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PFL on Race to the Top Round Two Results

As it turned out, Washington could have been handed the full 40 points and still finished only 29th, notes Maureen Trantham of the Partnership for Learning, an education reform advocacy group. Only nine states and the District of Columbia (whose superintendent has led forceful reform efforts) won federal help under this round of the Obama administration’s signature plan to encourage rapid improvements in student and school performance. Two others won earlier.

Some of the most glaring shortcomings for the state related to school reform — specifically the level of the state's commitment and the interest of local teachers unions in making changes. Perhaps the greatest weakness, in the view of the five experts assessing the state’s application, was in the state’s plans for making principals and teachers accountable for improving student outcomes.

In a way, that’s not surprising, given that the state merely allowed districts to use student performance as part of their principal and teacher evaluations, but didn’t go any further. As Trantham suggested, the holes in that approach were apparent to the evaluators. Still, the scoring in that critical category was remarkable: The most generous judge gave the state 29 of 58 points — exactly a 50 percent score. The next highest reviewer score was 19 points, not quite 33 percent.

As the Education Voters’ Korsmo pointed out, much of how state education policies actually are translated into action depends on the framing of contracts between districts and their professional educators. She and Trantham see strengths in the Seattle School Board's current proposals for a new contract with the Seattle Education Association. And Trantham said the feds are looking for big-city schools to provide a lot of the impetus for change. Some of the biggest needs are in places like Seattle, too, especially in getting better teachers and principals into the poor schools where the achievement gaps have been most persistent.

For the state, Trantham sees the feedback from the federal competition as vital to further improvements. The state took a shot, based on valuable improvements, she said. But substantial parts of the country are engaged in more sustained and serious efforts to improve schools.

Washington’s political leaders have clear guidance on where the state is falling behind if they want to try to catch up. Or as Trantham puts it, the state can ask itself, “Do we want to be with the curve or behind the curve? That is the question.” There’s no option for fooling ourselves into believing we are somehow ahead of the curve.

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PFL Comments on Washington's Race to the Top Loss in the Seattle Times

Washington ended up losing out to states such as Georgia, which had buy-in from only 14 percent of its districts.

"They had low buy-in, but they had stronger reforms than we did, pure and simple," said Maureen Trantham, communications director at the Partnership for Learning, a business-backed group that pushed the state to be bolder in its application.

One example: Florida is planning to base half of its evaluation of teachers on their students' growth.

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PFL at the Cascade Conference

Anne Luce, Policy Manager, speaks at the Cascade Conference on the federal momentum occurring around education reform and if Washington state is “Racing to the Bottom.”

PFL's Race to the Top Recommendations Make the Seattle Times!

Looks like our recommendations for Washington's Race to the Top application are gathering steam.  Two columns published in the last two days in the Seattle Times reference our suggestions for making Washington competitive for Race to the Top.

Watch Partnership for Learning and The New Teacher Project in Action!

Where Washington Stands in the Race to the Top

Ladies and Gentlemen, you heard it here first: Washington has released a diagnostic on just how competitive our state is for Race to the Top. It's long, its meaty and you won't find a better source on where we stand for this unprecedented federal opportunity

Washington's New Teacher Project Report Released Today!

A new study on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Washington finds that an inadequate supply of STEM teachers and ineffective teacher evaluation and support policies throughout the state are contributing to low student achievement and a widening achievement gap in math and science.

PFL featured in TVW's "Quest for Quality" special

In August 2009, Partnership for Learning Board Member Steve Mullin and Communications Manager Maureen Trantham were featured in a TVW documentary entitled "The Quest for Quality: The Debate Over Education Reform & Funding." Check out their comments on the state of education reform and funding in Washington in Part Two: More Money or More Reform?

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