Pressure Mounts on Hawaii in Race to Top

Grant promises prove heavy lift

The very promises that helped Hawaii win a coveted federal Race to the Top award—an aggressive improvement timeline and a strong teacher-evaluation plan to be implemented in a single statewide school district—have now become key stumbling blocks as the state seeks to turn its plan for the $75 million grant into reality.

After missing a few key deadlines—mostly because of a failure to secure a new collective bargaining agreement with the statewide teachers' union—Hawaii could prove to be a test case for the U.S. Department of Education, which has pledged to aggressively hold states to the promises they made in their Race to the Top applications.

Already, education policy experts who are watching progress in Race to the Top states are urging the Education Department to make an example out of Hawaii for its lack of progress—real or...