Race to the top a 'boondoggle'
Re "Not pretty, but state education bill takes a step" (Editorials, Nov. 1): Proposed regulations for Race to the Top resemble the failed policies of No Child Left Behind, with even more emphasis on standardized test scores as the measure of all things.
The National Academy of Sciences recently rebuked Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for his plan to judge schools and teachers largely on their test scores. The nation's top researchers explained that his proposal for performance pay could never lead to school improvement.
Congress created the academy to provide it with objective advice. In this case, the advice is that the Race to the Top is likely to do far more harm than good. The one-time federal funds for which California might become eligible under RTTT are not even enough to cover the increased costs of this new boondoggle, which include adopting new state academic content standards, new textbooks, and a new set of statewide standardized tests.
– George Sheridan, Garden Valley
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