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The Hole in 'Race to the Top'

By Richard Whitmire

It seems almost peevish to criticize U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s game-changing Race to the Top plan that dangles $4 billion in new competitive-grant funding before states willing to reform their schools. But in truth, the plan has a hole that eventually will surface. Might as well be peevish now.

First, it should be conceded that Duncan has a great idea, rewarding states willing to undertake reforms such as launching high-quality charter schools (while closing bad ones) and using data to evaluate teacher effectiveness. The excitement over the plan is palpable, with states reversing laws that blocked those reforms. How often does that happen?

Education-minded philanthropies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which rightly see Race to the Top as the best opportunity yet to reverse America’s declining education fortunes, are siding with the Duncan plan, ratcheting up the excitement...