When Congress returns this week, appropriators will have to turn their attention to FY 2010 spending measures. This week, Arne Duncan, secretary of education, will be on Capitol Hill to testify before the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations subcommittees. This marks the real beginning of the appropriations process for education. House appropriations leaders are set to begin markups in the various subcommittees as well. House leaders have said repeatedly that they would like to pass all 12 FY 2010 spending bills before the start of the August recess. That's eight short weeks away. And there are other major bills moving in that chamber - health care reform and climate change legislation top authorizing priorities. As a result, Democratic leadership has told the rank and file members to expect full weeks and votes late on Fridays in the coming months.

The education community has spent the last few weeks trying to devise a strategy for the FY 2010 budget cycle. While appreciative of the funding provided to education programs in the stimulus bill, there is not much in the FY 2010 proposed budget to embrace. The overall investment in education is larger, but the increases mostly go to new programs that give the Duncan much discretion - discretion that makes beneficiaries of long-standing programs somewhat nervous. And the proposed cut to Title I spending still stings. The next few weeks will force the education community to find its footing in the appropriations debate.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) hosted an event to discuss a new study that arguably reveals significant downsides of what it calls "reward-punishment systems based on quantitative outcomes." The study examines the implementation of various compensation schemes in the public and private sectors and points to what it considers a faulty premise for embracing pay for performance for teachers as a solution to what so-called "ineffective teaching."

The study suggests that pay for performance systems base their support on two assumptions: first, that merit pay is long-established and widespread in the private sector and second, that students' test scores reliably gauge how well teachers are doing their jobs. Both assumptions, according to the study, Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability: What Education Should Learn from Other Sectors, are faulty. The authors of the study examine the evidence underlying these assumptions, concluding that the use of merit-pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with "perverse" consequences adversely affecting the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes and that such systems are not widespread among private-sector professionals.

During a panel discussion, Janet Hansen, from the Committee on Economic Development, joined the authors of the study and pointed to the work of teachers and teacher unions in Denver, Colo., as an example of how pay for performance for teachers might work well. She shared a rubric used in Denver that rewards teachers for many behaviors and outcomes and compared it with familiar teacher salary schedules that, in her opinion, do not adequately consider behavior that betters classroom instruction. She also argued that the benefit of teacher experience for students levels out after five to six years and that often teachers pursue programs of study while teaching that do not necessarily benefit students, yet they are rewarded monetarily for that pursuit.

The question-and-answer discussion that completed the event made it evident that there are no clear answers in this debate. There are strong advocates for implementing these pay structures in teaching, but others believe that the socioeconomic factors influencing performance of public education warrant far more attention. This study is the first in a planned series.

Secretary Duncan Continues Listening Tour: As part of his "Listening and Learning" tour, Arne Duncan, secretary of education traveled to Billings, Mont., to meet with students, community leaders and elected officials to hear their ideas for education reform and how the federal government can help advance reforms in their community and throughout the state. In Montana, Duncan visited with Native American youth, who said that achievement expectations for them were very low; they asked that the bar be raised. Officials and tribal leaders also raised concerns about parental involvement, saying it needs significant improvement, and cited examples of low attendance at the school's parent meetings. Last week Duncan visited Vermont and learned about unique partnerships between schools and local farmers that provide healthy lunches, made with locally grown ingredients. Duncan then held a discussion on the topic of quality nutrition and quality learning. Duncan intends to visit at least 15 states in the coming months as part of the listening tour. Other states targeted for potential events include Michigan; California; Wyoming; New Jersey; Tennessee; North Carolina; Washington D.C.; Ohio; Indiana; Florida; Utah; and Alaska. Additional states and events may be added during the course of the tour. Duncan wants to ensure he visits a mix of rural, urban, suburban and ethnically diverse districts and hears from a broad range of stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, administrators and community and business leaders. More info.

ED Awarding SFS Funding to States: Since passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Department of Education has been awarding the State Fiscal Stabilization (SFS) funds made available by ARRA to eligible states that have completed Part 1 of the state stabilization application. Arne Duncan, secretary of education, announced last week that $434 million of ARRA funds has been made available for Puerto Rico. These funds will help reform education and protect teachers' jobs. Puerto Rico will be eligible to apply for another $214 million this fall. Also receiving ARRA funds this week for completing Part 1 of the state stabilization application were: Washington with $672 million, Massachusetts with $666 million, Idaho with $165 million and Virginia with $806 million. Two weeks ago, more than $1 billion in SFS funds was made available for North Carolina. So far the Department of Education has awarded more than $18 billion of SFS funds to 22 states. Duncan explained that the awarding of SFS funds "is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history." For more information on states that have submitted applications for SFS funds, click here. To view information on what states are doing with the funds, click here.

Middle-Class Task Force Announces Partnership to Foster Job Growth and Green Economy: During the May 26 meeting of the Middle-Class Task Force in Denver, Colo., Duncan announced the department's participation in a new interagency partnership to foster job growth for a new green economy. Along with Hilda L. Solis, secretary of labor; Shaun Donovan, secretary of housing and urban development; and Steven Chu, secretary of energy, the Department of Education has committed to developing new policies, proposals and ideas to help the middle class. The Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are partnering to bring training and employment to public housing residents. Additionally, Duncan, Chu and Solis announced a collaboration to make it a major priority to "institutionalize cross-agency communication about private sector jobs created." According to the departments, the jobs created will be connected to training programs and career pathways that can provide transitions for adults between employment and for students from high school to post-secondary education and into careers. Through this partnership, the Department of Energy will identify ways to notify the Department of Labor as funding commitments are made and jobs are created. The Department of Labor will, in turn, provide the information to local One Stop Employment Centers that will connect unemployed workers with jobs, training and education opportunities. The Department of Education will help identify the educational resources for training to ensure that educational opportunities linked to job creation are comprehensive. More info.

Treasury Discusses Financial Literacy and Education: On May 27, the Treasury Department's Financial Literacy and Education Commission held its first meeting of 2009. Commission members and the public gathered to hear updates from various subcommittees on steps federal agencies and private organizations are taking to improve financial and economic literacy education in the United States. Jeanne Hogarth, representing the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, talked about the financial literacy ads the Federal Reserve is developing to raise public awareness. The Federal Reserve Web site also provides a wide variety of financial literacy tools, including a credit card repayment calculator and a series of tips for avoiding foreclosure scams. The Federal Reserve is interested in partnering with other federal agencies as well as actors in the education, business and military communities. The Department of Education has been working with the Council for Economic Education (formerly the National Council for Economic Education) on implementing the Excellence in Economic Education (EEE) grant program. Through this program the council provides grants to state and local educational agencies to implement financial and economic literacy education programs in K-12 institutions. Michael Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury, also announced during the meeting that Michelle Greene will be the new deputy assistant secretary for financial education at the Treasury. Greene was previously the designated federal officer for the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. More info.

NCES Releases Condition of Education 2009 Report: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) held a briefing on May 28 on its annual congressionally mandated report, the Condition of Education 2009. This year's report details more than 100 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S. education, including participation in education, learner outcomes, and student effort and educational progress. The report predicts that enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools will increase to 54 million in 2018, with the largest increases projected in the South. Not surprisingly, it found that the percentage of Caucasian students has decreased since 1972, largely due to growth in the number of Hispanic students. Data from the long-term trends National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) suggests that the average reading and mathematics scores for 9 and 13 year olds were higher in 2008 than in the early 1970s, but the scores for 17 year olds remained stagnant. The report found that in 2006, approximately three-quarters of the 2002-03 freshman class graduated from high school on time. It also found that college enrollment immediately upon high school graduation increased from 49 percent in 1972 to 67 percent in 1997 and has since hovered between 62 and 69 percent. These findings, among others, are available online.