Colorado has been one of a handful of states at the vanguard of education reform, pushing charter schools, teacher performance pay and school autonomy.
Those earlier efforts and others, in combination with nine pieces of legislation recently signed by Gov. Bill Ritter, have positioned Colorado to be competitive for what could be a transformative federal education grant from the Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative.
It’s an opportunity for Colorado’s children that must not be squandered.
Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien has assumed control of the state’s efforts to get the federal grant and we hope her enthusiasm for the mission translates into a successful bid for what could amount to $500 million for Colorado education.
Those measures approved in the last legislative session have the potential to help the Race to the Top bid, but also to further education in important ways.
The key will be a thoughtful enactment of some good ideas.
Of particular interest is a teacher tracking measure that will show, through student test data and other measures, which teachers best move their students forward academically.
Such a tool has great potential. It could be used to see which teachers, for instance, have the best results with low-income students. Figuring out why that is and how it could be replicated would be valuable information.
Data from this tracking system also could be used by districts to deal with underperforming teachers. That idea has sparked controversy, but it must be considered.
Good teachers aren’t the only key to high achievement but they’re clearly the most important one.
Also of note is a bill that enables high school students to earn college credits or take vocational school courses. The concurrent enrollment plan would allow a portion of state per-pupil money to be used to pay for college or vocational courses.
The goal is to increase the number of postsecondary degrees earned by Colorado’s young people and to reduce the dropout rate. The measure has great potential — and already has been successful in some high schools, such as Lincoln. We hope it is carefully implemented and well-used.
Other measures recently approved create a dropout prevention office and provide financial incentives for low-income schools that boost student achievement.
Race to the Top money would be a wonderful accelerant for the innovative ideas devised by Colorado policy makers. But regardless, such reforms should continue to be a priority for the sake of our state’s children.
