Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans

Teachers’ unions in at least two states are threatening to withhold endorsements of their states' Race to the Top applications, which could jeopardize the states’ chances of winning the coveted federal dollars.

In a letter printed as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat , Florida Education Association President Andy J. Ford discouraged local union affiliates from signing an agreement to implement a state plan that, among other provisions, would require districts to base teacher evaluations and compensation bonuses heavily on student test scores.

“Any sense of collaboration is absent in your proposal,” Mr. Ford wrote in the Dec. 17 letter to Florida Commissioner of Education Eric J. Smith. “Your approach is prescriptive,...