In this report, the second Stimulus Watch tracking how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) education funding is being used, I made a dire prediction about “Trojan Horse” applications for the Race to the Top Fund.
Here was my logic: States are desperate for funding because of the recession. While this vaunted $4.35 billion program is supposed to be about reform, states are likely to be more interested in the several hundred million dollars it might add to their coffers than the education reforms it might launch.
Moreover, had states really wanted to pursue education reform, they would have done so already. Those that now profess to be in favor of the administration’s favorite reform initiatives are probably just angling for money. Therefore, I argued the Department of Education ought to be on guard for ostensibly reform-oriented applications that are in actuality just efforts to garner funding for the status quo.
So I was encouraged to read this recent AP interview with Secretary Duncan, wherein he shows himself to be prepared for mendacious proposals motivated by money hunger. Here’s a good blurb from the article:
“It’s really not about the money—it’s about pushing a strong reform agenda that’s going to improve student achievement,” Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press … Still, he said states will have to do more than make promises. “We’re going to invest in those states that aren’t just talking the talk but that are walking the walk,” he said. “If folks are doing this to chase money, it’s for the wrong reasons.”
This is good news for those of us hoping to get some reform out of the ARRA. Hopefully, the department will share the secretary’s warranted skepticism with the outside peer reviewers who will read and score state applications. Better yet, they could make this report mandatory reading. Barring that, maybe they could just hang a giant sign in the reviewers’ room reading, “Beware of States Bearing Gifts.”