Investing in Educator Capacity: An Analysis of State Race to the Top Spending

8/20/2019 Investing in Educator Capacity: An Analysis of State Race to the Top Spending

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Investing in Educator Capacity

An Analysis of State Race to the Top Spending

By Scott Sargrad, Samantha Batel, Melissa Lazarín, and Catherine Brown December 2015

WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.O


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Investing in Educator CapacityAn Analysis of State Race to the Top Spending

By Scott Sargrad, Samantha Batel, Melissa Lazarín, and Catherine Brown

December 2015


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1 Introduction and summary

3 Circa 2009: The education landscape

prior to Race to the Top

5 The current education landscape

7 Key findings

27 Recommendations

29 Conclusion

30 Methodology

33 Endnotes

Contents


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2 Center for American Progress | Investing in Educator Capacity

2015 marks five years since 12 saes rom a pool o 46 sae applicans won T

awards. In March 2010, Delaware and ennessee won $100 million and $500

million, respecively, in he firs round o he compeiion.13 In Augus 2010, an

addiional 10 applicanshe Disric o Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,

Maryland, Massachusets, New York, Norh Carolina, Ohio, and hode Island

won second-round awards. Gran-winning saes had our years o implemenheir proposed plans, bu mos saes requesed a one-year no-cos exension.14

is repor examines he program’s effec in he winning firs- and second-round

saes over he course o heir grans, as hey spend he las o heir T dollars.

In compiling daa and gahering inormaion or his repor, he auhors alked

o sae educaion officials abou he pas five years o reorms and supplemened

heir undersanding o T’s ooprin wih publicly available inormaion, includ-

ing sae spending daa and policy repors.

e repor’s key findings include:

• Sae educaional agencies, or SEAs, spen more han hal o T unding

on sysems, programming, and suppors ha direcly benefi educaors.• SEAs spen only 9 percen o heir T unding on educaor evaluaion sysems.• Saes used T o ake bold new approaches o urning around low-perorming

schools.• T increased sae capaciy and redefined he role o SEAs.• T generaed unprecedened collaboraion across saes and disrics.

While i is sill oo early o measure he ull impac o T, wha is clear is ha he

program inspired major policy changes a he sae level. T enabled winning

saes o innovae and implemen meaningul reorm o direcly benefi educaors

and improve sruggling schools. is innovaion ransormed he culure o sae

agencies, a lasing change ha will benefi disrics, schools, and, mos impor-

anly, sudens or years o come.


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Circa 2009: The education

landscape prior to Race to the Top

When ace o he op was firs esablished in 2009, well-designed proessional

developmen or educaors was relaively rare, and ew eachers had access o regu-

lar opporuniies or inensive learning. Mos eachers received subsanially less

proessional developmen han he 50 hours needed o ruly improve heir prac-

ice, and he proessional developmen hey did receive was no useul, according

o he Naional Saff Developmen Council, or NSDC.15

“e inensiy and duraion o proessional developmen offered o U.S. eachersis no a he level ha research suggess is necessary o have noiceable impacs on

insrucion and suden learning,” a 2009 NSDC sudy noed.16 e sudy observed

ha eachers were ofen lef eeling dissaisfied and unsuppored as a resul.

Coinciding wih his disconnec was a shif in ocus rom a eacher’s qualificaions

o an emphasis on effeciveness, or he measured impac o an educaor on suden

learning. is new ocus drew more atenion o he reliabiliy and validiy o

educaor evaluaion sysems as a ool or ideni ying grea eachers and providing

hem wih acionable eedback on heir pracice.17

A 2009 repor rom he New eacher Projec, or NP, however, ound ha

mos evaluaion sysems did no have he capaciy o disinguish excellen

eachers rom hose who were chronically ineffecive or required proessional

suppors o improve heir pracice. Fewer han 1 percen o eachers surveyed

or he NP repor received a negaive raing on heir mos recen evaluaion,

and wih he majoriy raed as good or grea, excellen eachers were neiher

recognized nor leveraged o improve heir colleagues.18

Nor were disrics and schools using evaluaions as an opporuniy o provideeachers wih eedback on heir perormance and shape heir proessional

developmen, according o he repor. Evaluaions ook place inrequenly and

eachers had ew opporuniies o obain ormal eedback on heir perormance

and pracice on a regular basis.19 o make maters worse, only 15 saes evalu-

aed eachers on an annual basis in 2009.20


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And when eachers did receive eedback, hey did no find i valuable. ree-

ourhs o eachers surveyed in 2009 by NP said ha heir mos recen evalu-

aion did no help hem ideniy areas in which hey could improve.21 As o 2011,

only hal o saes required evaluaors o share eedback on eacher perormance

evaluaions. Moreover, only 12 saes, including our T saes, required ha

evaluaion resuls inorm proessional developmen.22

Prior o T, eacher preparaion programs were also ailing o adequaely prepare

educaors beore hey enered he classroom. In 2009, or insance, saes repored

28 eacher preparaion programs ha were low perorming or a risk o being

designaed as low perorming. In 2010, his number jumped o 38.23 Only hree

saes colleced daa on suden academic growh or graduaes o eacher prepara-

ion programs once hose eachers were in he classroom. Even more disurbing,

no a single sae was using he daa o evaluae he perormance o heir eacher

preparaion programs.24

Adding o hese challenges, sae K-12 academic sandards were o varied qualiy.

e omas B. Fordham Insiue periodically conducs an evaluaion o sae

sandards, and in 2010 i ound ha no only did sae sandards “vary dramai-

cally” bu mos “lack[ed] he conen and clariy needed o provide a solid ounda-

ion or effecive curriculum, assessmen, and insrucion.”25

Likewise, sae ess ailed o measure up. Approximaely one-hird o saes

adminisered wholly muliple-choice ess in boh reading and mah o sudens

in he ourh and eighh grades.26 Many sae assessmens ailed o es sudens

on deeper learning conceps, and as much as hal o he esed conen did no

correspond wih sae sandards.27

Ener T. Wih a comprehensive approach o educaion reorm, he gran com-

peiion prioriized he ollowing:

1. Clearer and higher suden learning expecaions

2. Daa sysems ha rack suden progress o enable daa-driven decision making

3. A srong educaor workorce

4. Dramaic acion o improve he lowes-perorming schools

T injeced saes wih resources o ocus on hese our criical areas, develop heir

capaciy, and ulimaely suppor srong sysems o eaching and learning. By asking

saes o address hese key componens o an effecive educaion sysem, T inspired

a new role or SEAs, helped break down program- and unding-based silos, and

spurred unprecedened collaboraion beween saes, disrics, and oher sakeholders.


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The current education landscape

So where are we now?

High school graduaion raes are a an all-ime high and naional mah and read-

ing scores have icked upward, including in some ace o he op saes.28 e

Disric o Columbia, Hawaii, and ennessee have winessed some o he greaes

academic gains in he counry.29 However, scores have recenly dropped naion-

ally and in some saes, which may be atribued in par o an implemenaion dip

associaed wih he inroducion o new sandards.30 Bu here are brigh spos, which include increases or some groups o sudens and some saes, including

coninued large gains in he Disric o Columbia.31

Sill, his progress is rusraingly slow and inadequae o ensure ha all children

graduae high school wih he knowledge and skills hey need o be successul in

college and career. And as he sysem wide reorms spurred by T will ake years

o demonsrae heir effeciveness, he exen o which T reorms have moved

he needle on suden achievemen is ye o be deermined. Noneheless, he

compeiion provided saes wih he unds o develop he inrasrucure needed

o make meaningul progress. Saes and school sysems are collecing daa on

everyhing rom he qualiy o eacher preparaion o sudens’ undersanding o

a daily classroom lesson. Furhermore, eachers are obaining more requen and

cusomized eedback abou heir perormance and proessional developmen ha

beter mees heir needs.32

o be sure, saes and disrics sill have a grea deal o work ahead o hem. e

qualiy and effeciveness o he proessional suppor ha eachers obain once

hey are in he classroom, or example, is inadequae.33 Saes are knee-deep in he

work o implemening more robus sandards and new assessmen sysems. Saesand disrics are sill sruggling wih how bes o ideniy effecive eaching. And

while many o he lowes-perorming schools are making significan progress,

here are sill oo many sudens rapped in chronically ailing schools.


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ere is no denying, however, ha T has riggered a naional conversaion in

which eacher developmen; high-qualiy sandards and assessmens; suppor

or sruggling schools; and he use o daa o drive decisions are no longer seen

as separae componens o an effecive school sysem. Insead, educaors and

policymakers are ackling hese pieces o he puzzle ogeher in an effor o cre-

ae more holisic sysems o eaching and learning. Doing so has boh redefinedhe role o SEAs and promped collaboraion across saes and disrics. Meeing

he prioriies o T affeced no only which iniiaives saes accomplished, bu

also how hey achieved hem.


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Key findings

State educational agencies spent more than half of

Race to the Top funding on systems, programming,

and supports that directly benefit educators

T saes spen a oal o approximaely $3 billion hrough June 30, 2014, which

represens our o he five years o T spending. Saes were required o subgran a

leas hal o heir awards o local educaional agencies, or LEAs. According o CAP’s

analysis, saes direced 55 percenor $1.6 billiono he local level. O he 45 per-cenor $1.3 billionremaining a he SEA level, saes spen more han halor

$761 milliono heir oal unding on programs ha direcly benefi educaors.34

CAP used SEA spending daa rom he 12 T gran-winning saes’ annual

perormance repors in is analysis. CAP finds ha, in addressing T’s our ocus

areassandards and assessmens, daa sysems, grea eachers and leaders, and

school urnaroundsaes allocaed:• 27 percenor $348 millionon insrucional and curricular suppors• 20 percenor $263 millionon direc educaor suppors• 11 percenor $150 millionon pre-service suppors

FIGURE 1

Race to the Top expenditures

State educational agency spending from June 14, 2010 through June 30, 2014

Source: Authors' calculations are based on data from the Race to the Top annual performance reports. Data are available upon request

to the U.S. Department of Education.

All other RTT spending

$437,356,624

Evaluation systems

$111,496,515

Instructional and

curricular supports

$348,248,657

Pre-service supports$149,577,076

Direct educator supports

$263,367,018

33%

27%20%

11%

9%


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is spending cus across all T programs and iniiaives, no jus hose ha

specifically address he grea eachers and leaders reorm area in T, underscor-

ing he undamenal arge o saes’ effors: educaors.

Instructional and curricular supports

T saes invesed a significan amoun o unding in resources or eachers

o improve insrucion. New York is a noable example o his work. Using is

T unds, he sae developed is own comprehensive Common Core Sae

Sandards-aligned English language ars and mahemaics curricula and made

i available online or ree hrough EngageNY.org. According o a March 2015

EdReports review, Eureka Mahdeveloped or he EngageNY websiewas he

only K-8 mah series ully aligned wih he Common Core.35 And according o a

sudy by he omas B. Fordham Insiue, educaors across he counryno jus

hose in New Yorkrely on EngageNY or insrucional maerials.36 As o April2015, he mah and ELA modules had been downloaded nearly 20 million imes.37

Florida, similarly, invesed in he online sharing resource Collaborae, Plan, Align,

Learn, Moivae and Share, or CPALMS. rough T, CPALMS expanded is

access o all Florida educaors and creaed more han 4,000 new resources, includ-

ing 2,000 lesson plans ha are rigorously reviewed and aligned o he Florida sae

sandards. oday, CPALMS provides more han 11,300 reely accessible insruc-

ional and educaional maerials, averages nearly 50,000 visiors daily, and has had

more han 20 million resource downloads since 2013. Originally designed or

Florida educaors in 2008, CPALMS now reaches across sae lines; approximaely

31 percen o U.S. sie visiors are rom saes ouside o Florida.38

o provide eachers wih eedback on suden progress, T saes developed

ormaive assessmens aligned wih college- and career-ready sandards. Georgia,

or example, invesed in ormaive assessmens o improve insrucion and devel-

oped benchmark assessmens o give eachers he opporuniy o design cur-

riculum and modiy insrucion as needed.39 Delaware invesed in he Delaware

Comprehensive Assessmen Sysem, designed o give immediae resuls o each-

ers on ormaive assessmens o improve insrucion.40

In New York, educaors can access ormaive assessmens hrough EngageNY.org.41

Florida has made available more han 1,000 ormaive assessmens in mahemaics

and ELA hrough is online poral.42 And in hode Island, eachers have access o

ormaive assessmen proessional developmen modules and inerim assessmens.43


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Moreover, T encouraged saes and heir disrics o develop an insrucional

improvemen sysem, or IIS. An IIS is a echnology-based one-sop shop ha

allows educaors o access a wide variey o daa and ools rom a common pla-

orm.44 ese plaorms can improve educaional efficiency by making he bes

use o eachers’ ime, as hey no longer have o navigae muliple sysems o ge

he inormaion hey need, and by digiizing inormaion and ools such as lessonplans ha can be shared virually.45 Among he echnical assisance saes received

in developing an IIS was guidance on daa privacy, which was key o he SEAs

implemening sringen conrols o proec suden inormaion.46

Georgia esablished is IISknown as Pah o Personalized Learningusing boh

T dollars and he sae’s longiudinal daa sysem as he oundaion. According

o Susan Andrews, direcor or educaion reorm in he Georgia Governor’s Office

o Planning and Budge, “we were a he beginning o developing he sysem bu

we wouldn’ have been able o complee i as quickly wihou ace o he op.”47

e Pah o Personalized Learning allows eachers o ideniy heir proessionaldevelopmen needs based on evaluaion daa, incorporaes online assessmen

ools, and includes digial conen o suppor he Common Core. By he 2013-14

school year, 70 percen o Georgia eachers were using he sae daa sysem and

Pah o Personalized Learning sysem.48

Norh Carolina invesed is T dollars o creae Home Base, a cloud-based

echnology ool ha inegraes he sae’s insrucional improvemen sysem and

suden inormaion sysem. Home Base encompasses insrucional ools such as

a lesson planner, Common Core-aligned insrucional resources, assessmens o

rack sudens’ needs, and proessional developmen ools. All o he sae’s school

disrics and nearly hal o is charer schools are using Home Base.49

As par o is IIS, Maryland creaed a sandardized curriculum managemen

sysem, or CMS, and learning managemen sysem, or LMS, o provide eachers

wih insrucional resources aligned wih he Maryland College and Career-

eady Sandards. e CMS and LMS include uni plans in EL A and mah-

emaics, reading modules, and SEM and disciplinary lessons. Maryland also

expanded is insrucional oolki o provide eachers wih lesson seeds, simula-

ions, and prin and video resources.50


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Direct educator supports, including professional development

T saes spen a significan amoun o unding o direcly suppor educaors’

perormance in he classroom. A number o T saes, or example, repored

ha heir gran award allowed hem o inves in proessional developmen a a

level ha was never beore possible. According o hode Island’s ace o he opCoordinaor Mary-Beh Faard, “he amoun o proessional developmen ha

was provided o principals, eachers, and he cadre o eams o implemen evalua-

ion, o undersand he Common Core, and how o use daa, would no have been

possible wihou T.”51 Chrisopher uszkowski, chie officer or he Delaware

Deparmen o Educaion’s eacher & Leader Effeciveness Uni, also noed ha

“he amoun o suppors or eachers doesn’ ge a lo o atenion. Mos local

[T] dollars were spen on educaor suppors.”52

T saes direced a subsanial amoun o proessional developmen dollars o sup-

por he implemenaion o Common Core. According o Adam Levinson, NorhCarolina’s ace o he op direcor, “wha we were able o do was blanke he sae

wih proessional developmen. … We were able o sar ha PD [or proessional

developmen] in he ’10, ’11 year so we had wo years o prepare [or Common Core].

e sae spen $60 million on PD ha wouldn’ have happened wihou T.”53

Similarly, Susan Andrews, direcor or educaion reorm in he Georgia Governor’s

Office o Planning and Budge, remarked, “I hink we would have been a lo slower in

adoping higher sandards because we wouldn’ have had he money o rain eachers.

We wouldn’ have been able o do a wholesale change wihou ace o he op.”54

In ennessee, sae officials seleced and recruied eachers, known as Core

Coaches, o help rain eachers saewide on he new sandards.55 In he summer

o 2013, more han 700 Core Coaches led he sae’s mahemaics and ELA rain-

ing or 30,000 educaors.56

“One hing ha ace o he op allowed us o do is provide cenralized raining

or eachers and principals,” said ormer ennessee Deparmen o Educaion

Commissioner Kevin Huffman.57 “And, I hink ha raining and developmen was

really high qualiy. I don’ hink ha ace o he op is he reason or he san-

dards adopion [in ennessee] bu I hink i provided high-qualiy PD around hesandards.”58 Meghan Curran, inerim chie o saff and chie operaing officer o

disric suppor a he ennessee Deparmen o Educaion, agreed. “e amoun

and number o eachers ha we were able o reach as a resul o ace o he op is

somehing ha we would have no been able o do and probably will no be able

o do again,” she said.59 Curran esimaed ha he sae spen close o $60 million

on proessional developmen alone over he course o he gran period.


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T saes also allowed principals and eacher candidaes o make beter-inormed

decisions by publicly reporing K-12 suden achievemen daa and connecing

he daa o educaor preparaion programs’ graduaes.

Several winning saes, including Norh Carolina, New York, and hode Island,

used T dollars o creae online repor cards or indexes o rae eacher prepara-ion programs.79 ennessee has issued repor cards or is eacher preparaion pro-

grams since 2007, bu T enabled he sae o improve he repors by including

effeciveness raings rom he sae’s eacher evaluaion sysem, as well as place-

men and reenion daa on graduaes.80

Looking forward

T was insrumenal in developing saes’ capaciy o suppor sronger sysems

o eaching and learning. Bu will saes be able o susain hese reorms?

T saes repored ha he amoun o proessional developmen ha hey have

provided o eachers in he pas five years will be paricularly challenging o con-

inue, a leas a he same level. In many cases, disrics will have o make up or

some o he difference.

In ennessee, officials credi T wih is successul large-scale eacher raining,

an iniiaive ha exceeded expecaions. Susaining such high-qualiy proessional

developmen will prove difficul, as many disrics covered he coss o insruc-

ional coaches using T unds. e challenge will be figuring ou how o con-

inue his work a he end o he gran period.81

Similarly, hode Island’s inducion work will no coninue a he same level.

Under T, he sae provided inducion coaches o 800 firs- and second-year

eachers. “e disrics will pick up he cos o ha,” said Deborah A. Gis, hode

Island’s ormer commissioner o educaion. “e program is coninuing bu here

are ar ewer disrics ha will be able o paricipae,” she noed.82


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State educational agencies spent only 9 percent of their

Race to the Top funding on educator evaluation systems.

o develop grea eachers and leaders, T prioriized he design and implemen-

aion o eacher and principal evaluaion and suppor sysems based on suden

growh and educaor perormance. Despie he percepion ha T mosly served odrive eacher evaluaion based on value-added scores, a minimal amoun o money

wen o hese effors. In ac, based on CAP’s analysis, SEAs allocaed jus 9 per-

cenor $111.5 milliono heir T grans oward educaor evaluaion sysems.83

A he ime o T’s developmen, here was broad suppor or improving he

way ha eachers and principals were evaluaed, including rom union leaders

and governors. In a 2010 speech, andi Weingaren, presiden o he American

Federaion o eachers, proposed implemening evaluaion sysems based on mul-

iple measures, including classroom observaions, sel-evaluaions, and measures

o suden growh. “Our sysem o evaluaing eachers has never been adequae,” Weingaren said. “is will allow or inormed evaluaions, raher han simply

offering a snapsho rom a brie classroom visi or one sandardized es score.”84

In his 2010 Sae o he Sae address, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) echoed his

posiion. “We are requiring ha new eachers show appropriae levels o suden

growh beore receiving enure,” he said. “In addiion, we have adoped a robus

evaluaion sysem under which eachers whose sudens do no show saisac-

ory levels o growh canno be raed ‘effecive.’ eachers whose sudens do show

saisacory levels o growh canno be raed ‘ineffecive.’”85

is prioriy, however, has been conroversial, acing criicism and roadblocks

o execuion. Many SEAs inroduced new assessmens concurrenly wih heir

evaluaion sysem rollous, promping saes o pause and recalibrae based on

new daa. Mos T saes did no mee heir arge dae or implemenaion,

needing more ime o develop suden growh measures or challenged by capaciy

issues such as saff experise.86 Many have no subsanially differeniaed among

eachers, and as o 2012, ew T saes have linked eacher evaluaion resuls o

compensaion or career advancemen.87

However, some saes are on rack. In he 2013-14 school year, T-paricipainglocal educaional agencies or school disrics in Massachusets implemened local

evaluaion sysems wih all educaors, and he remaining local educaional agen-

cies implemened heir sysems wih a leas 50 percen o educaors.88 Based on

perormance eedback, eachers can cusomize heir growh and developmen

plans, unless hey are consisenly low perorming.89 By respecing heir judgmen,

Massachusets gives educaors a voice in he evaluaive process.


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Some o hese efforsapproximaely 18 percen o he spending on urn-

around effors, or $49.5 millionwere also capured in he eachers and leaders

spending analysis above, including spending on direc educaor suppors and

proessional developmen, and pre-service suppors such as alernaive cerifica-

ion and recruiing services.95

Granees argeed heir remaining school urnaround expendiures o imple-

men bold new reorms or heir saes. o improve perormance in he botom

5 percen o schools, or in high schools ha persisenly had graduaion raes o

less han 60 percen, saes adoped models such as a parnership zone; saewide

disric o low-perorming schools; receivership; cluser o argeed inervenions;

or high-qualiy charer schools.

School turnaround reforms

Hawaii linked is sruggling schools ogeher in order o provide argeed sup-

por hrough menoring and parnership. e sae’s Zones o School Innovaion

include he majoriy o he sae’s lowes-achieving schools and have provided

expanded learning ime and wraparound services o sudens, more conrol

over hiring, and access o financial incenives o atrac effecive educaors and

provide proessional developmen or eachers.96 School leaders are also able o

make heir hires wo weeks beore oher schools so ha hey can choose rom

a larger eacher pool. ese effors already show signs o progress. e majoriy

o he schools argeed by he sae are, on average, making greaer gains in mah

and reading han oher schools in he sae.97

Similarly, Delaware launched he Parnership Zone o urn around is lowes-

achieving schools. Eigh ou o 10 schools ha received comprehensive suppors

and monioring me he exi crieria by he 2013-14 school year, and he majoriy

o he Parnership Zone schools have shown improvemen in suden achieve-

men in reading and mahemaics.98

ennessee esablished he Achievemen School Disric, or ASD, a saewide

disric ha encompasses he sae’s lowes-perorming schools. T dollarsprovided iniial unds or he disric unil i generaed sae and local dollars rom

suden enrollmen in is opening 2012-13 school year.99 Sae officials atribue

he creaion o ASD o T, paricularly on such a quick imeline.100 e idea was

generaed during he T applicaion process, modeled afer he ecovery School

Disric in New Orleans, and implemened hanks o he sae’s T award.101


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ennessee’s ASD schools posed greaer gains in reading and mah in he 2013-14

school year han he saewide average, and six schools are no longer among he

lowes-achieving 10 percen o schools in he sae.102 “e creaion o he ASD

has been a big lever or creaing a sense o urgency ha exends well beyond he

schools ha are a par o i,” said ennessee’s Huffman.103

In November 2011, jus more han a year afer receiving is T gran,

Massachusets ook over Lawrence Public Schools. A 2010 law gave he sae’s

Board o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion he abiliy o place chronically

underperorming disrics ino sae receivership, and Lawrence became he firs

school disric o ener such saus. e appoined receiver’s urnaround plan

suppored by T undingocused on leadership, eaching, school design, and

school suppor in hree phases o implemenaion. By June 2014, Lawrence saw sig-

nifican gains in mah and moderae gains in ELA, rising rom 28 percen proficien

o 41 percen and 41 percen proficien o 44 percen proficien, respecively. e

Lawrence disric’s graduaion rae rose as well, rom 52 percen o 67 percen.104

T also helped Norh Carolina increase is capaciy o provide argeed suppor

o a greaer number o schools ha would no have oherwise been possible. 105 e

sae embedded 70 disric ransormaion, school ransormaion, and insruc-

ional coaches in schools across 48 disrics o provide cusomized suppor.106

Principals rom low-achieving schools across he sae also paricipaed in rainings

ailored o heir specific needs.107 Since he sar o he gran period, he sae has

closed 14 schools, and academic achievemen has improved so ha 83 percen

o he argeed schools are no longer ranked in he sae’s botom 5 percen.108

Proficiency raes in hese schools have increased by an average o 8 percenage

poins, compared o a 1 percenage-poin increase seen in schools saewide.109

Finally, some T saes have increased he qualiy o school opions by expand-

ing access o high-qualiy charer schools. ere is a grea demand or charers in

hode Island, where approximaely 9,500 applicaions or 850 slos were submi-

ed in 2014.110 T enabled he sae o und wo sar-up grans or new schools

and wo charer expansion proposals, which will resul in an addiional 1,500 seas

or sudens. Meanwhile, in Maryland, sae officials drafed and disseminaed he

Maryland Qualiy School Sandards or Charer Schools in 2013 o help guide heimprovemen o he sae’s charer schools.111


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Effect beyond Race to the Top

e reorms ha saes implemened as a resul o T enabled hese saes o

beter leverage heir ederal School Improvemen Gran, or SIG, unds, as saes

used boh T dollars and SIG money o implemen school-urnaround plans

and build capaciy.

Criics, however, ofen poin o mixed resuls rom early years o SIG implemena-

ion, and many schools are sill ailing.112 Bu SIG schools are coninuing o make

progress overall, and recen rigorous evaluaions o SIG’s impac in Massachusets

and Caliornia, alongside promising T urnaround effors, add o he body o

evidence supporing his work.113 And by using annual SIG undinga oal o

$1.5 billion over he our T gran yearsin combinaion wih he $281 million

o one-ime T unds dedicaed o school urnaround, saes were able o creae

srucures and sysems o promoe lasing reorm.114

For example, New York spen nearly $2.5 million o is T unds on an Office

o School Innovaion o suppor he sae’s low-achieving schools and a School

urnaround Office, which insiued a perormance managemen approach

or SIG recipiens o beter suppor schools in planning, implemenaion, and

daa-driven decision making.115 e Disric o Columbia spen he ourh year

o is T gran developing a plan o suppor is school accounabiliy sysem

by aligning he Disric’s T work plan wih is SIG unding and Elemenar y

and Secondary Educaion Ac flexibiliy plan.116 And in hode Island, school

disrics have commited o und school achievemen specialiss in SIG schools

beyond he T gran period, since hey ound ha hese posiions effecively

suppored school-level reorms.117

T also helped incenivize saes o creae legislaive and regulaory rameworks

ha would las ar beyond he grans hemselves. According o Michell Cheser,

commissioner o elemenary and secondary educaion a he Massachusets

Deparmen o Educaion, “Our legislaure passed legislaion ha allowed he

sae o be much more deliberae in inervening in he lowes-perorming disrics

… ha did no exis prior o ace o he op. I have litle confidence ha wihou

ace o he op, he legislaure would have passed ha.”118

is auhoriy o iner- vene in chronically underperorming schools and disrics gave saes a compei-

ive edge in he applicaion process, and in doing so, codified reorm effors ha

he T compeiion sough o implemen.119


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Race to the Top increased state capacity and

redefined the role of state educational agencies

O he nearly $3 billion ha T saes received hrough June 30, 2014, SEAs sub-

graned $1.6 billion o he local level. O he 45 percen, or $1.3 billion, remain-

ing a he SEA-level saes allocaed $96 million o local educaional agencies insupplemenal unding.120 Accordingly, SEAs kep 42 percen o all T dollars, or

93 percen o SEA-level T dollars, or a oal o $1.2 billion a he sae level.121

Wih $1.2 billion a heir disposal, saes ook on a dramaically expanded role

o suppor T reorm effors. Previously, a 2011 CAP analysis ound ha SEAs

were more ocused on compliance han innovaion, aced bureaucraic obsacles

o reorm, and ofen operaed in siloes.122 Wih he inusion o T dollars, SEAs

ransormed rom compliance-driven agencies ino offices o innovaion and sup-

por. Indeed, pos-T, many sae officials say he program has affeced how hey

will do business in he long erm.

“We were able o reposiion his agency o be more o a caalys or eaching and

insrucion. a’s a big shif or our agency,” said Massachusets CommissionerCheser. “I has helped us shif rom managing projecs o managing resuls.” 123

According o sae officials in hode Island, “ace o he op led o a culure

shif, as we moved rom a compliance-oriened approach o a perormance-

managemen approach ha emphasizes sysemaic reflecion, collaboraion,

problem-solving, and ongoing communicaion beween he hode Island

Deparmen o Educaion and he LEAs.”124

FIGURE 2

State educational agency capacity

Race to the Top award distribution at the state and local levels

Source: Authors' calculations are based on data from the Race to the Top annual performance reports. Data are available upon request

to the U.S. Department of Education.

RTT funds initially

subgranted to localeducational agencies

$1,614,700,285

55%

42%RTT funds remaining at SEAs

$1,214,137,560

3%

Supplemental RTT funds

distributed by SEAs to

local educational agencies

$95,908,330


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Ken Wagner, New York’s ormer depuy commissioner o educaion, said, “I

don’ hink we’ll ever go back o being jus a compliance agency.” 125 Lillian

Lowery, Maryland’s ormer sae superinenden, agreed, saying, “e culural

shif has happened.”126

o undersand he magniude o increase in SEA resources ha accompanied agen-cies’ culural shif, he auhors compared he dollars ha remained a he SEA level

under T o oal unds available or sae adminisraion under ile I o he ESEA

beween 2010 and 2013. Saes are permited o se aside he greaer o $400,000 or

1 percen o heir ile I, Pars A, C, and D allocaions or adminisraion. 127

Juxaposing he esimaed amouns ha SEAs could se aside under ile I and

heir T unds, saes’ T unds eclipsed heir oal ile I se-aside amouns

during he years o he gran implemenaion.128

FIGURE 3

Federal sources of state educational agency funding, by state

Title I set-aside funds compared with Race to the Top awards

StateTotal Title I

set-aside dollars

Total RTT

SEA dollars

Title I to RTT

ratio of funds

Delaware $1,697,607 $36,088,511 1:21

District of Columbia $1,871,299 $7,426,747 1:4

Florida $28,945,871 $196,931,550 1:7

Georgia $20,249,987 $135,965,288 1:7

Hawaii $1,834,201 $68,862,017 1:38

Maryland $7,377,484 $61,671,509 1:8

Massachusetts $8,578,082 $76,689,011 1:9

New York $46,188,958 $130,812,286 1:3

North Carolina $15,472,830 $159,084,229 1:10

Ohio $22,458,589 $141,480,793 1:6

Rhode Island $1,963,266 $26,939,074 1:14

Tennessee $10,921,651 $172,186,545 1:16

Source: Authors’ calculations are based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, “Budget History Tables: FY 2010–2013,” available

at http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/index.html (last accessed November 2015); Race to the Top annual performancereports. Data from annual performance reports are available upon request to the U.S. Department of Education.


24/41


One o he key benefis o his addiional SEA-level unding was he abiliy o

SEAs o atrac and hire sronger saff o implemen he reorms o T. Several

sae educaion officials made noe o T’s role in atracing new alen and

resources, a common challenge or SEAs ha are ofen bogged down by civil

service rules, salary caps, and sae legislaive acors. According o Curran wih he

ennessee Deparmen o Educaion, “alen was a bi o a surprise elemen. egran enabled us o atrac a grea number o people. I helped posiion us.”129

Delaware’s uszkowski concurred. “ace o he op drove major innovaion wihin

he SEA and in SEA hinking. … I allowed he SEA o hire differen profiles o peo-

ple o do he work. I brough new alen o he SEA,” he said.130 uszkowski poined

o he sae’s parnerships wih elay Naional Principals Academy Fellowship o

rain school principals and he Harvard Sraegic Daa Projec, which provided daa

analysis suppor o he sae’s human capial daa, as examples.

Over the course of its RTT grant, Massachusetts hired 30 to 40 staff to

build capacity at the SEA. Fewer than a handful were brought on to

run the program through grant management, financial analysis, and

federal reporting. The majority of staff members were deployed on

programmatic work that the SEA committed to in its RTT application.

Personnel funded by RTT, for example, worked on the SEA’s educa-

tor evaluation rollout and helped districts implement new ELA and

mathematics curriculum frameworks.

“Everything we accomplished was because of getting them on board,”

noted Carrie Conaway, associate commissioner for planning, research,

and delivery systems at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary

and Secondary Education. “We wanted to build our own capacity to do

the work; we didn’t want to hire a bunch of vendors to do everything.”

As its grant came to a close, Massachusetts transitioned staff to

more stable funding sources. “We were able to retain most of the

people we hired through RTT in another state position in so

way,” Conaway said. And many have stayed on to continue w

they had been doing under RTT. One staffer, for example, wa

hired to run a wraparound zone program during RTT and wi

continue working at the SEA on social-emotional supports i

turnaround schools.

This capacity building has transformed how the SEA operates

allowed us to do our work faster, better, and with more resou

in the field,” continued Conaway. “This changed the field’s exp

tions for us as a state agency.” Now, the SEA is able to provide

and expertise to districts, shifting the focus from compliance

implementation. Conaway noted, “If you look at the number o

we have now compared to five years ago, the number is appro

mately the same. … But the proportion of people who are wo

in a more supportive way is much greater.”131


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Saes spen 9 percenor $122 milliono heir T unding on capaciy-build-

ing iniiaives. Saes allocaed a porion o hose unds o LEAs, bu $118 million

remained a he SEA or programs caegorized as sae success effors.132

Alhough he amoun o money spen on hese iniiaives was relaively small com-

pared o saes’ overall T grans, his unding allowed SEAs o consciously invesin heir abiliy o successully implemen programs aligned wih heir T goals.

Maryland, or example, buil capaciy a he SEA o manage he day-o-day

implemenaion o is gran iniiaives. By esablishing he Division o Academic

eorm and Innovaion, he sae cenralized managemen o is cross-divisional

eams, each o which cenered on one o he our T prioriy areas.133 o build

local capaciy, he sae o New York offered Nework eam Insiues, which

rained local eams o curricular, daa, and insrucional expers o suppor oher

educaors in heir LEAs.134 Norh Carolina invesed in is echnology inrasruc-

ure, known as he Norh Carolina Educaion Cloud, o srenghen local abiliy oimplemen T iniiaives and cu coss hrough shared services. e sae esi-

maes saving approximaely $6.6 million annually across LEAs hrough his iniia-

ive.135 And ennessee conraced wih he ennessee Consorium on esearch,

Evaluaion, and Developmen o evaluae he execuion o he sae’s T plan and

guide implemenaion. e ennessee SEA, or example, invesed in is EAM

coaches o suppor schools and disrics based on an analysis o iniial daa.136

is capaciy building accompanied sae effors o resrucure heir SEAs, or accel-

erae plans or reorganizing, especially o suppor school urnaround. According

o an Insiue o Educaion Sciences repor, he number o ound 1 and ound

2 T saes ha esablished a designaed school-urnaround office jumped rom

hree in he 2007-08 school year o 11 in he 2012-13 school year. 137 For insance,

he Delaware Deparmen o Educaion esablished he School urnaround Uni,

which suppors he sae’s lowes-achieving schools’ improvemen progress hrough

onsie monioring, echnical assisance, and regular daa collecion, as well as access

o expers, menors, parners, and bes pracices inormaion.138

Alongside resrucuring came improved efficiency. For example, T enabled

hode Island o develop and implemen a pair o perormance managemensysems o monior progress agains he sae and disrics’ work plans.139 Prior o

T, his was done less sysemaically. Georgia, oo, insiued a new perormance

managemen sysem o rack he agency’s work. And he Disric o Columbia

used T unds o creae a gran managemen sysem or local and ederal grans.


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According o he Disric o Columbia SEA, he “sreamlined gran processing sys-

em ranslaes ino higher-qualiy cusomer service or users and he more efficien

use o local and ederal dollars.”140

In addiion o is effec on saes’ gran managemen sysems, he influence o T

is seen in how saes award he grans hey manage. Saes have begun o makeinvesmens a he local level ha are increasingly based on perormance or have

he poenial or significan impac. Several T saes, or example, have con-

duced heir own T-syle, compeiive gran compeiions.

Georgia esablished he $19.4 million Innovaion Fund, which awarded 23

compeiive grans o schools, disrics, and heir parners o suppor innovaion

in science and mah educaion and srenghen he eacher and leader pipeline.141

hode Island compeiively awarded grans o 15 disrics o ocus on he use o

daa o improve insrucion.142

T inspired Delaware o shif a greaer porion o he sae’s educaion dol-

lars o compeiive grans, wih approximaely 25 percen o all sae unds now

awarded compeiively.143 e Delaware Deparmen o Educaion disbursed

approximaely $1.4 million o high-perorming schools and hose ha have

demonsraed excepional academic progress.144 Each school receives $50,000 in

recogniion o is perormance.145

Race to the Top generated unprecedented

collaboration across states and districts

In addiion o inusing dollars and energy ino individual sae educaional agen-

cies, T creaed a cohor o 12 leading saes driving oward he same goals.

Maryland’s ormer sae superinenden Lowery credied T or providing wha

she calls “a common plaorm or change.” According o Lowery, he “ac ha

here were common expecaions across many saes engendered everyone o ake

he bes and brighes rom many saes and figure ou hings ogeher.” 146

e Chie Inormaion Officer, or CIO, Nework is one such example. CIOs romT saes began meeing wihin he firs year o heir grans, paricularly o ackle

implemening insrucional improvemen sysems. Saes discussed vendors,

shared code, and helped each oher wih echnology rollous.147


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“[e] CIO [Nework] was one o he greaes hings o come ou o T in

erms o collaboraion,” said Maureen Mathews Wenworh, program direc-

or or educaion daa and inormaion sysems a he Council o Chie Sae

School Officers, or CCSSO.148 rough he CIO Nework, or example, Ohio and

Massachusets released a join reques or proposals, or FP, or an insrucional

improvemen sysem vendor. According o Nancy J. Wilson, chie execuive officeror Collaboraion Synergy, Georgia saved an esimaed “$30 million based on all

he differen collaboraions.”149

e CIO Nework, now made up o 43 saes, coninues o mee our imes a

year as par o he Educaion Inormaion Managemen Advisory Consorium, or

EIMAC, o CCSSO and on heir own.150 ireen o hese saes have collaboraed

on a common se o digial ags or insrucional and proessional developmen

resources o make hem easily accessible and aciliae sharing across saes.151

And 10 saes creaed he Muli-Sae echnology Collaboraive, or MSC, which

operaes as a subgroup o he CIO Nework. MSC saes, including Arizona,Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma,

and Wisconsin, submited complemenary proposals or he U.S. Deparmen o

Educaion’s 2015 Saewide Longiudinal Daa Sysems, or SLDS, grans. 152

o underscore he imporance o collaboraion, represenaives rom he 10 saes

penned a leter o he Naional Cener or Educaion Saisics a he Insiue o

Educaion Sciences, saing, “[We] believe his innovaive approach yields higher

qualiy soluions, more reusable sofware, lowered overall coss, and aser parallel

developmen effors han any one sae could achieve on is own wihin he ime-

lines o our individual grans.”153

Discree SEA projecs have also become useul resources or educaors in oher T

and non-T saes. eachers across he counry, or example, access EngageNY.org

or Common Core-aligned maerials and resources. By he 2013-14 school year, he

websie averaged 22,000 unique weekly visiors.154 Florida’s CPALMS, similarly, has

become a resource or educaors ouside he sae. On average, a CPALMS resource

is downloaded more han 1,000 imes 90 days afer is release.155

is collaboraive spiri has filered down o he disric level.

“ace o he op creaed a culure o paricipaion and parnership among

disrics ha we didn’ have beore,” said Lowery, Maryland’s ormer sae super-

inenden.156 Sae officials in Ohio agree and poin o he Ohio Appalachian


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Collaboraive, or OAC, which is made up o 21 rural disrics working ogeher o

suppor ransormaional change in rural educaion.157 Serving more han 34,000

sudens, OAC ocuses on collaboraion, communicaion, echnology, and rain-

ing o prepare sudens or college and career.158

Addiionally, or many saes, T dollars enabled SEAs o go ino disrics andprovide a level o echnical assisance ha had never beore been possible. “e

bigges hing ha ace o he op allowed us o do is work much more collab-

oraively wih he field,” explained Conaway o he Massachusets Deparmen o

Elemenary and Secondary Educaion.159 As an example, Conaway highlighed

he SEA’s work wih approximaely 450 o 500 educaors o develop 138 model

curriculum unis. e unis cover all grade spans and a wide range o subjecs,

including English language ars, mah, science, hisory and social science, ars, and

career and vocaional echnical educaion.160

is model o collaboraion has become he norm or he U.S. Deparmen oEducaion’s echnical assisance or boh T and non-T saes across muliple

programs. Some o he cross-cuting sae work, or example, was ormalized

hrough he Deparmen o Educaion’s eorm Suppor Nework, or SN.161

e deparmen invesed $43 million in he SN o provide cusomized echnical

assisance and suppor o saes in heir T implemenaion.162 As a resource hub,

he SN shares bes pracices and lessons learned wih saes o implemen bold

reorms. In 2014, six saesColorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland,

and Massachusetscreaed he SN Susainabiliy Work Group o coninue

prioriy reorms going orward.163

Based on lessons learned rom T and oher iniiaives, such as he waivers

graned o saes under Elemenary and Secondary Educaion Ac flexibiliy, he

Deparmen o Educaion also resrucured is inernal sysem o program manage-

men and echnical assisance, creaing he Office o Sae Suppor, or OSS, wihin

he Office o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion. e OSS redesigned how

saes inerac wih he Deparmen o Educaion, shifing rom a srucure ha

was ocused on individual ederal programs o one ha is ocused on saes. is

approach allows he Deparmen o Educaion o help saes align and coordinae

policy and financial resources around sae-adminisered gran programs. I alsoenabled he deparmen o become more responsive o saes based on heir par-

icular conex and needs, and provide more efficien and effecive suppor. 164


29/41


Similarly, a he sae level, T saes are rehinking he srucure and uncion

o heir SEAs by creaing comprehensive plans or improvemen ha cu across

individual programs and unding sreams. In designing and implemening is plan

o ransiion o he Common Core, Norh Carolina brough ogeher resources

rom across he SEA. e sae’s ile III/English as a Second Language Office

and is Excepional Children Division conduced and paricipaed in proessionaldevelopmen o ensure ha eachers o English language learners and sudens

wih disabiliies have he resources and suppors needed o help hese sudens

successully achieve o he new, higher sandards.165

SEA collaboraion also influenced he creaion o he School urnaround Learning

Communiy, or SLC, a projec o he Deparmen o Educaion and he Cener

on School urnaround a WesED, an educaion research nonprofi. Firs launched

in 2011, he SLC offers resources and raining on school-urnaround pracices

and lessons o suppor sae, disric, and school leaders in making he mos o heir

School Improvemen Gran dollars. Wihin a year o is launch, he sie had morehan 4,300 subscribers and offered in excess o 500 urnaround resources. 166 oday,

SLC has more han 21,300 subscribers and nearly 1,300 resources.167


30/41


Recommendations

Congress should create state-level competitive

programs that incorporate Race to the Top principles

to spur reform and innovation

T drove progress in key prioriy areas ha mirrored saes’ goals. e compei-

ive gran program gave SEAs he opporuniy o sandardize high learning expec-

aions, insall daa-driven decision making, culivae srong eachers and leaders,

and ake dramaic acion o urn around heir lowes-perorming schools. Wih aplan in place and he unding o make i happen, saes were posiioned o make

big gains. Furhermore, no only did SEAs advance heir agendas, mos noably

hrough an influx o educaor unding and atenion o school urnaround, bu

hey also redefined heir roles and collaboraed across sae lines.

Alhough anoher compeiive program o T’s scope and magniude is no

likely, in order o build on lessons learned and incenivize reorm, Congress

should auhorize sae-level compeiive grans ha incorporae key T prin-

ciples ino uure compeiions. Alhough hese iniiaives may be on a smaller

scale, hese compeiive programs could drive cross-cuting innovaion and cu

across muliple areas o reorm; link unding o sysemic, oundaional change;

and require collaboraion across sakeholder groups.

o ensure he bigges bang or is buck, he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion should

closely monior saes’ compliance wih heir gran plans and ake enorcemen

acion i hey do no deliver on heir commimens. e deparmen should also

use compeiive gran programs as an opporuniy o build evidence o specific

programs and aciviies ha are effecive in improving oucomes or sudens.


31/41


The U.S. Department of Education should continue to suppor t

state collaboration and help states figure out how to sustain

and build on Race to the Top work after the grants are completed

e Deparmen o Educaion has aken a sep in he righ direcion by resruc-

uring is echnical assisance sraegies and creaing eams o provide direcsuppor o SEAs.168 I should coninue o suppor collaboraion among saes

and, hrough echnical assisance, help SEAs deermine how o susain or he

long erm he mos effecive T aciviies. For example, he deparmen should

ormalize sae neworks and proessional learning communiies o suppor

peer-o-peer assisance, convene sae leadership and ouside expers o discuss

and address key problems o pracice, and bring ogeher sae eams rom across

program areas o help dismanle silos.

States should determine which Race to the Top projects andactivities have been the most effective and should prioritize

securing state and local funding to sustain these projects and

activities to ensure their continued long-term benefits

T provided unding and moivaion ha enabled saes o ake enormous

srides oward educaion reorm. Alhough many saes implemened sysems

and sraegies wih longeviy in mind, susainabiliy will prove difficul or

some iniiaives a he close o he T gran period. Many T iniiaives were

ime-limied, while ohers may no have had he effec ha saes had hoped.

In order o successully build on he work o he pas five years, saes should

ideniy he mos effecive projecs and secure undingboh rom he sae

and local levelo mainain gains made during T. Saes should make hese

decisions no based on which programs are easies o coninue or mos popular,

bu on wha is he mos effecive and efficien use o limied ederal, sae, and

local resources o improve oucomes or sudens and close achievemen gaps.

Moving orward, saes should use hese lessons o evaluae he effeciveness o

all o heir iniiaives, no jus hose unded hrough T.


32/41


Conclusion

e ull impac and impor o T is no likely o be idenified or several more

years. I is no ye known wheher T has had a clear effec on suden oucomes,

which will be he ulimae es o he program’s effeciveness. Admitedly, some o

he reorm effors have caused real concerns among sakeholders in he winning

saes. Bu even as T unds run dry, i is clear ha he ederal program inspired

and enabled saes o implemen aggressive policy changes. Many T saes have

underscored he ac ha he ederal program’s goals and prioriies mirrored heir

own and have made clear ha hey would no have been able o implemen policychanges a he same scale wihou T suppor.

In paricular, T saes were able o provide more han $760 million in addi-

ional suppor or educaors, using unding ha cu across all our o T’s core

reorm areas. T saes also leveraged boh he program’s applicaion process

and unding o develop and implemen bold new approaches o urning around

heir lowes-perorming schools.

Some reorm aciviies will be difficul o susain a he level ha T allowed,

such as proessional developmen and echnical assisance; however, many pol-

icy acions will ar oulas he program’s dollars. Among he long-erm changes

is T’s effec on SEA operaions and capaciy. T saes have shifed he way

hey allocae heir dollars, atraced new alen and resources, and have begun o

work more collaboraively wih disrics and oher saes wih an eye on peror-

mance insead o simply compliance. is work has changed he culure in hese

sae agenciesa ransormaion ha is sure o benefi saes, disrics, and

schools in uure eras o reorm.


33/41


Methodology

In order o undersand ace o he op’s effec and influence, he Cener or

American Progress conduced phone inerviews wih sae officials rom saes

ha won T grans. Addiionally, he auhors o his repor analyzed exising

daa in order o beter comprehend how saes used heir T dollars.

CAP’s unding analysis was based on T expendiures hrough June 30, 2014. e

auhors accessed granees’ annual perormance repors, or APs, and used daa

rom he projec-level expendiure ables o deermine oal SEA spending per sae.

For he analysis o unds spen on educaors, he auhors analyzed all SEA pro-

gramsregardless o AP caegoryusing definiions and descripions in he

T applicaions and APs. Funding was caegorized based on he program’s

inen, who he program impaced, and wha he program accomplished. As

Hawaii grouped ogeher he unding in is AP eacher and leader caegory, he

auhors divided he sae’s unding o mirror how he 11 oher T saes spen

heir eacher and leader unds.

o calculae T school-urnaround dollars, he auhors oaled programs

included in he APs’ school-urnaround caegory. For he sae capaciy analy-

sis, he auhors relied on programs included in he APs’ sae success acors

caegory, which encompasses capaciy-building programs. e auhors excluded

projec-level SEA unds disribued o local educaional agenciescaegorized in

he APs as unding or involved LEAs or supplemenal unding or paricipaing

LEAsin addiion o Georgia’s early-learning invesmen.

o deermine he amoun o each sae’s ile I se-aside or adminisraion, he

auhors calculaed 1 percen o saes’ ile I, Par A allocaions. Saes can reserve upo he larger o $400,000 or 1 percen o wha hey would have received i $14 billion

were appropriaed or ile I, Pars A, C, and D. As more han $14 billion was appro-

priaed in FY 2014 or ile I, Par A, or simpliciy’s sake, he auhors calculaed 1

percen o his unding sream as a rough esimae o saes’ ile I se-asides.169


34/41


About the authors

Scott Sargrad is he Direcor or Sandards and Accounabiliy on he Educaion

Policy eam a he Cener or American Progress. In his role, he ocuses on he

areas o sandards, assessmens, school and disric accounabiliy sysems, and

school improvemen.

Prior o joining CAP, Sargrad served as he depuy assisan secreary or policy and

sraegic iniiaives in he Office o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion a he U.S.

Deparmen o Educaion, where he had he primary responsibiliy or key K-12

educaion programs and iniiaives, including he ile I program, Elemenary and

Secondary Educaion Ac flexibiliy, and School Improvemen Grans. He joined he

deparmen in 2009 as a presidenial managemen ellow in he Naional Insiue on

Disabiliy and ehabiliaion esearch and also worked as a senior policy advisor in

he Office o Planning, Evaluaion and Policy Developmen.

Sargrad received his undergraduae degree in mahemaics wih a minor in phi-

losophy rom Haverord College and a maser’s degree in educaion policy and

managemen rom he Harvard Graduae School o Educaion.

Samantha Batel is a Policy Analys wih he K-12 Educaion eam a he Cener

or American Progress. Her work ocuses on school sandards, school and disric

accounabiliy, and school improvemen.

Prior o joining CAP, Bael was a confidenial assisan a he U.S. Deparmen

o Educaion in he Office o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion and a ellow

a he American Consiuion Sociey or Law and Policy. She graduaed wih a

bachelor’s degree rom he Woodrow Wilson School o Public and Inernaional

Affairs a Princeon Universiy.

Melissa Lazarín is Senior Policy Advisor and he ormer Managing Direcor o

Educaion Policy a he Cener or American Progress. She ocuses principally on

sandards-based reorm, accounabiliy, and school-improvemen effors, including

expanded learning ime and educaion issues relaed o English language learners

and Lainos. Prior o joining CAP, she was direcor o educaion policy a Firs Focusand associae direcor or educaion policy a he Naional Council o La aza.


35/41


Catherine Brown is he Vice Presiden o Educaion Policy a he Cener or

American Progress. Previously, Brown served as he vice presiden o policy a

each or America and as a senior consulan or Leadership or Educaional

Equiy. Prior o her role a each or America, Brown served as senior educaion

policy advisor or he House Commitee on Educaion and Labor, where she

advised Chairman George Miller (D-CA). In 2008, Brown served as he domesicpolicy advisor or presidenial candidae Hillary Clinon.

Earlier in her career, Brown direced each or America’s Early Childhood

Iniiaive and served as a legislaive assisan or boh Sen. Hillary Clinon (D-NY)

and ep. Jim Langevin (D-I), as well as a research assisan a Mahemaica

Policy esearch in New Jersey. Brown received her bachelor’s degree rom

Smih College and holds a maser’s in public policy rom he Kennedy School o

Governmen a Harvard Universiy.


36/41


Endnotes

1 Domestic Policy Council, Educational Impact of the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act , (U.S. Department ofEducation, 2009), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/DPC_Education_Report.pdf.

2 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, S. Rept.111-3, 111th Cong. 1 sess. (January 6, 2009), available athttps://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdf .

3 U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department ofEducation American Recovery and Reinvestment ActReport: Summary of Programs and State-by-State Data (2009), available at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdf .

4 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top Program:Executive Summary (2009), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf ; U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Departmentof Education American Recovery and Reinvestment ActReport: Summary of Programs and State-by-State Data .

5 The White House, “Race to the Top,” available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top (last accessed November 2015).

6 The Associated Press, “States Change Laws inHopes of Race to the Top Edge,” January 20,2010, available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/20/19rtt-sidebar.h29.html; MicheleMcNeil and Lesli A. Maxwell, “States Up Ante on Ap-plications for Race to the Top,” Education Week , June4, 2010, available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33stim-race_ep.h29.html.

7 The Associated Press, “States Change Laws in Hopes ofRace to the Top Edge.”

8 Ibid.; McNeil and Maxwell, “States Up Ante on Applica-tions for Race to the Top.”

9 U.S. Department of Education, “Nine States and theDistrict of Columbia Win Second Round Race to the TopGrants,” Press release, August 24, 2010, available at http://

www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grants .

10 The White House, Setting the Pace: Expanding Opportu-nity for Amer ica’s Students Under Race to the Top (2014),available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/settingthepacerttreport_3-2414_b.pdf ;William G. Howell, “Results of President Obama’s Raceto the Top,” EducationNext 15 (4) (2015): 58-66, availableat http://educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/.

11 U.S. Department of Education, “U.S. Secretary of Educa-tion Duncan Announces Winners of Competition to Im-prove Student Assessments,” Press release, September2, 2010, available at http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessments.

12 U.S. Department of Education, “Race to the Top As-sessment Program,” available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.html (lastaccessed November 2015); U.S. Department of Educa-tion, “Awards – Race to the Top District (RTT-D),” avail-able at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/awards.html (last accessed November 2015);U.S. Department of Education, “Race to th e Top – EarlyLearning Challenge,” available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.html (last accessed November 2015).

13 U.S. Department of Education, “Delaware and Tennes-see Win First Race to the Top Grants,” Press release,March 29, 2010, available at http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grants.

14 U.S. Department of Education, “Nine States and theDistrict of Columbia Win Second Round Race to the

Top Grants,” Press release, August 24, 2010, available athttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grants; U.S. Department of Education, “Race to the TopProgram Grantee Frequently Asked Questions No CostExtension Addendum” (2013), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdf ; U.S. Department of Education, Race tothe Top Grantee Frequently Asked Questions (2011), avail-able at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-grantee.pdf.

15 Linda Darling-Hammond and others, “ProfessionalLearning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on

Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad”(Stanford, CA: National Staff Development Council andthe School Redesign Network, 2009) , available at http://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdf .

16 Ibid.

17 National Council on Teacher Quality, “2009 State Teach-er Policy Yearbook: National Summary” (2010), availableat http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2009_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Report.

18 Daniel Weisberg and others, “The Widget Effect” (NewYork: The New Teacher Project, 2009), available athttp://tntp.org/publications/view/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectiveness.

19 Ibid.

20 National Council on Teacher Quality, “2013 State Teach-er Policy Yearbook: National Summary” (2014), availableat http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2013_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Report.

21 Weisberg and others, “The Widget Effect.”

22 National Council on Teacher Quality, “2011 State Teach-er Policy Yearbook: National Summary” (2012), availableat www.nctq.org/dmsView/2011_State_Teacher_Poli-cy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Report.

23 Office of Postsecondary Education, Preparing andCredentialing the Nation’s Teachers: The Secretary’s EighthReport on Teacher Quality Based on Data Provided for2008, 2009 and 2010 (U.S. Department of Education,2011), available at https://title2.ed.gov/Public/TitleIIRe-port11.pdf .

24 National Council on Teacher Quality, “Blueprint forChange: National Summary, 2010 State TeacherPolicy Yearbook” (2011), available at www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_Na-

tional_Summary_NCTQ_Report.

25 Sheila Byrd Carmichael and others, “State Standards—and the Common Core—in 2010” (Washington: ThomasB. Fordham Institute, 2010), available at http://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOS-SandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdf .

https://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/DPC_Education_Report.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/DPC_Education_Report.pdfhttps://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdfhttps://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdfhttps://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdfhttps://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/20/19rtt-sidebar.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/20/19rtt-sidebar.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33stim-race_ep.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33stim-race_ep.h29.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttps://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/settingthepacerttreport_3-2414_b.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/settingthepacerttreport_3-2414_b.pdfhttp://educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/http://educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-grantee.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-grantee.pdfhttp://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdfhttp://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdfhttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2009_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2009_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://tntp.org/publications/view/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectivenesshttp://tntp.org/publications/view/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectivenesshttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2013_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2013_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2011_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2011_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttps://title2.ed.gov/Public/TitleIIReport11.pdfhttps://title2.ed.gov/Public/TitleIIReport11.pdfhttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/publication/pdfs/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL_8.pdfhttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2010_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttps://title2.ed.gov/Public/TitleIIReport11.pdfhttps://title2.ed.gov/Public/TitleIIReport11.pdfhttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2011_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2011_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2013_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2013_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://tntp.org/publications/view/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectivenesshttp://tntp.org/publications/view/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectivenesshttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2009_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://www.nctq.org/dmsView/2009_State_Teacher_Policy_Yearbook_National_Summary_NCTQ_Reporthttp://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdfhttp://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-grantee.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-grantee.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq-nocostextension-addendum.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/delaware-and-tennessee-win-first-race-top-grantshttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/awards.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/http://educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/settingthepacerttreport_3-2414_b.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/settingthepacerttreport_3-2414_b.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grantshttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33stim-race_ep.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33stim-race_ep.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/20/19rtt-sidebar.h29.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/20/19rtt-sidebar.h29.htmlhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttps://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-tophttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdfhttps://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdfhttps://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdfhttps://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdfhttps://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/DPC_Education_Report.pdfhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/DPC_Education_Report.pdf


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59 Personal communication with Meghan Curran.

60 Tennessee Department of Education, “The Impact ofthe 2012 TNCore Math Training on Teaching Practicesand Effectiveness” (2013), available at http://tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/rpt_impact_of_

TNCore_Training.pdf .

61 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top DelawareReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 (2015), available athttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-re-port/derttyrrpt42015.pdf ; U.S. Department of Education,

“Delaware and Hawaii Putting Student Data and TeacherCollaboration at the Heart of Instructional Improvement,”Progress: Teachers, Leaders and Students TransformingEducation Blog, January 22, 2014, available at http://sites.ed.gov/progress/2014/01/delaware-and-hawaii-putting-student-data-and-teacher-collaboration-at-the-heart-of-instructional-improvement/ .

62 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top DelawareReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 .

63 Personal communication with Mary-Beth Fafard.

64 Rhode Island Department of Education, “RI Beginning Teacher Induction Program” (2014), available at http://ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Teachers-and-Administrators-Excellent-Educators/Induction/Induction-Model-Final.pdf .

65 Jennifer D. Jordan, “New teachers say coaches havehelped them succeed,” Providence Journal , July 1, 2012.

66 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top MarylandReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 .

67 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top HawaiiReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 (2015), available athttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-report/hirttyrrpt42015.pdf.

68 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,“North Carolina Race to the Top Closeout Report”(2015), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/state-reported-sharing/ncexsumm.pdf ;U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top NorthCarolina Report, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 (2015),available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetoth-etop/phase1-report/ncrttyrrpt42015.pdf.

69 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top NorthCarolina Report, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 .

70 Ibid.

71 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top TennesseeReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 .

72 Ibid.

73 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top FloridaReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 .

74 Delaware Department of Education, “Delaware TalentCooperative,” available at www.detalentcoop.org(lastaccessed July 2015).

75 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top

Delaware Report, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 ; U.S.Department of Education, Race to the Top FloridaReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014; U.S. Departmentof Education, Race to the Top New York Report, Year 4:School Year 2013-2014; U.S. Department of Education,Race to the Top North Carolina Report, Year 4: SchoolYear 2013-2014; U.S. Department of Education, Raceto the Top Ohio Report, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014 (2015), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-report/ohrttyrrpt42015.pdf; U.S.Department of Education, Race to the Top Rhode IslandReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014.

76 U.S. Department of Education, “Delaware’s TeacherPreparation is Setting a Higher Bar,” Progress: Teachers,Leaders and Students Transforming Education Blog,March 21, 2014, available at http://w ww.ed.gov/edblogs/progress/2014/03/delawares-teacher-prepara-tion-is-setting-a-higher-bar.

77 Ibid.

78 New York State Department of Education, “New YorkState Race to the Top: Executive Summary” (2015),available at www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/

state-reported-sharing/nyexsumm.pdf .

79 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,“North Carolina Race to the Top Closeout Report”(2015), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/state-reported-sharing/ncexsumm.pdf ;New York State Department of Education, “New YorkState Race to the Top Executive Summary”; RhodeIsland Department of Education, “Rhode Island’s Raceto the Top Closeout Executive Summary, 2010-2015”(2015), available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/state-reported-sharing/riexsumm.pdf .

80 Victoria Harpool, “Tennessee Improves Teacher Prepara-tion Programs Through Report Cards,” Progress: Teach-ers, Leaders and Students Transforming EducationBlog, March 27, 2014, available at http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/progress/2014/03/tennessee-improves-teacher-preparation-programs-through-report-cards;

U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top TennesseeReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014.

81 Personal communication with Kevin Huffman.

82 Personal communication with Deborah A. Gist, formercommissioner of education, Rhode Island Departmentof Education, May 14, 2015.

83 Authors’ calculation based on data from the Race tothe Top annual performance reports. Data are availableupon request to the U.S. Department of Education.

84 Randi Weingarten, “A New Path Forward: Four Ap-proaches to Quality Teaching and Better Schools,”January 12, 2010, available at http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/news/sp_weingarten011210.pdf .

85 Gov. Jack Markell, “State of the State: Restoring

Delaware’s Promise and Prosperity,” January 21,2010, available at http://governor.delaware.gov/speeches/2010stateofstate.shtml.

86 Government Accountability Office, “Race to the Top:States Implementing Teacher and Principal EvaluationSystems despite Challenges” (2013), available at http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/657936.pdf .

87 U.S. Department of Education, Race to the Top DelawareReport, Year 4: School Year 2013-2014; U.S. Departmentof Educati