Teacher Unions Win Changes in U.S. Education Grant Rules - Bloomberg.com:
"Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Education Department’s final rules in a competition for $4.35 billion in education stimulus grants include union-backed changes to teacher- assessment requirements.
The Obama administration wants public schools to tie teacher evaluations and pay to student performance, and unions have sought to ensure that test scores aren’t the sole measure. While student gains should still be a “significant factor,” educator evaluations should be designed with teacher and principal involvement, the Education Department said yesterday."
“The Department of Education worked hard to strike the right balance between what it takes to get system-wide improvement for schools and kids, and how to measure that improvement,” Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million- member American Federation of Teachers, said yesterday in an e- mailed statement.
The Education Department released a summary of the final rules in Washington. As proposed in July, states would be ineligible to apply for the “Race to the Top” grants if they bar the use of student-performance data in measuring teacher effectiveness.
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, signed a law Nov. 10 that allows the use of student-achievement data in teacher evaluations. The California State Senate voted last week to make a similar change.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has long pressed for merit-pay programs that reward teachers for gains in student performance, plans to announce the grant rules today. Teachers unions oppose linking pay to pupil test scores, saying they aren’t an accurate measure of teacher effectiveness.
"Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Education Department’s final rules in a competition for $4.35 billion in education stimulus grants include union-backed changes to teacher- assessment requirements.
The Obama administration wants public schools to tie teacher evaluations and pay to student performance, and unions have sought to ensure that test scores aren’t the sole measure. While student gains should still be a “significant factor,” educator evaluations should be designed with teacher and principal involvement, the Education Department said yesterday."
“The Department of Education worked hard to strike the right balance between what it takes to get system-wide improvement for schools and kids, and how to measure that improvement,” Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million- member American Federation of Teachers, said yesterday in an e- mailed statement.
The Education Department released a summary of the final rules in Washington. As proposed in July, states would be ineligible to apply for the “Race to the Top” grants if they bar the use of student-performance data in measuring teacher effectiveness.
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, signed a law Nov. 10 that allows the use of student-achievement data in teacher evaluations. The California State Senate voted last week to make a similar change.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has long pressed for merit-pay programs that reward teachers for gains in student performance, plans to announce the grant rules today. Teachers unions oppose linking pay to pupil test scores, saying they aren’t an accurate measure of teacher effectiveness.