State's Ed System Still In The Race
We found out in March that Massachusetts was not one of only two states to receive funding in the first round of the federal Race to the Top competition. We wish the news was better but Gov. Deval Patrick and I remain firmly resolved to strengthen our application and resubmit a highly competitive proposal for the second round of awards.
Our proposal was strong and we remain confident in the fundamentals of our application: a nation-leading track record on student achievement; landmark, new reform legislation; a set of evidence-based strategies for closing achievement gaps and turning around underperforming schools; and a broad partnership for implementation involving a strong coalition of superintendents, school committees, unions, educators, state and local elected officials, and business and community partners.
Gaining Support
This is just the beginning, not the end. The federal government has spent only a fraction of the $4.3 billion dedicated to Race to the Top. In fact, $3.4 billion is still available for disbursement. Arne Duncan, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, has indicated that 10 to 15 states could be chosen in the second round, and President Obama has proposed $1.3 billion in funding as part of next year’s budget for a potential third round of grants, showing there is still a lot of race ahead.
We’re thoroughly reviewing the feedback that we received on our application and interview. There are key themes that we’ll need to address as we march toward Round 2 including improving upon our 72 percent local district endorsement rate of the application and better outlining plans to utilize student performance data in teacher and other evaluations. We also need to be much clearer about how extensively our recent achievement gap legislation expands opportunities for innovation and charter schools.
In responding to reviewers’ comments, we will remain firm on our principles but flexible in adapting strategies to fit the prescriptions of the application. The application charges states to be “bold” but to secure full local approval which inherently poses a challenge. We are confident that we can find the right mix of “bottom-up” and “top-down” reform to satisfy our goal of enacting powerful strategies while implementing reform with the field rather than to the field.
We will not abandon key principles and strategies simply to secure federal funding. For example, we lost 15 critical points (we fell short of the winners by about 30 points) in this application by not agreeing to sign on to the “Common Core” national education standards by Sept. 1. Massachusetts has the nation’s highest standards and is engaged in partnership with 47 other states that are developing set of common standards for voluntary adoption. We have repeatedly said we will not adopt such standards unless they are as rigorous as ours.
In the end, this Race to the Top competition should be about results and our track record on producing student achievement is second to none. Our students consistently rank number one on national measures of math and reading and have even tied for first in the world in science because of our commitment to high standards, accountability and partnerships. Our strategies have less to do with boldness and drama than with the hard work of high expectations, high quality teaching and the hard work of making it happen every day.
Massachusetts has been the nation’s leader in education reform for years. We are at the head of the class on student achievement and fully intend to maintain this position. We still have a long way to go to realize our goals of closing achievement gaps and providing each child with a challenging education. Race to the Top funds would help us deepen and accelerate our work, but, with or without it, we are committed to successfully educating every child.
Paul Reville is the secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/education.
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