[RSCT] RTTT - 2 winners in first round

[Monty Neill]

Tennessee and Delaware are the only two winners in the first round of RTTT. Everyone else loses. Apparently one characteristic that helped them win was strongly tying teacher evaluation to student scores on standardized tests - but there are numerous factors. As states - and their Gates consultants, I suppose - review the winners and the near winners' applications and compare them with their own, they will push to do what the winners have done. How much will that be an effort to tie scores to teacher eval? Anyone know off the top how much weight the winners give to student test scores in their proposed teacher rating systems? 

The Wash Post said one of DC (last among the 16 finalists) and other state's pitfalls was lack of strong support from local districts and unions. Now states might be more beholden to them to get approvals for the next round, while having to pressure them to do things they don't want to do (e.g., rate teachers to a 'significant' extent on their students' test scores). Districts and unions need to hold firm and not agree to educationally damaging practices. 

The department press release is at www.ed.gov on the home page.

The state rankings chart - all applicants, then the round of 16 - is at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-applications/score-summary.pdf

The Post article is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032901276.html

Ed Week's article is at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/03/st_st_and_st_win_race_to_the_t.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CampaignK-12+%28Education+Week+Blog%3A+Politics+K-12%29

Monty

Monty Neill, Ed.D.
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