The Federal Role in School Reform: Obama's Race to the Top

INTRODUCTION I. ESEA AND THE EVOLVING FEDERAL ROLE II. NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND III. THE OBAMA AGENDA IV. ASSESSING RTT A. Testing and Standards B. Evaluating Teachers C. Turning Around Failing Schools D. Charters and Choice V. REVISITING NCLB CONCLUSION APPENDIX INTRODUCTION Given the level of discretionary funding that has been made available to him by Congress and the way he has chosen to exercise his administrative authority, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is for all practical purposes the most powerful federal executive in the history of American education, pushing the boundaries of the federal/ state relationship to new limits. This essay provides a critical review of federal education policy enacted under President Barack Obama with a particular focus on the centerpiece Race to the Top initiative implemented by Secretary Duncan. It assesses the Obama policy in the context of the evolving federal role in education that began with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 as an effort to improve educational opportunity for economically disadvantaged students. It argues that while the Obama agenda is a reasonable attempt to reshape educational policy (and particularly No Child Left Behind), contrary to what the administration claims, its approach to education policy is neither entirely research based nor apolitical, and the competitive nature of the funding may eventually prove to undermine the redistributive objectives of the original ESEA legislation. Part I of this essay traces the evolution of federal education policy. It will begin by examining the objectives and strategies originally enunciated by President Lyndon B. Johnson with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It will then explain how these goals changed over the years through the administration of President Bill Clinton, as the program became less concerned with directing resources to children who were economically disadvantaged and more concerned with accountability. Part II reviews the details of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush, which established the political and programmatic context for policymaking during the Obama administration. Although this legislation was designed to impose accountability on states that accepted federal funding, it also highlighted the needs of children who were denied an opportunity for a decent education, a disproportionate number of whom were economically disadvantaged children of color. Part III scopes out the broad outlines of the Obama education agenda, while Part IV assesses the main provisions of the Race to the Top (RTT) initiative. Particular attention is given in the latter to those provisions that pertain to testing and standards, teacher evaluation, turnaround strategies for failing schools, and charters and choice. Part V describes how Secretary of Education Arne Duncan used his administrative discretion to make No Child Left Behind more consistent with the objectives of Race to the Top. Part VI serves as a conclusion. I. ESEA AND THE EVOLVING FEDERAL ROLE The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that President Lyndon Johnson managed to push through Congress in 1965 was a historical breakthrough in a country that had traditionally considered education a state and local function. The initial appropriation of $1 billion in funding was doubled in 1966, and by the end of the decade was up to $3 billion. (1) Under Title I, the major provision of the law, funds were specifically to be appropriated to communities on the basis of economic need. The legislation read: In recognition of the special educational needs of children of low-income families and the impact that concentrations of low-income families have on the ability of local educational agencies to support adequate educational programs, the Congress hereby declares it to be the policy of the United States to provide financial assistance . …