Race to the Top awards go to Delaware, Tennessee

[steven johnson]

Source: Washington Post

By Nick Anderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 29, 2010; 11:04 AM

Delaware and Tennessee won bragging rights Monday as the nation's top education innovators, besting the District and 13 other finalists to claim a share of the $4 billion in President Obama's unprecedented school reform fund.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan picked the winners after a team of judges in the Race to the Top competition unexpectedly gave tiny Delaware the highest ranking, with Tennessee close behind. Delaware won as much as $107 million and Tennessee could be awarded $502 million.

Leaders in both states pledged to establish national models for data-driven reform, tying teacher evaluation to student performance in an all-out effort to close achievement gaps.

Georgia, ranked third in the contest, and Florida, considered a favorite to win, fell just short of a threshold for awards that Duncan set himself. More than $3 billion remains in the fund, and they could win some in a future round.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032901276.html?hpid=topnews

[LynneSin]

1. WOOHOO DELAWARE

:woohoo:

[one_voice]

2. YAY!! Delaware.

Great things come in small packages!!!

:bounce: :applause: :woohoo:

[madrchsod]

3. wow...i actually agree with gov perry....

[nyy1998]

4. I don't

Gov. Goodhair and the Board of Education are screwing up Texas

[LanternWaste]

7. That the contest...

"i actually agree with gov perry...."

That the contest is an "unwarranted federal intrusion?"

[LisaM]

5. Great, let's just pit the states against each other

As if it was some big game.

[fatbuckel]

6. God forbid you learn from others successes....

let`s argue aesthetics...Like the black kids that get beat up for doing good in school....it just shows the others that there`s no excuse....

[No Elephants]

8. Look at why they won......

"Duncan praised Delaware and Tennessee as committed to reaching all of their school districts with programs designed to turn around struggling schools and install meaningful teacher evaluation systems tied to student achievement."


Is that really the nation's most innovative educational idea? Or is it a rather old one that Duncan wanted to reward?


If I were a teacher with a need to eat and pay rent, having my job depend on student achievemnet might well make me gravitate toward the richer neighborhoods, where parents and peers put a much higher value on homework, giving the right answers in class, getting the grades likeliest to get kids into the better colleges, etc. In fact, however, as a general rule, the best teachers are most needed, and make the most difference, in poorer neighborhoods.