10 Applicants Win Race to the Top Round 2

Out of 19 finalists for the Race to the Top grant competition, 10 took the nearly $3.4 billion prize — and not all of them are expected winners. One state, for example, didn't make the cut in the first round, and another didn't even apply in round one. 

Most come from the East Coast, and all scored at least 440 points — a major improvement from the first round applications, where only Delaware and Tennessee cleared the bar.

Some of the winning states have historically led education reform, while others are new on the scene. Two of them are large enough states to garner $700 million in grant funding from the competition. And three of them are small enough to qualify for $75 million.

Can you guess who won? 
 

Race to the Top winners

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a conference call that he would have liked to fund more of the 19 finalists, but didn't have the resources to fund more than 10. "We just ran out of money at 10," he said.

Those 10 Race to the Top winners are:

1. Massachusetts
   471 points: increase of 59.6 from the first round
   Funding: $250 million
    
2. New York
   464.8 points: increase of 56.2 points from the first round
   Funding: $700 million
    
3. Hawaii
   462.4 points: increase of 97.8 points because it didn't turn in a complete application first round
   Funding: $75 million
    
4. Florida
   452.4 points: increase of 21 points from the first round
   Funding: $700 million
    
5. Rhode Island
   451.2 points: increase of 32.2 points from the first round
   Funding: $75 million
    
6. District of Columbia
   450 points: increase of 47.6 points from the first round
   Funding: $75 million
    
7. Maryland
   450 points: didn't apply from the first round
   $250 million
    
8. Georgia
   446.4 points: increase of 12.8 points from the first round
   Funding: $400 million
    
9. North Carolina
   441.6 points: increase of 27.6 points from the first round
   Funding: $400 million
    
10. Ohio
    440.8 points: increase of 22.2 points from the first round
    $400 million
     

To quell your curiosity, Hawaii and Maryland were the winners not even in the running from round one.

For Hawaii, the win reflects efforts to turn struggling schools around and bring high-quality staff to rural schools, Duncan said. The state turned in an incomplete application the first round, but came back strong in the second round.

"Hawaii has a real chance to take student achievement to the next level, and I feel really good about the investment.”

Back on the East Coast, Maryland didn't apply for the first round, but landed the seventh spot.

California and Louisiana were among the states Duncan simply said he wanted to fund.

As for Florida, Duncan noted that the state put together a "fantastic application," and it has been successful in raising the bar for all students, providing education opportunities to rural areas, closing achievement gaps, training the next generation of principles and continuing to run a good data system.

"Florida has had a history of driving very significant change," Duncan said, "and Florida’s been a leader in the country in terms of education reform.”

In a statement, Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith said all the stakeholders in the Sunshine State worked together to create a winning application.

"Florida’s triumph in this competition is a testament to our overwhelming commitment to student success and our willingness to overcome any obstacle to achieve it," he said. "With this critical funding secured we will be able to accelerate the academic progress of our students, provide assistance to our low performing schools and develop a system that properly recognizes and rewards our hardest working teachers."

But looking back at Maryland and Hawaii, critics contend that those two states haven't done enough to improve student learning, said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform.

"Awarding money to states like Maryland and Hawaii, which have done little to provide enhanced opportunities to children to close the achievement gap, diminishes the impact of this competition."

Allen contends that most of these states have made changes to laws that, for the most part, won't make much impact in schools as long as teacher contracts control the classroom and quality school choices are limited or nonexistant.

But throughout the competition, 35 states and the District of Columbia adopted the common core and college-and-career ready standards. In addition, 34 states changed education laws or policies.

Duncan points out that each of these winners have taken steps to improve education, and the courage to make these changes has come from states, not federal education officials.

"We’ve unleashed this amazing creativity and innovation at the local level.”