States racing to the top to link student outcomes with teacher performance & quality assessments

November 10, 2:32 PMNewark Parenting & Education ExaminerSharon Biggs

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Several months ago, U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, announced the start of a national competition called “Race to the Top.”  The competition is also being endorsed and promoted by President Barack Obama.

A nationwide effort to improve student learning and performance outcomes by linking the learning and outcomes to teacher performance and data obtained from quality assessments, has been embarked upon by political and educational officials in a number of states throughout America.

New Jersey and several other states have engaged in conversations about the race; and some states have begun making rigorous preparations to help them submit exemplary applications for inclusion in a race to the top to win a portion of the prize of over four billion dollars in grant funding. 

Reportedly, over 600 million dollars will also be made available for a “race to the top” between individual school districts.

Concerns have been raised about linking student outcomes with individual teacher performance by some teachers’ unions, including the teachers’ union in New York .

Secretary Duncan is scheduled to release the specific guidelines and rules for the competition’s application process before the end of 2009.