❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

New York schools could lose millions

Amy Scott Dec 29, 2011

Adriene Hill: Now to New York state, where struggling schools could lose millions of dollars if they miss a deadline this weekend. The schools are required to adopt new systems to evaluate teachers and principles.

From the Marketplace education desk at WYPR, Amy Scott reports.


Amy Scott: The more than $100 million in federal grants is meant to help turn around chronically underperforming schools.

John King:  The underlying holdup is really a culture shift.

That’s New York state education commissioner John King.

King: In school districts around the country, evaluation happens rarely, if at all, and isn’t particularly rigorous.

Unions are at odds with school officials over how to measure good teaching. That’s jeopardizing grants in New York, even as other states look to build new evaluation systems. John Tyler is an economics and education professor at Brown University.

John Tyler: Teacher evaluation is one of the major education reforms. It’s really sweeping across the nation at this point.

Such systems are a requirement for states that have won a share of $4.5 billion in federal Race to the Top money.

I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.