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New Rules for Obama's School Funding

After some criticism about their plans for the Rise to the Top program of grants to state education programs, the Obama administration has changed...


After some criticism about their plans for the Rise to the Top program of grants to state education programs, the Obama administration has changed the rules, though relaxed is perhaps a better word. One main change is that states can now demonstrate that they have used innovations other than charter schools to alter the public education system; the emphasis on charter schools had bothered some people, including a few governors who will be applying for the money. The Department of Education also released a point system on how they'll grade the schools:"A perfect application would earn a state 500 points, with 125 points allotted for articulating a perfectly coherent agenda for change; 70 points for adopting higher standards and higher quality tests; 47 points for developing computerized systems to track student academic progress; 138 points for recruiting quality teachers, evaluating their effectiveness, and using the evaluations in tenure and other key decisions; 50 points for turning around failing schools; 30 points for other miscellaneous categories of change; and 40 points for fostering the growth of charter schools."Whether this will cool those critics who say this emphasizes standardized testing seems unlikely, but with a Democratic President enforcing the rules, it seems that they have very little recourse.

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