"With all eyes on Obama’s fraught health care push, his plans to overhaul public education have sped along with relative ease. The first leg of the federal 'Race to the Top' competition finished January 19 when 40 states sent applications for a piece of the $4.35 billion in stimulus funds.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan stands ready to dole the cash out to states that most closely model his prescriptions: seeding new charter schools, opening up to alternative certification programs like Teach for America, tying teacher evaluations more closely to student test scores, and instituting merit pay provisions. States and local districts also score points in Duncan’s book by outlining plans to close or hand over schools with low test-score performance to charter operators—forcing entire teaching staffs to re-apply for their jobs in the process.
The contest, says Obama, puts education funding “in competition,” and will award 15 states in April. Round two of the contest will begin in June."
Education Secretary Arne Duncan stands ready to dole the cash out to states that most closely model his prescriptions: seeding new charter schools, opening up to alternative certification programs like Teach for America, tying teacher evaluations more closely to student test scores, and instituting merit pay provisions. States and local districts also score points in Duncan’s book by outlining plans to close or hand over schools with low test-score performance to charter operators—forcing entire teaching staffs to re-apply for their jobs in the process.
The contest, says Obama, puts education funding “in competition,” and will award 15 states in April. Round two of the contest will begin in June."