Undaunted by Finishing Out of the Money in Race to the Top Competition, States Will Press Reforms

If there was any doubt that the Race to the Top competition has spurred education reforms nationwide, officials in the states that won (and nearly won) a share of the coveted federal funds have put that speculation to rest.

Nine states and the District of Columbia joined first-round winners Delaware and Tennessee in meeting the reform criteria the competition demanded to earn extra education dollars. (An Ed Trust analysis breaks down the student demographics in the winning states.) Seven other states finished within shouting distance of the tenth-place finisher in the second round.

Near-winners were disappointed, to be sure, but leading educators and state officials said there was no turning back. Louisiana Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said his state, which finished in thirteenth place, would proceed with the reforms included in the state’s application. "We may be rejected here,” he told reporters, “but we will not be denied." The Louisiana legislature already has approved a new method for evaluating teacher success.

Officials in sixteenth-place finisher California said they would continue with planned reforms even though they fell short. “The work, already underway and taking root in the district, will continue,” said Los Angeles Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines in a statement.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose state finished in eleventh place—three points out of the money—said his state “intends to move forward with educational reform this fall.” If the legislature was serious about these reforms and it wasn’t just about the money, he said, then “I will make sure that we make the commitment to find the money necessary to institute those reforms.”

And in seventeenth-place Colorado, where passage of ground-breaking teacher-evaluation and tenure reforms led observers to consider the state a shoo-in, Commissioner of Education Dwight D. Jones said, “We are undaunted in our resolve and we will continue to push ahead.”

According to the Ed Trust analysis, Round 2 winners educate approximately one-quarter of all students in the United States—more than 13.6 million. In addition, the share of low-income and minority students in these states as a group is roughly proportional to national figures.

To find out where your state ranked in the competition, click here.