This could get interesting.. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-education-clash-20130715,0,2274338.story
--------------------------snip California has defiantly refused to follow the administration's lead in grading the performance of teachers and using those measurements to reward the best teachers and punish the worst. The state is one of very few that have told Washington that under no conditions will it put in place the type of teacher evaluation system Obama has championed. As a result, the administration has not given California a waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law, leaving thousands of local schools exposed to expensive federal sanctions. California is one of the last holdouts in the country; the administration has succeeded in persuading reluctant officials in Illinois and Texas to come aboard. State officials say they are resolved to stand firm, regardless of the consequences. The obstinacy has frustrated the Education Department, where Secretary Arne Duncan<http://www.latimes.com/topic/education/arne-duncan-PEPLT000007547.topic>and his top aides have been trying to create a uniform system that can be used to reward the best teachers and move the worst out of the profession. Now they see that drive stalling in the nation's most populous state. That has made for awkward politics; the administration is not accustomed to California aggressively throwing sand in the gears. The standoff reflects the enduring influence of the California Teachers Assn., which long ago established the state as a bulwark against the national movement to base teacher evaluations more heavily on standardized tests. The CTA<http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/transportation-industry/public-transportation-industry/chicago-transit-authority-ORGOV000082.topic>, the most generous campaign donor to state officials, maintains a tight grip on Sacramento politics. The union's position has been embraced by Gov. Jerry Brown<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/jerry-brown-PEPLT007547.topic>and State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, two old-guard Democrats who are loath to antagonize labor. Their aides speak about the president's teacher accountability plans with language a Texas official might use to describe Obama's healthcare plan: intrusion on local control, unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, costly, unwarranted federal mandate. "We think the federal government is foolish to keep insisting on this," said Richard Zeiger, Torlakson's chief deputy. "It just doesn't fit with the style of reform we are pursuing in California." Duncan, on a visit to California a few weeks ago, expressed bewilderment that the state could find the plan objectionable. "I actually use the California model, and not in a good way, as I travel the country," he said. "There are about 300,000 teachers in California. The top 10% arguably are among the best in the world. The bottom 10% maybe shouldn't be teaching. No one in California that I have met can tell me who is in that top 10% and that bottom 10%."
_______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
