More proof...

Race to the Top relies heavily on teachers' pay and evaluation being tied to student "performance" i.e. scores on high stakes achievement tests.

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet reported recently on the results of a study of Chicago's teacher performance-based pay. It turns out that it doesn't work well.

A study released today by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. shows no evidence that the Chicago Teacher Advancement Program improved student math and reading tests when compared with a group of similar schools that did not use the system, Education Week reported...

The concept ignores the fact that standardized tests in schools today were not designed as teacher assessment tools and aren’t valid measures, but that isn’t stopping a headlong rush into implementation in school districts across the country.

There's a double standard at work here. Teachers and schools are being taken to task for not using research-based or scientific-based programs, yet the USDOE is ignoring research which goes against its political agenda.

The process at work today is guaranteed to fail. The Race to the Top requires that states use what doesn't work. When schools fail the teachers will be blamed, fired, and vilified.

Public Education in the United States is being pushed over a cliff.