New Jersey One of 19 Round-2 Finalists for RTTT $
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July 27, 2010
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan announced July 27 that New Jersey is one of 19 finalists for up to $400 million in federal education dollars under the federal Race to the Top school reform program. The District of Columbia and 18 states were named.
Approximately $3.4 billion is up for grabs in totals. Thirty-five (35) states plus the District of Columbia submitted Race to the Top (RTTT) applications June 1. The number of round-two competitors was lower than in round one, which saw 40 states plus DC apply.
The finalists, in addition to New Jersey, which beat out 17 other states that applied in the second round, are: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. These finalists all scored above 400 points on the 500-point grading scale. According to Secretary Duncan, the average score from Round 1 to Round 2 increased by 23 points. Arizona vaulted from a surprising 40th place finish in the first round to make the finals this time.
Next Steps
Now that finalists have been notified, in-person presentations before the peer reviewers in Washington are scheduled for the week of Aug. 9.
Each state will assemble a group of five people to come to Washington the week of August 9 to make their pitch for a portion of the $3.4 billion in federal money still left in the pot.
Going into the interview portion of the second-round competition, the end result is far more predictable than the first round. Round-one interviews didn't move the scores very much—the average change was 4.6 points on a 500-point scale. So the real guessing game is which states have already scored near the bottom of the finalists' list, because it's likely those states won't be able to budge their scores much.
The winners will be announced in late August or early September and will share the remaining Race to the Top funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
For round two, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has said there will be 10 to 15 winners. That largely depends on which state win. If New York, Florida, and California win and are awarded the maximum amount allowed by U.S.D.E. rules, $2.1 billion, or more than half of the remaining funds, will be gone. Altogether, the states are asking for $6.2 billion, far more than the $3.4 billion that's available.
Winning Characteristics
Based on the 500-point scoring system and characteristics of the two states that won the first time, the chance of winning may still heavily depend on stakeholder buy-in from school district and unions. New Jersey’s modified application, changed on the eve of submission, did not include this. (Governor & NJDOE Renege on Agreement Developed Cooperatively for Phase II RTTT Application, June 1). Other considerations include changes to law to more closely tie teacher evaluations to student performance, and strong charter school laws.
The Governor issued the following statement in response to New Jersey's selection as a finalist in Phase 2 of Race to the Top:
"President Obama and Secretary Duncan today recognized our administration's plan for bold reform of our state's education system. This announcement affirms our decision to stick with real reform and not capitulate to the watered-down, failed status quo approach advocated by the NJEA. Now is the time for New Jersey's leaders to join me to begin enactment of the pillars of real education reform contained within our Race to the Top application - more charter school opportunities for students, more choice for parents and fidelity to placing student success ahead of union self interest."
If Congress does not reauthorize Race to the Top after the economic-stimulus program runs its course, as the Obama Administration has asked it to do, this could be the last mad dash for a significant sum of discretionary federal money.
Resources
- Text of Duncan's Remarks at the National Press Club
- Video of Remarks (Source: C-SPAN)
- U.S.D.E. Press Release