Everyone knows that Ohio's Race to the Top victory came at the expense of New Jersey, which lost a crucial five points (and thus the competition) because of a ?clerical error.? Less understood is Ohio's dramatic come-from-behind moonshot that edged out Louisiana.
Dig into the details released by the U.S. Department of Education yesterday and you'll see that, after ?Tier 1? (i.e., before state delegations came to Washington to give their live presentations), Louisiana sat in the coveted #10 spot. (In the end, that's how many grants the Department could fund.) Ohio was 9 points back, ranked 13th, behind South Carolina and Illinois. But after Ohio's song and dance, the Buckeye State?gained an additional?23 points (compared to Louisiana's 7) to bring home the gold.
I suppose we'll have to watch the video of Ohio's presentation once it's made public to get a better? understanding of what was said.?Was the state delegation honest about the aspirational nature of its application? The fact that so much of its plans?depend on state revenue that doesn't exist?
Regardless, in the end, Ohio's surge allowed Ted Strickland to edge out both Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie?and the White House can't be too upset about that.
-Mike Petrilli
