California threatened with loss of funds if it doesn't use test scores in evaluating teachers

Jason Felch & Jason Song:

U.S. education secretary is expected to withhold millions of dollars in education stimulus money if the state doesn't comply with his demand.

California could lose out on millions of federal education dollars unless legislators change a law that prevents it from using student test scores to measure teachers' performance, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is expected to announce in a speech today.

California has among the worst records of any state in collecting and using data to evaluate teachers and schools.

Moreover, a 2006 law that created a teacher database explicitly prohibited the use of student test scores to hold teachers accountable on a statewide basis, although it did not mention local districts.

Only a few of the state's nearly 1,000 districts evaluate teachers by using their students' scores, though a dozen more are considering such moves, according to state officials. Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest, does not grade teachers based on student performance.

Data-driven school reform is a major focus of the Obama administration's education policies.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 24, 2009 10:13 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas