Race to the Bottom

I've been talking to my Cooperating Teacher a lot lately about state budgets and financial situations in regards to schools. I've come to the conclusion that, while I'm excited about the extra money being spent on schools, I don't think that "Race to the Top" is going to be successful and is going to fail just as the "No Child Left Behind" did.For those of you who don't know, "Race to the Top" is the Presidents new plan for schools. It is a nationwide plan that offers states increased funds to schools that meet certain eligibility standards that have been set by the federal government. Statewide testing that is tied in with teacher pay is a part of this deal.What proof is their that "Race to the Top" will be successful? There is no research that it will be effective. It seems like another layer of federal mandates that are going to be placed on the schools. Test scores will be the base of teacher pay. This is going to make many teachers "teach to the test" even more than they do now.What is so different about "Race to the Top?" Why is this going to be our saving grace when nothing else has worked? What is so special about this plan? I do agree that teachers should be held accountable for what they are doing in the classroom, but is this the route to go?
To me, this plan just seems like one that the Democrats are supporting whereas NCLB was one that the Republicans supported (which many Democrats of the time supported as well). I’d like to know what the major differences are in these plans.
I don’t know if I believe that schools should have a government influence. If it was all privatized and the parent chose what schools their children attended maybe the parents would be happier. Teachers may try more if they knew that how many children attend their school depends on how well they teach, not how many kids are in their districts. Teacher pay would be directly correlated to how well they taught. Doing something like this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher might be beneficial. Vouchers would give parents the choice that they want and maybe it would make them care a little bit more about their child’s education. They would actually have a say in where their kid went to school. Our system would be forced to strive.
These plans to further include the government are going nowhere. Our kids are failing because our system is failing, as a whole. You can call it No Child Left Behind or Race to the Top, but when it boils down to it, it is the same thing…a failure.