New York loses in first round of Race to the Top; will reapply
New York State lost out on $700 million in federal Race to the Top money today, placing second to last and beating only the District of Columbia among the 16 finalists. Only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, won in the initial phase of competition for the coveted federal grants.
New York was not widely expected to be a first-round winner; even its advance to the final round of competition caught many observers by surprise. Today’s announcement will send state education officials back to the drafting table to refine their plan — and will likely re-ignite a legislative battle over the state’s teacher evaluation laws and cap on charter schools — before the June 1 deadline for the next round of competition.
In the 500-point scoring rubric federal officials used to judge applications, New York lost the greatest sha