Is It a “Race” Toward (In)Equity? How Race to the Top Frames the Discourse on Equity for Evaluation Systems in Two States

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Implications of Varying Interpretations of Large-Scale Reform Strategies

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of how and if at all Race to the Top (RTTT) is framing the discourse on issues of equity as it relates to the design and implementation of principal/teacher evaluation in two states—California (non RTTT recipient at state level) and Illinois (RTTT recipient). Furthermore, we examine how state and district level actors’ interpretations of how these policies are framed impacts the role equity plays in school improvement. We found that the less federal restrictions placed on states and districts, the more flexibility districts had to design equity-minded principal and teacher evaluation systems.

Authors

• Anjale DeVawn Welton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Christopher Thomas, University of San Francisco

• Montrischa Money Williams, American Institutes for Research