Pres. Dooher's Race to the Top letter to U.S. Education Secretary
The following is the text of Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher's letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The letter outlines Education Minnesota's reasons for declining to support the state's Race to the Top application.
January 15, 2010
Secretary Arne Duncan
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202
Dear Secretary Duncan,
As president of Education of Minnesota, the statewide teachers union in Minnesota, I am submitting this letter as an alternative to a letter or signature of support for our state’s application for Race to the Top funds.
In December, Education Minnesota announced an alternative proposal for the use of federal grant money, focusing on direct support for teachers and students in the classroom. Parts of our plan can be found in the state’s application, but without the emphasis and comprehensive programming necessary to make a real difference for students. I am attaching a summary outline of our proposal.
Education Minnesota enthusiastically endorses the goals of the Race to the Top program: making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and preparing students for college or career. However, we cannot endorse the non-student-centered path the Minnesota Department of Education has chosen to attain those goals. Our concerns may help to illuminate why so few unions (vs. LEAs) have signed on to the state’s application.
There are two areas that particularly trouble us. First, our state has focused its application on “Q Comp,” a voluntary performance pay system advocated by Gov. Tim Pawlenty that requires the elimination of “steps and lanes” from teacher salary schedules. All school districts participating in Race to the Top would be required to adopt Q Comp.
Although Q Comp has partial state funding and some features that are appealing to teachers, fewer than one out of five school districts and charter schools have chosen to adopt the program voluntarily. In addition, three separate studies last year failed to show Q Comp increases student achievement. The Minnesota Legislature rejected Gov. Pawlenty’s efforts to expand Q Comp statewide and make it mandatory. Yet this unproven, unwanted program is the centerpiece of Minnesota’s Race to the Top plan. The evidence is strong that LEAs’ willingness to sign on to the state’s plan at this time stems from financial desperation rather than genuine support for Q Comp.
Our second concern has to do with the Minnesota Department of Education’s proposal to make student test data a major factor in high-stakes decisions affecting virtually every aspect of a teacher’s career. Though I am aware that this is also a major emphasis in Race to the Top, there is no evidence that tests designed for school accountability are valid for evaluating individual teachers, and no conclusive research supporting test score “growth” as a measure of teacher “effectiveness.”
Our larger problem with Minnesota’s application, frankly, stems from the literalness of its efforts to adhere to the federal guidelines. We are disappointed that the department has not been interested in collaborating with us to develop a truly bold, original plan to improve learning for Minnesota’s students.
In closing, I want to emphasize that whatever the decision on our state’s Race to the Top application, Education Minnesota will work in good faith with our members, as well as leaders at all levels of education and government, to assure the best possible outcome for Minnesota’s students and teachers.
Sincerely,
Tom Dooher
President
Education Minnesota
Cc: Alice Seagren, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education
Enclosure