In the News: Demand for Change

Richard Cohen, The Washington Post
But if the money is going to be offered, why not couple it with demands for reform? After all, without the extra cash, the likelihood is that teachers across the country will be laid off. That gives the president some leverage: Take my money, take my reforms… the explosive energy of “change” is being lost. Hit rewind. It’s not too late to get it back.
$100 Billion and No Change Back
February 3, 2009

Mort Zuckerman, U.S. News & World Report
Act to hold schools, principals, and teachers accountable for student performance. In fact, this generation of school reformers believes that schools should be more accountable for student learning, not less.
Education Reform Consensus Grows on Fixing Urban Schools
February 2, 2009

Joe Klein, TIME Magazine
I think you have over a hundred billion dollars in education, but no quid pro quo from the teachers unions. If you’re going to give a hundred billion in education, at least we should get one extra month of teaching a year. Or, those funds should only be available to districts that eliminate teacher tenure.
Morning Joe (MSNBC)
February 2, 2009

Our Greatest National Shame - Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times
February 14, 2009
The implication is that throwing money at a broken system won’t fix it, but that resources are necessary as part of a package that involves scrapping certification, measuring better through testing which teachers are effective, and then paying them significantly more - with special bonuses to those who teach in “bad” schools.

Obama’s Empty Pragmatism - Michael Gerson, Real Clear Politics
February 11, 2009
But education spending in the stimulus - about $140 billion in the House and $80 billion in the Senate - has little or no emphasis on teacher quality in high-minority schools, little or no emphasis on strengthening charter schools, little or no emphasis on improved assessment, little or no emphasis on teaching the basics of reading. With shrinking state and local education budgets, an increase in federal spending may be justified. But the administration’s approach abandons the most basic principle of school improvement: Reform, and then resources.

A Spending Education - Wall Street Journal
February 7, 2009
President Obama says education spending belongs in the stimulus because it will help the economy in the long-term. Fair enough. But if the goal is to increase productivity, lawmakers need to be use the money as a lever for better results. Simply doubling or tripling the amounts for states to spend on the same failing schools isn’t going to produce different outcomes. A growing body of education research suggests that kids perform better in schools where teacher pay is based on effectiveness, not seniority and credentials. Studies also show that charter schools help the children who attend them and put competitive pressure on nearby traditional public schools.

The Fierce Urgency of Pork - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
February 6, 2009
It’s not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It’s not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

A Vital Boost for Education - New York Times Editorial
February 3, 2009
The stimulus measure being debated in Congress contains a vital $140 billion education package that would more than double the Education Department’s discretionary budget and give the federal government unprecedented leverage over a school-reform effort that has been controlled primarily by the states. Congress has to make sure, however, that the spending does not actually undermine reform. The money needs to be targeted in a way that forces the states to adopt reforms required under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.

Education Money Ought to Lead to Reforms - Seattle Times Editorial
February 3, 2009
But the money ought to have strings attached. The largest infusion of cash in recent history ought to not only stimulate the education industry, but reform it.

An Education Stimulus? - Washington Post Editorial
January 29, 2009
Education is poised to win big under the economic stimulus plan hurtling through Congress. But it remains to be seen whether America’s schoolchildren really will be helped by the huge investment of public funds that is being planned. After all, it seems that much of the billions of dollars of new federal spending is aimed at continuing programs and policies that largely have failed to improve student achievement. For the amount of money being spent, Congress should insist on real change, not simply more of the same.