Obama on RTTT

President Obama was in Wisconsin yesterday to talk about Race to the Top funding. I'll let the New American take it from here:

The Obama administration has said that refusing to link teacher performance ratings to student test scores would lessen a state’s chance of receiving federal funds. In Wisconsin, Obama wrapped the bribe he is offering in high-sounding language about the importance of education.

“There is nothing that will determine the quality of our future as a nation or the lives our children more than the kind of education we provide them,” Obama declared. “If you’re willing to hold yourselves more accountable, if you develop a strong plan to improve the quality of education in your state, we’ll offer you a grant to help make that plan a reality.”

What the president really meant was, “If you will make your states more accountable to the federal government in the area of education, ol’ Uncle Sam will make it worth your while.” Tying teacher ratings and pay to student test scores will provide a strong incentive for teachers to prepare students to do well on standardized tests.

But standardized tests are not always as effective at measuring student knowledge as an essay test or other form of evaluation. Also, teachers of disabled, troubled, or remedial students cannot be fairly judged by the performance of their charges on standard tests. Not only that, if the federal government has any say about what is in the tests, teachers will be forced to focus on imparting what Washington wants students to know.

The article goes on to point out that this is giving a large measure of control of education, traditionally--in fact, Constitutionally--within the parameters of the state, to the federal government.