By LAWRENCE MESSINA
Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON (AP) —
State education officials have their eyes on a bigger prize as they propose school policy changes meant to improve West Virginia’s shot at federal Race to the Top funds.
The state Board of Education and state schools Superintendent Steve Paine have sent Gov. Joe Manchin a list of 28 recommendations they believe show the type of innovation prized by the competitive grant program. The recommendations were in response to Manchin’s demands for ways to win up to $75 million in the next batch of federal Race to the Top funding.
But state educators have also shaped their recommendations to reflect their belief that Race to the Top is setting the stage for major changes to key federal education policies.
“We’ve been told clearly that the Race to the Top program is the forerunner to what will be contained in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” Paine told The Associated Press.
The law emerged from President Lyndon Johnson 1960s War on Poverty effort, and marked a major federal foray into state and local education. It may be best known for its Title I provisions meant to aid schools with low-income students.
West Virginia’s funding from Title I totaled $94 million last year alone, and not counting the temporary boost from the federal stimulus. But Congress is slated to revisit this and other provisions, perhaps as early as this fall, Paine said.
Paine believes Race to the Top represents the sort of competitive approach sought by Obama Education Secretary Arne Duncan to link federal dollars to improved outcomes.
“We have seen no growth or very little growth in reading in grades four and eight in this country over the past 20 years,” Paine said. “So the effects of (the law) have been negligible in term of raising student achievement.”
Paine added that Duncan has to “continue to take a strong look at not removing all money for poor and economically disadvantaged children, and minority children and exceptional children. That would be the wrong thing to do.”
Two of the top five proposals presented to Manchin address the way teachers are evaluated and encouraged. A third involves how state policy governs principals and other administrators.
Paine said that the success of these largely hinge on an ongoing effort by the state to measure gains in student achievement by more than just test scores. But the looming reauthorization plays a role as well.
The federal law’s Title II language aims to improve the quality of teachers and principals. It provided West Virginia with $22.6 million worth of grants in 2007, the latest year for available figures.
“If we don’t have the ability to reward teachers based on student performance data, we run the risk of losing Title II funds after the reauthorization,” Paine said. “We’re thinking, ’Let’s do it now, because it’s going to be required in the future.’ It’s also something I believe in, quite frankly. I think that teachers ought to have the opportunity to show that they exceed expectations, and they should be rewarded for their outstanding performance.”
Congress last reauthorized the 1965 law through 2001’s No Child Left Behind Act, which in turn sought to increase student achievement through benchmarks measured by standardized testing.
The Obama administration advocates a different approach, moving away from punishing schools that don’t meet benchmarks and focus on rewarding schools for progress.
Rather than focusing on grade-level proficiency as the current law does, this approach aims to ensure that students are ready for college or a job. That dovetails with another goal of the 28 proposals, Paine said: to stick with the recently adopted Global 21 learning plan meant to guide overall education policy.
“We want to move Global 21 forward in our state,” Paine said. “We’ve chartered a course. I think it’s the right agenda for the future of our kids.”
Lawrence Messina covers the statehouse for The Associated Press.
