Arne Duncan just announced 19 finalists for Race to the Top round two, including Ohio, saying that these applications represented the boldest reforms (and by ?bold,? that means those in the top 51 percent of the 36 states plus?DC?to submit). From his speech to the National Press Club, one remark in particular stands out to me:
This minor provision [Race to the Top] in the Recovery Act? has unleashed an avalanche of pent-up education reform activity at the state and local level.
I'd agree that RttT has spurred several avalanches ? a dizzying amount of media coverage, a near-irritating amount of speculation and theorizing and arguing over its capacity to spur meaningful change (of which Fordham has added its fair share), or the hundreds and hundreds of states' application pages.
But an avalanche of reform? Not really, not here in Ohio at least. Our education reform climate hasn't seen an inundation of much of anything, other than misinformation and folks complaining about the four pillars of RttT (especially changes to teacher evaluation or pay, which Ohio's state superintendent has promised repeatedly won't happen via RttT without local support and contract negotations). In fact, Race to the Top hasn't changed much about the way we do business at all and won't, even if we win the money.
First off, large percentages of students in Ohio's lowest performing schools (as measured in various ways in this Ohio Gadfly analysis) won't see a dime of funding. As many as a third of students in the worst rated schools won't be funded, nor will a third of students in high schools with the state's lowest graduation rates. For many of the students in Ohio's neediest schools, Race to the Top is about as relevant as their old LeBron jerseys.
Second, when districts are looking at their balance sheets, the buzz is really over peanuts. Take Cincinnati and Dayton Schools, for example. Cincinnati stands to win $12.9 million (over four years) from Race to the Top, which is less than one percent (0.7%) of district spending over that same time period. Dayton Public Schools stands to win $6.4 million (over four years), less than one percent (0.8%) of district spending over the four years.
Finally, Ohio's application didn't change much at all from round one, and hasn't incorporated any earth-shaking or jaw-dropping reforms. Other states ? like winners Tennessee and Delaware and I'd guess states like Florida and Louisiana again this round ? might be experiencing an avalanche of sorts. But here in Ohio, it's sunny with clear skies and no avalanche in sight.