Frederick M. Hess's Blog
On the Road with RTT
by Frederick M. Hess • Mar 25, 2010 at 9:46 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
 Print |  Send |  RSS |
Andy Smarick's dazzling new "AEI Education Stimulus Watch," bringing readers up to speed on all things edu-stimulus, is out today. It provides a vivid look at the Race to the Top (RTT) landscape; in particular, combining Andy's principled enthusiasm for RTT with his careful attention to how the program is playing out. Readers will find especially useful his attention to the challenges of program design, ED execution, and political gamesmanship. (Full disclosure: As the report's title implies, it is written for and published by my AEI Education shop).
I found Andy's piece especially thought-provoking, as I've been on the road the past couple weeks talking about my new book. My travels have involved visiting a number of RTT finalists. In all of them, I've had the chance to catch up with friends and colleagues involved in their state's bid. Those discussions have clarified for me six observations worth noting. I'll chat about a few below and finish up tomorrow.
