Nothing to show for lowered standards
By Isaiah KramerThe Guardsman
California was not awarded a grant for Race to the Top, the federal program that motivates states to reform education.This means that potentially $700 million for use in helping our bankrupt education budget will now go to other states.Race to the Top pitted states against each other to compete for a portion of a $4.3 billion dangling carrot. The grant application was structured to ensure states would develop plans that adhered to a prescripted outline.The strict program is a framework for re-engineering school systems nationally. To entice applicants to adhere to its guidelines, the program offers generous compensation for “playing by the rules.”California’s education budget - as embittered students and teachers can verify - is as desperate and desiccated as a beaten, bloodied beggar clutching a Styrofoam cup. Our education system from K-12 and beyond, once celebrated, is now cause for condemnation.We’re in the hole and we desperately need any penny the federal government has to offer. But not if that means relinquishing sovereignty and compromising our ability to decide what is best for our students.Teachers’ unions are railing hard against the Race to the Top reforms, citing an intrusion into the classroom. California’s school districts are already fed up with the charter schools advocated by Race to the Top. The state’s standards for K-12 were lowered to less rigorous national benchmarks in an attempt to win points toward a grant.
