The USA’s public schools stand to be the biggest winners in Congress’ $825 billion economic stimulus plan unveiled last week. Schools are scheduled to receive nearly $142 billion over the next two years — more than health care, energy or infrastructure projects — and the stimulus could bring school advocates closer than ever to a long-sought dream: full funding of the No Child Left Behind law and other huge federal programs.
But tucked into the text of the proposal’s 328 pages are a few surprises: If they want the money — and they certainly do — schools must spend at least a portion of it on a few of education advocates’ long-sought dreams. In particular, they must develop:
- High-quality educational tests.
- Ways to recruit and retain top teachers in hard-to-staff schools.
- Longitudinal data systems that let schools track long-term progress.
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The Wisconsin test: WKCE has been criticized for its low standards. More on the WKCE here.
I would like to see MPS,test-evaluate the teacher/coaching program against its original objectives. The concept is excellent but the dollars involved might be better used by returning those teacher-now staff positions to the classrooms. The notion of coaching new teachers delivered in a less costly manner.