For over a year, speculation and excitement about the Race to the Top has dominated education reform.  Today, we will have an answer about how the $3.4 remaining to be disbursed by September will be divided.   According to the Associated Press, Massachusetts joins Washinton, DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island in being designated a Race to the Top Round 2 winner.  18 states and the District of Columbia were finalists in this round, scoring at least 400 points on a 500 point scale.

 

Today is also the day that state teams learned the overall scores earned at their presentations in Washington, D.C.  Massachusetts was represented by Governor Deval Patrick, Secretary of Education Paul Reville, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester, Deputy DESE Commissioner Karla Baehr and Boston Superintendent of Schools Carol Johnson.  Each state had the opportunity to review their complete individual scores and peer reviewers' comments before these detailed scores become public at www.Ed.gov on Wednesday, August 25.  

 
The impact of this contest on education policy was evident before a single dollar was spent.  Across the country, state legislatures considered bills to lift caps on charter schools, remove barriers to linking student achievement to teacher evaluations, and create innovative approaches to turning around the lowest performing schools.  In Massachusetts, An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap was enacted in January to promote education reforms in our state.  The lasting value of Race to the Top may not be the increased funding but the impetus the competition provided to address pressing education needs.  Congratulations are owed to the staff of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education who led the effort that resulted in this victory for education in Massachusetts!

Read MBAE's MassEdForum Blog Post - and check our website for upcoming news!