Posted on August 25, 2010

Department of Education Announces Ten More Race to the Top Winners

The U.S. Department of Education has announced grants totaling more than $3.2 billion to nine states and the District of Columbia through the second round of its Race to the Top competition.

The winning states are Florida ($700 million), Georgia ($400 million), Hawaii ($75 million), Maryland ($250 million), Massachusetts ($250 million), New York ($700 million), North Carolina ($400 million), Ohio ($400 million), Rhode Island ($75 million), and Washington, D.C. ($75 million).

In order to compete for a grant, forty-six states and the District of Columbia put together comprehensive education reform plans. In addition, over the course of the competition, thirty-five states and Washington, D.C., agreed to adopt rigorous common standards that prepare students for college and careers, while thirty-four states changed laws or public education-related policies.

Although peer reviewers rated the round-two winners as having the highest scoring plans of the remaining applicants, the deciding factor hinged on both the quality of the applications and the funds available. As with any federal grant program, budgets will be finalized after discussions between the grantees and agency officials, with the funds to be distributed over time as grantees meet established benchmarks.

"We had many more competitive applications than money to fund them in this round," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "We're very hopeful there will be a phase three of Race to the Top and have requested $1.35 billion dollars in next year's budget. In the meantime, we will partner with each and every state that applied to help them find ways to carry out the bold reforms they've proposed in their applications."