inequities.
The federal Title I education law has had some notable effects over its forty-six year history. The highest poverty schools in the country - those with 75 percent or more poor students - receive 38 percent of all Title I funds. High-poverty schools that receive Title I funds get an additional $1,600 per student from the federal government. Funds for school personnel alone provide Title I schools with 10 percent more per student over and above state and local education funding.[i]
DFER STATEMENT ON H.R. 2218 - THE "EMPOWERING PARENTS THROUGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT"
H.R. 2218 - "EMPOWERING PARENTS THROUGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS" - IS A GOOD START
BUT CLOCK IS TICKING ON OTHER ESSENTIAL - AND OVERDUE - EDUCATION
REFORMS
Democrats for Education Reform strongly supports the bipartisan Empowering
Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 2218) that will be marked
up today in the House Education and Workforce Committee. H.R. 2218
includes important provisions that allow high-quality public charter schools to
serve more students and that incentivize states to expand and replicate
high-performers. The bill also rightly compels states to ensure that public
charter schools meet their obligations to English Language Learners and students
with disabilities, and makes important improvements with regard to reporting,
oversight, and accountability.
"Right now in Atlanta, thousands of public charter school parents, teachers, and administrators from across the country are sharing what they have learned and charting their course for the future," said Charles Barone, DFER Director of Federal Policy about the National Charter Schools Conference where President Clinton, who signed the first federal charter school bill into law in 1994, spoke yesterday and was given a hero's welcome.
"The charter school movement is made-up of the most
can-do, have done, group of parents, teachers, and school reformers you're ever
likely to meet. Only the wrong-headed or hard-hearted would do anything other
than give them as much help and support as humanly possible."
We are disappointed that the bill lowers the authorized funding levels
for federal charter schools programs from the $450 million level in
current law. We do, however, appreciate that the $300 million authorization in
H.R. 2218 is at least higher than the current $256 million in actual
funding. While it would take a much higher increase to serve all children
across the country who are on charter school waiting lists, we appreciate this
small step forward and hope to work with Congress throughout the legislative
process to ensure that we do as much as possible to reach our shared goal of
giving all parents the first public school of their choice.
We do have some additional concerns that we believe should be addressed as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.
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