Jacquie's Dunce Cap

Each month I DISHONOR an individual, team, program, school, or piece of legislation that I believe is (or has been) detrimental to the welfare of kids. I welcome your nomination for this discredit, and will consider thoughtfully any name(s) you propose. Please use the "Contact " link if you choose to nominate someone. Remember to explain why you believe your nominee deserves to be shamed, and let me know how I can contact you for verification. Your name will NOT be revealed — anyplace, ever. The buck stops with me. Ouch.

-------------------------------------------------

Indiana Sell Its Soul to the Devil — Otherwise Known as the Feds

It pains me to give the Dunce Cap to Indiana because I'm going to be speaking at their International Reading Association conference this month and this award is obviously not the way to win friends and warm people's hearts. But...and this is important — it's NOT the teachers I'm ticked at; it's the Governor and the Superintendent of Instruction. They have — with visions of federal bucks dancing in their heads — forged a controversial path for the state's schools with a series of reforms that include forcing out weak teachers, shutting down teacher colleges whose graduates don't get results, and converting troubled schools to charters. And that's just for starters.

They will discard their curriculum standards in favor of a new, national initiative, and a nationwide test will replace ISTEP (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress). They will also open more pathways for people to enter teaching without going through traditional four-year education degree programs. And yes, they will tie teacher accountability to student achievement. What's the deal? The plan (otherwise referred to as "the bribe") is part of Daniels and Bennett's application for a piece of the $4.4 billion federal stimulus money earmarked as a "Race to the Top" education reform.

The proposal outlines a drastically changed educational system for all Indiana public schools. Every teacher will be evaluated each year, and more than half the teacher's review will be based on how his or her students perform on state standardized tests compared with the students' previous scores. Low performers (otherwise known as teachers) will "face consequences." The "consequences" were not spelled out in the submitted plan, but my imagination suggests it might rhyme with "hired."

Carol Mooney, director of the New Albany Floyd County Education Association that represents the district's 750 teachers, is understandably against most of it. "It seems to me," Mooney says, "the focus is on punishing public educators." Mmm. It seems that way to me, too.

Bennett says the state will continue to push for the reforms even if the federal government does not provide any money. "We believe it's going to be one of the most creative and aggressive plans out there," he said. "This is about transparency and accountability." Transparency? Yes, Mr. Bennett, your motives are definitely transparent, no doubt about that. Accountability? There are better ways to insure teacher accountability — much better. If you'd like to know what they are, just hit the "Contact" button and I'll tell you all about it.