by Andrew Walden

Check out the delusional thinking in the January 24 EdWeek article, Hawaii Ponders Next Steps:

…In his state of the state address yesterday, Gov. Abercrombie, a Democrat, promised that the state will adopt a new teacher-evaluation system that complies with its Race to the Top promises….

"We wanted to cross the Race to the Top finish line side-by-side with the HSTA. Make no mistake we will cross that finish line," the governor said in his speech. "We will be using all management, administrative, legislative, and legal tools we have at our disposal to implement an evaluation system that not only measures, but achieves student growth; turns around low-performing schools; and supports teachers in increasing their effectiveness."

Does that mean we could be seeing strong legislation from Hawaii that would put such an evaluation system into law, rather than just putting it into a contract? That seems likely.

Not!

For Hawaii, the clock is ticking. The U.S. Department of Education plans to send a team to Hawaii to closely examine its Race to the Top progress. That visit is expected in late March, state officials said.

There isn't even a bill for the Legislature to pass, much less the will to pass it.  And The Ed Week/USDoEd crowd actually think the Hawaii legislature is going to write a bill, pass it thru committee and get it to Abercrombie's desk by March?  Laughable. 

The Legislature imposed the 180 day law during the 2010 session and what has happened since?  180-day school year was not negotiated with the HSTA, the law is not being obeyed by the DoE, and the Star-Advertiser is has advised the DoE on how to fake it by including all types of extreaneous activities as 'instructional time'. 

"Our goal is to have clear and compelling evidence for the U.S. DOE that shows we have the legal authority to implement these reforms," Stephen Schatz, the assistant superintendent for strategic reform at the Hawaii education department, said in an interview Jan. 23.

And the Hawaii DoE is somehow going to pull that "clear and compelling authority" from the fetid swamps of the Legislature before March?  There is delusional thinking in Hawaii, too.

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CB: U.S. Department of Education Doubts Hawaii DOE’s Legal Authority to Implement Evaluations

Shapiro: Legislature Must Act: Teachers Bad Faith Must Have Consequences