United States: Ambitious school reforms programme

Between classes at Fenger High School, on the far south side of Chicago, hundreds of students churn through the halls. Elizabeth Dozier, the new principal, keeps a watchful eye. She wears a two-way radio to deal with problems the minute they arise. One is small: the girls toilets have no paper towels. One is bigger: theres a brawl upstairs. Its not to be ignored: on September 24 an honour-roll student was beaten to death near Fenger, swept up in senseless violence.For an idea of the task confronting Arne Duncan, President Barack Obamas education secretary, Fenger is a good place to start. From 2006 to 2008, fewer than 3 percent of pupils met Illinoiss meagre standards of achievement. But this year everything is supposed to change. The Chicago school district chose Fenger as a ‘turnaround. Old teachers have been sacked and new programmes put in place. Fenger faces formidable odds. But if Duncan has his way, the schools transformation will signal the start of a larger shift. Duncan, the former chief of Chicagos schools, finds himself in an unprecedented position. No education secretary has ever had so much money to drive reform. Thanks largely to the federal stimulus, he has more than $10 billion (Rs.46,000 crore), including $3.5 billion (Rs.16,127 crore) to turn around schools. More than $4 billion (Rs.18,435 crore) will go to states that pursue specific initiatives: final guidelines for applications will be issued this autumn, and states are scurrying to prepare. Duncan calls the money a moon shot — for his department and for the country. There is appetite for reform. Almost three-quarters of Americans think that the problems facing education are at least as grave as those facing healthcare, according to a poll conducted for The Economist by YouGov. George Bushs education law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), attempted to set standards and hold schools accountable for meeting them. But 61 percent think that NCLB has had no effect or has actually hurt Americas schools. The act is overdue for reauthorisation, and on September 24 Duncan described possible changes to it. In the meantime, however, he and Obama are using stimulus cash to pursue goals of their own. The education department has divided the cash into several programmes, including a $650 million (Rs.2,998 crore) ‘Investing in Innovation fund that will award grants not only to school districts but to private groups that run schools. The biggest pot of money is the $4.4 billion (Rs.20,286 crore) Race to the Top, which will reward states for reform in four areas. First, it will support internationally benchmarked standards and tests, an effort to reverse the tendency of states to weaken standards under NCLB. Second, Race to the Top will streamline the collection of pupil data and use it to improve teaching. Third, the fund will encourage states to use performance to determine training and, controversially, pay and promotion. Fourth, the fund will support efforts to help struggling schools. A state may not apply if it forbids the use of pupil…