Grading Race to the Top on a Proper Curve
by Frederick M. Hess • Aug 24, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Cross-posted from Education Week
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Nope, I'm not talking about grading the Race to the Top (RTT) winners. Frankly, I don't have much confidence in the elaborate scoring system that the Department of Education jury-rigged--especially not after Ohio, Hawaii, and New York finished in the money while Louisiana and Colorado were ludicrously left out in the cold. As if my skeptical natured needed more cause for worry after the post hoc "norming" of i3 grades and the concerns raised regarding judge selection and training, blatant disregard for application guidelines, and emphasis on airy promises rather than concrete actions already taken. And, given the number of new governors, legislators, and state chiefs who will be taking office by early 2011, I'm not sure how much credence to put in the promises states have made. That said, I do want to offer a special congratulations to my hard-charging friends in Rhode Island, D.C., Florida, and Massachusetts, and was glad to see their efforts recognized (Full disclosure: for what it's worth, I served as an advisor on the Massachusetts RTT application).
Rather than play the "who got a rose" game, though, I just want to make two typically dyspeptic points amidst this season of RTT mirth.
