Race to Top Winners Push to Fulfill Promises

Making plans real is proving a challenge at grants' midpoint

As the 12 Race to the Top winners reach the midpoint of their four-year, $4 billion federal grant program, states are shifting their work from the planning stages to what is perhaps the more difficult part: implementing new programs and school improvement efforts in the classroom.

This critical midpoint comes as President Barack Obama, who considers the initiative one of his signature domestic-policy achievements, campaigns for a second term. Race to the Top became a bragging point in several speeches at the Democratic National Convention this month, while some of its components took a beating at the Republicans' gathering last month. ( "Nominees Serve Up Stark Differences on Education," Sept. 12, 2012.)

Race to the Top was even invoked last week during the Chicago teachers' strike because revamping teacher evaluations to include student performance—a key sticking point between the union and the district—is also a focus...