Education Stimulus Money Establishes Test Standards, Can't Fix Test Problems

by Mike Smith · 2009-12-04 08:42:00 UTC
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One-hundred billion dollars of stimulus money is beginning to go into education, prompting states to track students progress more closely, use more rigorous tests, and generally embrace the Obama administration's reforms. These changes in federal education policy is explained in a report by the Center on Education Policy who are working to understand what the impact of stimulus funds, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

They explain that "the stimulus dollars, in a time of economic challenges, mean that the federal government is poised to play a far greater role in driving education reforms." The priority areas the state and fed will focus on are better tracking of students' academic progress through their whole education, developing better standards for assessments, improve teacher effectiveness, and turning around the lowest-performing schools. The report concludes that progress is being made in the first two of those area, but less so in teaching and fixing failing schools — not good news for those skeptical of test-based learning. Others are critical that reform should focus on curriculum, not simply establishing new standards for schools already failing.

Photo credit: CCarlstead

Mike Smith is associate editor at Change.org.
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