David Broder’s recent op-ed points out that most teachers continue to resist performance standards, even though parents generally favor the use of standards. That is not a surprising fact. On the other hand, his brief interview with Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education, revealed some troubling news.
Spellings said she has a task force, including teachers union representatives, working on how measures of students’ progress might be blended with performance standards in evaluating schools.
This is problematic for two reasons: 1) Teacher’s unions want to drastically increase federal funding of K-12 education, while dismantling accountability measures for students and teachers. 2) “Measures of student progress” suggests that the Department of Education is considering the use of value-added assessments (measures of growth) that have failed in North Carolina.
It is unclear how Spellings wants to change NCLB standards, but this does not seem like a good place to start.
