Race to the Top
Education news, analysis, and opinion about the federal grant program to states that encouraged education reform from 2010 to 2013
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See also: Federal Policy, Department of Education
Education Funding
Race to the Top at 5: States' Spending Plans
With hundreds of millions of dollars left in the Obama administration's signature education-redesign program, here's a look at how much grant money the 12 biggest winners still have in their coffers.
Education Funding
Opinion
Race to the Top, Wasn't
We've just marked the fifth anniversary of Race to the Top, the Obama administration's signature education initiative. When launched, the $4.35 billion competition drew bipartisan cheers and was lauded as an example of getting school reform right. Five years on, I see it more as a monument to paper promises, bureaucratic ineptitude, and federal overreach.
Teaching Profession
Some Race to Top States Tinker With Teacher Evaluations
Several Race to the Top states are tweaking their implementation of new teacher-evaluation policies adopted as part of the promises made in their applications.
Federal
Playing Politics at Teachers' Union Conventions
The two national teachers' unions played some serious politics during their recent annual conferences, including calling for the resignation of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Education Funding
Graphic: Tennessee Tackles Its Worst Schools
Tennessee is trying to turn around its poorest-performing schools through the Achievement School District (ASD). The goal is to catapult those schools from the bottom 5 percent to the top 25 percent within five years.
Education Funding
Cash Drew Contractor Expertise—and Controversy
Faced with crafting complex applications for federal Race to the Top aid, and putting that money to work if they won, states turned to consultants for help.
Education Funding
Tennessee on Dogged Path to Race to Top Finish
One of the earliest winners in the federal grant competition is working to make sure its efforts to transform public education don't slip away when its $500 million runs out.
Education Funding
Teacher Voices: Tennessee's Common Core State Standards Rollout
Over the last three years, Tennessee launched a massive training effort to help teachers adjust to new, tougher common-core standards by recruiting 700 high-performing teachers within the state to coach more than 70,000 of their peers.
Education Funding
How Much Leverage Does Arne Duncan Still Have Over Race to the Top States?
It's a timely question, given that there's been a lot of action in Race to the Top states over the last week that could spark big changes to states' overall plans.
Education Funding
Before Buying Technology, Asking 'Why?'
Districts might believe that personalized learning follows directly from major technology purchases, but the reality tends to show otherwise.
Education Funding
Betting Big on Personalized Learning
In 2012, the Iredell-Statesville district in North Carolina won a $20 million grant to pursue a personalized-learning initiative. Now, the district's leaders want to make sure they get it right.
Education Funding
Teacher Evaluation Changes Could Cost New York a Slice of Its Race to the Top Grant
The Empire State could lose nearly $300 million if the state follows through on a proposal to put off incorporating test scores from common-core-aligned exams in teacher evaluation.
Education Funding
Some Race to the Top 'Silver Medal' Winners Behind on Promises
Three of the four states that won second-round Race to the Top grants seem to be sailing along, while four other states have seen more significant delays and course-corrections.
Federal
Delay in Education Appropriations Process Angers Republicans
The Senate committee responsible for funding education has postponed the markup up of its federal fiscal 2015 spending bill, and Republicans are angry.