Race to the Top Education Grant Propels Reforms

By Greg Toppo
USA Today
November 4, 2009

It's relatively small by Washington standards, but the Obama administration's $4.35 billion carrot for schools is already leading states to adopt a handful of key reforms.

Tucked into the $110 billion federal stimulus slated for education, a comparatively tiny grant known as the Race to the Top requires that states that want the money must commit to closing historic achievement gaps and getting more kids into college – but they also must show that they're attending to a few nitty-gritty details that President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan believe are important.

On Wednesday, Obama plans to mark the first anniversary of his 2008 election with a speech at a middle school in Madison, Wis., where he'll talk about the Race to the Top. The first batch of money isn't scheduled to go out until January, but state legislatures over the past few months have been scrambling to rewrite laws governing these systems.
 
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