How is Arne Duncan doing after a year as the head ED Fed?
How is Chicago Public Schools doing after the effects of his reign there as CEO?
Read the entire blog entry replete with linked references and resources, and leave a comment on edweek.org.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Di...d_year_one.html
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Arne Duncan at ED: Year One
By Diane Ravitch on January 26, 2010 9:14 AM
Dear Deborah,
It is time to appraise the first year of the Obama administration and its impact on American education. I met with Arne Duncan in October, and I liked him very much. He is a very likeable guy. But I strongly disagree with his priorities. In a recent Education Week article about Duncan, I was quoted as giving him an A for effectiveness, and a D- for bad ideas. Let me explain. ...
Duncan's "Race to the Top" competition has had an enormous effect on American education. He has $4.3 billion to hand out, without any congressional authorization or oversight, and states are starved for money. Many states have changed their laws and are now prepared to privatize hundreds of schools to qualify for RTTT. Spurred on by their eagerness to get RTTT money and the largesse of the Gates Foundation, many districts now intend to judge teachers by their students' test scores.
I can't recall any secretary of education who was more effective in getting states to make changes quickly. That is why I gave him an A. But I think the changes are wrong and will not improve American education, so I gave him a D- for bad ideas.
When President Obama introduced Duncan as his choice, he described dramatic improvements in Chicago during Duncan's tenure....
However, further analysis has shown that the dramatic improvements hailed by President Obama were a mirage....
What is your take on the Race to the Top?
Diane
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Read more.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Di...d_year_one.html