Focus should be on policies that actually help students
The editorial [“State needs to prep for Race to the Top,” Opinion, April 1] and so many like it across the country are asking the wrong question.
Rather than asking how to “win” Race to the Top (RTTT) funding, they should be asking which policies actually help children. Continuing to publish such editorials, especially without any counterbalance or even critical examination of policies, is very disappointing.
The demands to get RTTT funds are quite controversial and teachers, unions and citizens are rightly suspicious of them all.
Merit pay based on student test scores? This has repeatedly been shown to be a bad idea.
Charter schools? Likewise, they have been shown to not be any better and are undermining public schools by siphoning funds away.
School turnarounds? Sounds nice, but what this means in RTTT is just like with No Child Left Behind — it is punitive and largely so for poor schools.
National standards? The common core standards being pushed are driven largely from for-profit companies and are heavily criticized by educators.
Washington should put its time and effort into real educational reform.
— Demian Godon, Seattle