Administration Takes Aim at State Laws on Teachers

"The Obama administration took aim on Thursday at state laws — adopted after heavy teachers’ union lobbying — barring the use of student achievement data to evaluate teacher performance."

"The federal Department of Education proposed rules to prevent states with such laws from getting money from a $4.3 billion-educational innovation fund."

"Proposed rules for the $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition say that states must show they are carrying out education innovation and reform, improving student achievement, adopting higher standards, recruiting effective teachers and principals, building educational data systems, and turning around low-performing schools."

"To be eligible to apply for money, a “state must not have any legal, statutory or regulatory barriers to linking data on student achievement or student growth to teachers and principals for the purpose of teacher and principal evaluation,” according to a summary of the proposed rules."