Massachusetts wonders if Race to the Top is worth winning
By Ricki Morell
Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C. submitted applications today for the second round of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top competition, with a few states deciding the race isn’t worth winning.
Delaware and Tennessee were the lone winners in the first round of the competition in March, beating out 14 other finalists. The two states will receive a combined $600 million, with another $3.4 billion available in the second round for what is anticipated to be another 10-15 winners, to be announced this fall.
Courtesy Milken Family FoundationU.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan conceived of Race to the Top as an education “stimulus” for change. The program rewards states that promise to raise achievement using the Obama administration’s preferred methods: adopting common core standards, promoting charter schools, linking teacher pay to student performance and turning around low-achieving schools. The unprecedented federal intervention into local schools has been
Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C. submitted applications today for the second round of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top competition, with a few states deciding the race isn’t worth winning.
Delaware and Tennessee were the lone winners in the first round of the competition in March, beating out 14 other finalists. The two states will receive a combined $600 million, with another $3.4 billion available in the second round for what is anticipated to be another 10-15 winners, to be announced this fall.
Courtesy Milken Family Foundation
