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Education Week, the leading national publication on education, has provided in-depth articles and data on the federal stimulus programs. Click on More here to locate data and reports on a variety of aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Phillyburbs.com, 9-16-09
Tests changing for special ed students
By: JOAN HELLYER
The Intelligencer
Special education students generally perform below their biological grade level, officials said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is changing the way schools test special education students to determine their learning levels, officials said. The modified tests "will be less cognitively complex and shorter" than the regular standardized tests, according to state education officials.
Schools officials have argued for years that special education students often don't learn at the same rate as mainstream students, and therefore their scores shouldn't be used to determine if a school deserves Adequate Yearly Progress status.
The state uses results from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment mathematics and reading tests to determine whether schools achieved AYP, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Low-performing schools face a variety of corrective actions including eventual takeover by the state if PSSA results do not improve.
Locally, the high schools in the Bensalem, Centennial, Council Rock, Neshaminy and Morrisville school districts received a warning or landed in corrective action status after their special education students did not demonstrate proficiency in at least one of the 2009 exams. In addition, Bensalem's two middle schools and Samuel K. Faust and Benjamin Rush elementary schools did not earn AYP status because of their special education students' performance on the tests.
Once the modified PSSA tests are used beginning in 2010, there will be no limit on the number of special education students who can take the exams in each school. However, only 2 percent of the satisfactory scores from the modified tests will count toward the school's proficiency rating when AYP status is being determined, state education officials said.
The remaining results, regardless of how well the special education students performed, will be factored in with the scores of mainstream students who scored in the below basic range, officials said. Below basic suggests a student is performing below his or her grade level.
Given the limitations on how results from the modified exam will be used, local educators wonder if the changes will really make a difference.
"At this point, it's more of a gesture than a solution," Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein said. "I don't know if it goes far enough and takes into consideration the significant difficulties the special education students face."
Bristol Township School District officials have similar concerns, spokeswoman Eileen Kelliher said.
"We worry that these tests will only set new standards for failure for a vulnerable population," she said.
Until now, only severely handicapped students have been exempt from taking the PSSA tests, despite the fact that many special education students don't learn at their biological grade level. That fact was illustrated in the recently released 2009 PSSA results in mathematics and reading.
At Bensalem High School, for instance, only 11.9 percent of the 42 special education students who were tested demonstrated proficiency on the PSSA 11th-grade math test. That compares to an overall proficiency rate of 57.3 percent for the 403 Bensalem juniors who took the exam.
The proficiency rate is the number of students who scored proficient or advanced on the standardized tests. Students who score in either of those categories are learning at or above their grade level, officials said.
Council Rock High School North in Newtown Township, for example, had an overall proficiency rate of 69.2 percent for the 553 students who took the 11th-grade math exam. But only 6.4 percent of the 62 CR North special education students who took the PSSA math test demonstrated they're learning at their grade level.
State Education Department officials say they're developing the modified tests to better determine how well special education students learn. They explained the revisions earlier this month prior to the release of the 2009 AYP results.
The modified math test will be used beginning in 2010, said John Weiss, director of the Education Department's assessment and accountability bureau. The reading test will be used starting in 2011.
However, "not every (special education) student will take the modified assessment," Weiss said.
That will be determined when a student, his or her parents and school representatives craft an Individual Education Program for the child. The IEP will spell out whether "the student is qualified to participate in the modified assessment," Weiss said.
To qualify, a student needs accommodations and modifications made to their learning environment, including additional teachers and teaching assistants, to give them a chance to perform at the same level as their peers, PDE officials said. But even with those extra supports, those students must demonstrate "persistent academic difficulties" to qualify for the modified exams.
"On the surface, the (modified PSSA tests) look much better at meeting the needs of that group of students," said Bristol Superintendent Broadus Davis, a former special education teacher. "But its impact is still to be determined."
Joan Hellyer can be reached at 215-949-4048 or jhellyer@phillyBurbs.com.
Education Week, 9-23-09 print edition
Latest Challenge in 'Race to Top': Find Review Team for Applicants
Department Must Weigh Expertise, Potential for Conflicts of Interest By Michele McNeil
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking 50 to 80 outside judges to help award $4 billion in Race to the Top Fund grants under the economic-stimulus program—job openings that demand both education policy expertise and a detached interest in the high-stakes education reform competition.
Finding such “disinterested superstars,” as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called them, could be difficult, given the scope, scale, and money attached to the competition, observers say.
Race to the Top grant applications, which will be submitted by states starting later this year, will touch on most corners of the education policy arena, from teacher quality and data systems to turnaround strategies for struggling schools and common academic standards. Those are also the four education reform “assurances” in the economic-stimulus package.
That means teachers’ unions and colleges of education will have a stake in who wins the grants—and a keen interest in who judges the applications. So will school districts, charter school advocates, and state education officials.
WANTED: Judges for Economic-Stimulus Competition
Job Description: Reviewers will work individually and on a panel with other reviewers to evaluate and score applications; some of the work will be done in Washington, D.C.
Qualifications: Expertise in some or all of these areas: education policy, capacity and scale, application review and evaluation, and K-12 education reform.
Work Load: Applicants must be available six to 12 days between January 2010 and March 2010, for the first round of applications, and between June 2010 and September 2010 for Round 2.
Number Needed: 50 to 80 peer reviewers.
Application Deadline: Sept. 30. Submit cover letter and resume to racetothetopreview@ed.gov.
Note: Applicants will be required to submit a conflict of interest questionnaire that includes whether the applicant has a financial stake in any state’s Race to the Top application.
Source: U.S. Department of Education
The potential for such conflicts of interest reminds many observers of the awards process for President George W. Bush’s $1 billion-a-year Reading First program, which was marred by charges that independent experts who reviewed grant applications had inappropriate interests in the selections.
Winners and Losers
Further raising the stakes for the Race to the Top, Mr. Duncan has made it clear he will award grants only to a select group of states; he hasn’t said how many. In fact, there could be more losers than winners in the $4 billion race, said Joe Williams, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a New York City-based political action committee.
“And if there are going to be more losers than winners, there are going to be a lot more people than usual trying to dissect why certain decisions were made,” Mr. Williams said.
Besides the obvious people who have a direct stake in the competition, there are others who are indirectly involved, further limiting the potential pool.
For example, education experts are being hired by states as consultants to help develop their applications. Nonprofit groups, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are also helping statesapply. And advocacy groups, such as the Education Trust and the American Association of School Administrators, have officially registered their complaints—or compliments—as the department works on final Race to the Top regulations. ("Criteria Seen as Too Restrictive in Quest for 'Race to Top' Funds," Sept. 16, 2009.)
Given how many people are trying to get a piece of the “biggest lottery in education history,” it will be hard to find qualified and impartial reviewers, said Christopher T. Cross, the chairman of Cross & Joftus, an education consulting company based in Washington and California. He oversaw competitive grantmaking by the Education Department as assistant secretary for educational research and improvement under President George H.W. Bush.
that the final roster includes a high percentage of people who do not have a historical context to understand what is really innovative,” Mr. Cross said. That could result in “what is merely an attempt to use lot of bells and whistles to create proposals that look interesting but have little chance of producing improvement in schools.”
Crucial Role
Although Education Department officials will have the final say, Mr. Duncan has said he will deem the reviewers’ decisions to be strong recommendations.
To that end, the department has placed online a help-wanted-style ad seeking applicants and nominations. The deadline to apply is Sept. 30. So far, the department has received about 200 names.In his letter asking for applicants, Mr. Duncan said he’s looking for the nation’s “most distinguished educators, policymakers, and scholars.” More specifically, the job qualifications ask that applicants have education policy and reform experience, including a “broad understanding” of all four education assurances outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and “specific expertise” in at least one of them.
The department also wants reviewers to have knowledge of effective operational and management structures at the state and district levels and experience managing or evaluating grants, according to the job description.
“There will be very, very few who have all of the characteristics they would ideally want,” said Andy Smarick, a department official under former Secretary Margaret Spellings and an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. “The department would be wise to make this as bipartisan and nonideological as possible. It will save them headaches in the future.”
The department makes clear that it will vet potential peer reviewers for conflicts of interest, which will include any financial stake applicants have in a state’s Race to the Top Fund application.
But questions remain about what conflict of interest would disqualify an applicant, who will ultimately select the peer reviewers, how they will be trained, and how exactly the review process for state applications will work. Justin Hamilton, a spokesman for the department, said staff members are still working on the peerreview process and haven’t made decisions on the details.
“We will ensure that the peer-review process is fair, objective, and thoroughly vetted, and we will involve very knowledgeable and fair peer reviewers,” he said.
Close Scrutiny
Questions about Education Department grant awards in recent years illustrate just how closely watched, and important, such peer-review panels can be.
In 2004, the department got in hot water when it went against peer-review recommendations in awarding millions of dollars from a federal grant program to expand public school choice to a project involving an online education company founded by former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett. ("Federal Grant Involving Bennett’s K12 Inc. Questioned," July 28, 2004.)
And in 2006, during a high-profile review of how the department handled Reading First grants, the department’s inspector general indicated officials may have intended to “stack” the panels of grant reviewers with those who favored a particular teaching methodology. Moreover, the inspector general’s report said the department’s method of screening the panelists for conflicts of interest was ineffective. ("Federal Review of Reading First Identifies Serious Problems," Sept. 22, 2006.)
“This was the big issue with Reading First, and nobody got it at the time. There’s a certain amount of déjà vu with Race to the Top,” said Kate Walsh, the president of the Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality. “It’s impossible to find anybody with any valuable expertise that doesn’t have any ostensible conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict.”
Ms. Walsh noted that anyone from her own organization would have a conflict because she’s worked on Race to the Top preparations with Colorado and is doing work with Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota.
“There’s no such thing as unbiased,” she said.
Coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvesment Act is supported in part by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, at www.hewlett.org.
Vol. 29, Issue 04, Page 14
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Turnaround Aid Raising Hopes, Also Concerns
As the Education Department readies billions of dollars in Title I cash, some question how much change will actually take place. September 22, 2009
Foundation Center Launches Site To Help Charities Leverage Stimulus
The New York City-based Foundation Center has launched a Web portal to help the philanthropic community leverage federal education dollars. September 22, 2009
Latest Challenge in 'Race to Top': Find Review Team for Applicants
Education Department officials are looking for candidates with expertise, but will weigh conflict-of-interest issues. September 22, 2009
Expected Turnaround Aid Has Districts Eager, Wary
As the Education Department readies billions of dollars in Title I cash to transform low-performing schools, some question how much change will actually take place. Updated: September 22, 2009
Criteria Seen as Too Restrictive in Quest for 'Race to Top' Funds
Federal education officials are urged in comments to eschew a one-size-fits-all approach in doling out $4 billion in grants. September 15, 2009
Potholes Ahead on Innovation Fund
The Education Department will face logistical hurdles and worries about favoritism in awarding $650 million in stimulus grants to school districts, nonprofits, and others. Updated: September 15, 2009
Proposed 'Race to Top' Rules Seen as Prescriptive
In formal comments, many states, school districts, and unions appear wary of a tight federal leash on the $4 billion in competitive stimulus grants. Updated: September 14, 2009
California Actions on 'Race to Top' Scrutinized
A special legislative session will weigh significant state policy changes in response to proposed requirements for the federal grants. August 31, 2009
Rural Areas Perceive Policy Tilt
Some see a policy tilt at the U.S. Department of Education, though federal officials vow to be balanced. August 28, 2009
Tight Leash Likely On Turnaround Aid
School closures, staff firings, and other dramatic steps would be the ticket to a share of $3.5 billion in new Title I aid. August 26, 2009
NEA at Odds With Obama Team Over 'Race to the Top' Criteria
The union says it cannot support core pieces of the Race to the Top Fund, such as the linking of test scores and teacher evaluation. Updated: August 31, 2009
Schools, districts, and nonprofits could get up to $50 million each under the stimulus program’s $650 million "i3 Fund." Updated: August 25, 2009
Hurdles Ahead in 'Race to Top'
States face hundreds of hours of paperwork in competing for $4 billion in stimulus funds, when staff and budgets are already stretched. Updated: August 25, 2009
Hurdles Loom for Launch of Innovation Fund
Eligibility and a flood of applications will be among the challenges in doling out $650 million to schools and districts. August 11, 2009
Guidance Issued for Technology Funds in Stimulus
Focus on competitive grants could spur innovation in using technology in schools, experts say. August 11, 2009
Race to the Top money could serve as a down payment for scaling up tests that would better measure critical thinking, experts say. August 11, 2009
School-Turnaround Call Points Up Challenges
The U.S. secretary of education’s call to “turn around” the nation’s 5,000 worst-performing schools has sparked debate about how—and whether—such an enormous leadership and management challenge can be accomplished. August 11, 2009
K-12 Budget Bills Eye Modest Funding Rise
After a major windfall in the federal economic-stimulus law, K-12 education would see just a modest boost in funding in fiscal 2010. August 11, 2009
Rich Prize, Restrictive Guidelines
States not meeting absolute guidelines would be ineligible to compete for aid from the Race to the Top Fund, a comparatively small—but highly coveted—slice of some $100 billion in federal economic-stimulus aid for education. August 10, 2009
Experts Hope Federal Funds Lead to Better Tests
Race to the Top money could serve as a down payment for scaling up tests that would better measure critical thinking, experts say. Updated: August 11, 2009
Research Doesn't Offer Much Guidance on Turnarounds
The nation has few real examples of dramatic school change, experts say, leading to a lack of information on what strategies work. August 4, 2009
Branding Education, Government-Style
Shawn Maureen Powers examines titles and catchphrases from federal education efforts, and what their development means for our current approach to school reform. August 3, 2009
Ed. Dept. Gears Up for 'Innovation' Grants
As Arne Duncan continues his “listening tour,” his team is kick-starting a $650 million grant competition for district-level innovations. July 29, 2009
Senate Budget Panel OKs Slim Boost for Education
After a windfall in the stimulus bill, K-12 schools would see just a modest funding increase in fiscal 2010 under the U.S. Senate plan. July 29, 2009
Secretary Duncan: Use New School Money on Something New
“Putting more resources into technology and for-profit consultants provides jobs and lets politicians feel they are helping schools, but it doesn’t improve student learning,” write Gary W. Ritter and Robert Maranto. July 29, 2009
Stimulus Spurs Shifts of Special Education Funding
Some states are giving school districts more flexibility to use their own money for other budget priorities amid the influx of federal dollars. Updated: August 11, 2009
Guidance Issued on Ed-Tech Stimulus Funds
The U.S. Department of Education has released guidance for using more than $650 million in funding to boost school technology programs. July 27, 2009
States Scramble for Coveted Dollars
The first round of funding requires producing game-changing plans on a three-month timetable. July 24, 2009
Education's 'Race to the Top' Begins
Joanne Weiss describes the four core areas of reform guiding the U.S. Department of Education, and the role they will play in the allocation of ‘Race to the Top’ funds. Updated: July 24, 2009
'Race to Top' Guidelines Stress Use of Test Data
States must allow the use of student-achievement data for making decisions about teachers in order to qualify for money from the federal grant program. July 23, 2009
“Only $5 billion in the ‘Race to the Top’ incentive grants out of nearly $80 billion in education stimulus funds will be spent on the basis of any evidence of school reform or student learning,” writes John E. Chubb. July 15, 2009
Amid Fiscal Crisis, L.A. Gives Site Councils Budget Reins
Schools get a taste of decentralization as they make key budgetary decisions, including how to spend an influx of stimulus aid, in lean fiscal times. July 14, 2009
Guidance Would Allow Waivers on Title I Stimulus Funds
New guidance allows flexibility from Title I requirements for spending on tutoring and transportation for school transfers. Updated: July 17, 2009
States jockey for position as the U.S. Education Department readies billions of dollars in ‘Race to the Top’ awards—the stimulus program’s grand prize. July 9, 2009
Innovation Is the Key to Smarter Schools —And the Budget Crises Might Spur It
“The promise of the stimulus funds for innovation is that they could open the door for large-scale transformation. In essence, it’s not how much you spend, but how you spend it that matters," writes Stanley S. Litow. July 7, 2009
Striking the right balance on use of federal education aid requires accommodation on both sides—and produces some friction. Updated: July 13, 2009
Infant-Toddler Spec. Ed. Program Gets New Life From Stimulus
Advocates say economic-stimulus funds will let states keep paying for services for youngest children with disabilities and their families. Updated: July 13, 2009
Stimulus Aid's Pace Still Slow
Governors and school districts face the challenge of absorbing billions of dollars while satisfying the U.S. Department of Education’s requirements for that funding. June 16, 2009
Duncan Unveils Details on Race to the Top Aid
Education Secretary Duncan wants to use $350 million to help states draft common assessments, and has sharpened the time line for grants. June 15, 2009
Dual Aims in Stimulus Stir Tension
States find themselves torn between using the federal money to plug budget holes and to push school reform. June 9, 2009
Key Democrats Question Parts of Obama Budget
Fiscal leaders in the House and Senate are voicing concern about proposed shifts in Title I money and a big boost for the Teacher Incentive Fund. Updated: June 8, 2009
Duncan Pressed to Set High Bar on 'Race to Top'
The education secretary told Congress he’ll hold states to a high standard in doling out $5 billion in discretionary stimulus funds. May 20, 2009
Restrictions on Spec. Ed. Spending Prompt Complaints
The complex rules that govern how federal dollars must be spent on special education services are getting a new, critical look as stimulus money starts flowing to the states. May 18, 2009
Obama Budget Choices Scrutinized
Following the windfall for education in the stimulus, the plan for fiscal 2010 prompts scrutiny, especially proposed shifts in Title I. May 18, 2009
Despite Continued Fiscal Woes, Florida Dodges K-12 Budget Cut
Florida lawmakers will use federal stimulus aid as a budget lifeline. May 15, 2009
Deputy Secretary Pick Brings Business Background
In naming Tony Miller to fill the No. 2 slot at the U.S. Department of Education, President Barack Obama has turned to a manager with extensive business experience as the department tackles the challenge of overseeing some $100 billion in economic-stimulus aid to education. May 11, 2009
Initial Aid Is Puzzle to Track
States and federal agencies are off to a slow and uneven start in helping the public track up to $100 billion in education aid. Updated: April 29, 2009
Tips Given on Best Use of Stimulus Money
The education secretary details how states and districts should use billions of extra dollars his department has started pumping out. Updated: April 20, 2009
As Stimulus Tap Turns On, Districts Can’t Escape Cuts
The first federal aid to states is unlikely to stop layoffs in the worst-hit school districts, administrators say. April 6, 2009
First Education Stimulus Aid Flows to States
Teacher-quality reporting and capital-spending flexility are outlined in new Education Department guidance. Updated: April 10, 2009
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Purpose
What's New
Thank you for your comments
The Department held a public comment period on the Race to the Top Notice of Proposed Priorities from July 29, 2009 to August 28, 2009. Thank you to the over 1100 people and organizations who submitted comments. Watch here for the final notices and the application package, which we hope to have out in late Fall. For reference, here is the Notice of Proposed Priorities and its Executive Summary
We are now looking for peer reviewers to judge the Race to the Top competition
The Department is soliciting nominations for reviewers for the Race to the Top program. We hope to assemble panels of our nation's most distinguished educators, policymakers, and scholars to participate in the review process for this ambitious reform initiative. To learn what this entails and how to apply, please read Secretary Duncan's letter.
CFDA Number: 84.395
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants
The Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; implementing ambitious plans in the four education reform areas described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA); and achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers.
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Last Modified: 09/08/2009
