The State of California lost its bid to become a finalist in the federal Race to the Top competition. Thus far the applications of 15 states and the District of Columbia were chosen to go on to the next round of the competition to receive a portion of the $4.35 billion the Obama administration set aside as education stimulus funding designed to assist students in low performing school districts. In order to receive the money at the end of the competition, the winning states must show that they have enacted tough measures with respect to testing standards, data collection and teacher training programs that will improve the achievement levels of low performing students.
Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications this past January to enter the competition. It is expected of the 16 selected this week, less than six states will be chosen next month to go on to the final round of the competition. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that most of finalists will go home losers, since so few will end up with any grant money.
But, as of right now, we tend to agree with California Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee who said, "...this is not just about the money -- it is about a vision for public education that is best for our children... we made Herculean strides to even be able to compete and I am proud that we did not abdicate on this responsibility."
Currently, California ranks 48th among the nation’s states when it comes to student test scores. With this kind of ranking, it is obvious that the state’s public education system is overdue for some needed reforms. In the long term, the fact that California is no longer in the running might be immaterial. What is most important is the fact that the state’s legislators finally joined ranks and passed needed educational reforms as they strove to be a part of the Race to The Top competition. If any of these reforms lead to improvements in the state’s public education system, then California’s 6.3 million children may, indeed, end up as winners after the competition is long over.
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California Assembly member Ira Ruskin and State Senator Joe Simitian talk about the reforms the California State Legislature passed and the state’s governor signed into law on January 7, 2010, on the current edition of Talking with Henrietta. You can see a video excerpt from their discussion here. In this excerpt, they talk about the impact of the state's finances on both the higher education system as well as the state's public education system.
To read California's application to the Race to the Top competition, go here.
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