Interview with Joshua Starr: Excellence is Not a Zero Sum Game
I recently read of Joshua Starr, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, in the state of Maryland. He has spoken out forcefully against the "insanity" of evaluating teachers using test scores, and refused to accept Race to the Top funding for this purpose. New York principal Carol Corbett Burris described here some of the reasons his schools have been succeeding. I asked him if he would share some thoughts with us.
What do you see as your greatest challenge in MCPS?
MCPS is widely considered to be one of the best large districts in the country. While we have been very successful under the current national education agenda (although we still have significant student achievement gaps), it is necessary to redesign our architecture to enable us to prepare our children for 2025 and beyond. We've traveled to the Moon, but now we have to go to Mars; the system that got us to the Moon won't get us to Mars. In order to make the necessary changes, we must have a culture that values risk-taking, innovation, information-sharing, appropriate autonomy and collaboration. Engendering that
What do you see as your greatest challenge in MCPS?
MCPS is widely considered to be one of the best large districts in the country. While we have been very successful under the current national education agenda (although we still have significant student achievement gaps), it is necessary to redesign our architecture to enable us to prepare our children for 2025 and beyond. We've traveled to the Moon, but now we have to go to Mars; the system that got us to the Moon won't get us to Mars. In order to make the necessary changes, we must have a culture that values risk-taking, innovation, information-sharing, appropriate autonomy and collaboration. Engendering that
