Governor Announces Texas Will Not Participate In Race To The Top.
The AP (1/14) reports that Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said that the state will not “compete for up to $700 million in federal stimulus money for education because the program ‘smacks of a federal takeover of our public schools.’” Surrounded by “representatives of teachers’ unions” and Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott, Perry said at a press conference Wednesday that “taking the money would force the state to adopt national education and testing standards and result in Texas losing its autonomy in educating children.” The governor also noted that “under state and local control,” schools in Texas are excelling: “standardized test scores are up, the dropout rate is down and Texas has been recognized as one of only four states that is closing the achievement gap in math.” Some lawmakers, however, “were quick to criticize Perry’s decision.”

The Houston Chronicle (1/14, Mellon) reports that Perry’s “decision to forgo the money available in the Race to the Top grant competition defied pleas from local school leaders who said their districts could use it.” Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, asked, “If our standards are that much better, why don’t we get in there and convince everyone else in the nation to rise to our level?” Meanwhile, many state teachers groups praised the decision.

BACKGROUND
On December 31, we sent an update to each NJEA local association president providing the latest news on Phase 1 of the federal “Race to the Top” (RTTT) grant program.

ANALYSIS OF RTTT PROPOSAL
Based upon the discussion at that meeting, NJEA leadership’s discussions with NJ DOE staff, and review of New Jersey’s grant application, NJEA believes the grant application is severely flawed and that it contains numerous objectionable provisions as it now stands.

Among the provisions causing the greatest concern are those which would tie teacher evaluation, compensation, and tenure to student test scores.

In addition, it appears that the application would commit New Jersey to a massive expansion of its standardized testing program and a significant increase in the educational bureaucracy.

Finally, the provisions dealing with merit pay, evaluation, and length of school day/year have significant collective bargaining implications for local associations.

Based on our assessment of the proposal as it now stands, we are advising our local associations NOT to sign the memorandum of understanding because it includes merit pay, pay for performance, and/or the utilization of student test scores for teacher evaluation.

NEXT STEPS
The Department of Education has created a Memorandum of Understanding and is asking each district to obtain signatures from the superintendent, the president of the board of education, and the local association president.

On the form, it reads that the signatures are required. Please be advised you are not required to sign this form and be aware that your signature on the form would commit your local association to support all of the items included in the state’s RTTT application.

Florida Education Commissioner, Teachers Agree: Over-Enrollment Is A Problem For AP Classes.
The St. Petersburg Times (1/8, Matus) reports that echoing the “growing chorus of teachers” in Florida that have for years “complained that they’re being swamped by kids unprepared for the rigors of Advanced Placement classes,” Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday that “there is a problem in overenrollment in AP.” He added, “There needs to be some selectivity in how kids are guided into AP, and which AP work they’re guided into.” The Times notes that in the past ten years, “Florida has quadrupled the number of students taking AP classes.” But many “teachers and others…fear” that “pushing more ‘average’ students into AP” is “compromising quality to reach lower-performing students and potentially shortchanging those at the top.” Similar sentiments have been expressed throughout the country, as shown in “a survey of 1,000 AP teachers” by the Fordham Institute “that drew national attention last year.” Results showed that “more than half said too many AP students are ‘in over their heads.’”

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In the Classroom
Bismarck Public School District Switching to Project Based High School Business Curriculum.
The Bismarck (ND) Tribune (1/7, Kincaid) reports, “Students in Jennifer Anderson’s Web design class” at Bismarck High School are creating WebPages for “local businesses that needed help with their Web presence.” Next year, the entire Bismarck Public Schools district will have a project-based curriculum with similar assignments, as it has joined “the High School of Business program offered by the MBA Research and Curriculum Center.” The center curriculum is made up of “business courses that build on one another with the goal of preparing students to enter business administration programs in college.” The Bismarck Tribune adds, “One way business classes will become more meaningful is through class projects like the Web design classes.

The Chicago Tribune (10/20, Malone) reports, “The percent of 17-year-olds who do not read for pleasure has doubled in the past 20 years, according to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts. Just 43 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds said they read literature in 2002, continuing a decline that began two decades earlier.” Meanwhile, “the drop in how much teens read outside of class has spurred changes in what they read inside it, teachers say.” For example, “many educators pair old novels with newer books or media” to keep students’ attention. Bookstore operator Becky Anderson has also joined the effort. Anderson’s bookshop “brings contemporary authors to schools and coordinates reading clubs in Naperville schools. In one of the programs, elementary age students read and react to manuscripts being considered by publisher HarperCollins.” Anderson said she hopes the program “will cultivate a love of reading before the teen years.”