Obviously, I've been playing the lecturing schoolmarm about RTT, warning that we have to increase our skepticism and manage our expectations. I've been looking for a pithy way to summarize my concern that states are much more interested in getting these federal funds than in pursuing the reforms those funds are meant to support.
I've tried "Trojan Horse" applications and other formulations but nothing has stuck. Fortunately, a state representative from Wisconsin has stepped up.
Rep. Steve Nass pointed out that his state's firewall legislation that caught the Obama administration's attention actually will do little by way of reform. Noting that under the just-passed law, data can't be used to remove the worst teachers from the classroom and that any evaluation process must be agreed to by teachers unions, Nass questioned the real intent of the legislation.
This bill does nothing for quality education...This is basically a race for the money, not a race for the top.