Trimming RttT

The priorities emphasized in Race to the Top were always controversial and unsettling to me. Despite the fact that I supported President Obama all the way back when he was an underdog in the primaries and am, in fact, a Democrat for Education Reform (in a manner of speaking), I was always uneasy about the Obama/Duncan platform for reform. If you were a casual observer of education policy news, you might think there was a growing consensus around the program of reform: that is, charter expansion, test-test-test, standards, accountability, etc.

The reason this seems like consensus is because it isn't new; this is the reform embodied initially in No Child Left Behind, the much-lambasted reform program of the Bush administration. Though Democrats voted in droves for the bill initially, it became extremely controversial rather quickly. So instead of calling Race to the Top and current DoE policy the Obama/Duncan platform, let's correctly identify it as the Bush-Obama program for education reform. Kind of removes the luster, huh?

So when it came out today that Rep. David Obey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, was planning to cut about $500 million from the Race to the Top fund in order to fund a new education jobs bill, I had mixed feelings. There are elements of RttT that I really appreciate and admire. Innovation is crucial in education, and new approaches are more than welcome. On the other hand, the RttT hurts teachers, damages community schools and threatens the foundations of public education in our country.

In the end, it has to be looked at as a good thing that money is going to save edujobs instead of promoting tests, test-based evaluation and charter expansion. If Race to the Top included more expansive and more meaningful types of reform, I might feel differently, but teachers truly need support. Cutting jobs in education is not the way to reform the system. And to be fair, $3.5 billion is still up for grabs in the second round of the Race--I think states will still apply for the funds and work hard to reform education in the way the Dept. wants.

The Race to the Top is unusually effective public policy. States around the country are passing legislation to move them in line with the DoE's expectations for reform in order for a shot at the money. Unfortunately, this move takes the control out of the hands of teachers, principals, even superintendents. Decisions made at the top levels without consultation are unlikely to prove durable in the classroom.

Teaching is an unusual job because it puts you at the crossroads of total independence and at the bottom of a complex bureaucracy. In the classroom, teachers are totally in charge, but in the scope of the larger education system, they are institutionally disrespected and disempowered. This has troubling consequences for education policy, but more importantly, it implies stark concerns for education reform. The major takeaway is that reforms must be democratic. That is, in order for teachers really to buy into reform, they must have a hand in shaping those reforms. This makes sense, because nobody knows how education works and doesn't work like those who are in the trenches every day. It also is logical because ultimately, reform will be implemented by teachers and principals, so these folks need to feel like they are part of the solution.

Ultimately, Race to the Top, while effective at shaping reform, is misguided in its attempt to institute policy shifts from the top-down instead of after consultation and discussion with educators. Trimming it in order to save teachers' jobs is an excellent idea, and I hope Rep. Obey's version of the Edujobs bill is the one that reaches Obama's desk, and I hope it happens soon.