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In cycling races such as the Tour de France, riders tragically have lost their lives particularly in mountainous stages in the Alps or Pyrenees. Fortunately, no one was killed in the making of Race to the Top applications. But one state school chief, New Jersey's Brett Schundler, has lost his job as a result of it. Read the Newark Star-Ledger 's story for more: Gov. Chris Christie fired state education commissioner Bret Schundler this morning after Schundler refused to resign in the wake of the controversy over the state's loss of up to $400 million in federal school funding. The state lost a competitive grant contest for education funding by 3 points. While the state lost points across a number of areas for substantive issues, a blunder on one 5-point question has caused an uproar in Trenton. The state lost 4.8 points by seemingly misreading the question, which asked for information from 2008 and 2009 budgets. The state provided information from 2011.

UPDATED 11:28 a.m. CDT The complete list of 10 winning applicants: District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Maryland Massachusetts New York North Carolina Ohio Rhode Island Here is the official U.S. Department of Education press release and the list of Phase Two scores : Phase Two Winners: 1. MA - 471.0 2. NY - 464.8 3. HI - 462.4 4. FL - 452.4 5. RI - 451.2 6. DC - 450.0 7. MD - 450.0 8. GA - 446.4 9. NC - 441.6 10. OH - 440.8 ------------ Finalists: 11. NJ - 437.8 12. AZ - 435.4 13. LA - 434.0 14. SC - 431.0 15. IL - 426.6 16. CA - 423.6 17. CO - 420.2 18. PA - 417.6 19. KY - 412.4 This was an especially competitive round. And, as you can see above, there was NOT a natural cut-off point in the scores between successful applicants and unsuccessful ones. That's got to make the loss sting all the more for states such as New Jersey, Arizona, Louisiana and South Carolina especially. Just three points separate a funded state (Ohio) and a non-funded state (New Jersey)! I am most su...

Dorie Turner of the Associated Press is reporting via Twitter that New York is one of the winners of Race to the Top, Phase Two. If that is the case -- and heavily favored Florida also is shown the money -- then we are likely looking at fewer than 10 winners today. That is, unless states are funded at less than the maximums that they requested. Under such a "spreading the wealth" scenario, then there could be more winners. I'm not going to make predictions -- I think the cut off is likely to be determined by a few points here and there. But I still like the chances of Florida, Illinois, Rhode Island, and South Carolina best.

EPILOGUE (8/24/2010) : Well, my predictions below didn't quite pan out. FL and RI came in strong, but IL and SC flopped (but by mere points , of course). I was almost right that with two large states funded -- Florida and New York -- it would limit the number of winners. But the predicted nine became ten with the surprise inclusion of Hawaii (75 mil) among the winners, along with DC (also only 75 mil). For more on the winners, see here . --- Education Week (and its Politics K-12 blog), the Hechinger Report, the New America Foundation's Ed Money Watch , and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education have provided some excellent Race to the Top Phase 2 analysis. Based on Phase 1 scores, reviews of Phase 2 applications, and other considerations, I believe Florida , Illinois , Rhode Island and South Carolina are locks for Phase 2 funding. [ UPDATE (8/4/2010) : One thing that should be concerning to Georgia is an extremely low level of district buy-in ( 14% ) to its app...

Education Week 's Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein at Politics K-12 have the scoop on the Race to the Top, Phase 2 finalists. There are 19 of them: Arizona California Colorado District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Generally, I think this is about the number of and group of applicants that most expected, including me . The two biggest surprises on the list are Arizona (although it received support from Gates in Phase 2) and Hawaii. There are no shocking omissions from the list, although some felt that the likes of Arkansas, Connecticut, Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah had outside shots at success. Want to read all the finalists' applications to see what's so good about 'em? You can find links to all the applications here . Winners are expected to be named by the U.S. Department of Education in late August or early September.

Updated 6/22/2010 12:15 p.m. CDT As predicted , 35 states plus DC submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Education today in Phase Two of the Race to the Top competition. Please click on the hyperlink below to view that state's RttT Phase Two application: Alabama [ application ] Arizona [ application ] [ appendices ] Arkansas [ application ] California [ application ] [ appendices ] Colorado [ application ] Connecticut [ application ] [ appendices ] District of Columbia [ application ] [ appendix A ] [ appendices B-F ] Florida [ application ] [ appendices ] Georgia [ application ] [ appendices ] Hawaii [ application ] Illinois [ application ] [ appendix 1 ] [ appendix 2 ] Iowa [ application ] Kentucky [ application ] Louisiana [ application ] Maine [ application ] [ appendices ] Maryland [ application ] Massachusetts [ application ] Michigan [ application ] [ appendices ] Mississippi [ application ] Missouri [ application ] [ appendices ] Montana ...

6/25/2010 UPDATE: Per the Capital Times story this morning about Wisconsin's chances, I stand behind my contention that the state is an unlikely Phase Two winner. As is the case with numerous states that fell in the middle or bottom of the pack in Phase One (WI was 26 out of 41 applicants), I don't believe that Wisconsin passed significant enough reforms since then to improve its competitive chances (as compared to Colorado, Connecticut, New York and Oklahoma, for example). However, state education leaders - including State Superintendent Tony Evers - deserve credit for authoring a much stronger proposal this time and for gaining widespread buy-in for the proposed reforms. Hopefully, many of those ideas can be carried forward regardless of the RTTT outcome. Although this is a joint blog, this post is entirely my own and not Sara's. -- Liam Goldrick Final Race to the Top Phase Two applications are not yet publicly available, so this may be a bit premature. But everyone l...

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) this week released an excellent analysis of Race to the Top, Phase One state applications, debunking some myths about why some states failed to succeed and offering lessons for states that apply in Phase Two. My only quibble is the absence of any disclosure from TNTP acknowledging that it has a proprietary interest in the outcome of the Race. Specifically, it touts the states of Louisiana and Rhode Island on its "honor roll," but fails to note anywhere in the document that TNTP is written into both state's applications. It has a stake in those states winning in Phase Two. As an employee of an organization (New Teacher Center) written into numerous Race to the Top state applications, I am well aware of and try to constantly attend to the need to separate sound, dispassionate policy analysis from proprietary interests. Personally and professionally, I hope that the state of Rhode Island is funded in round two as well, not only because NTC t...

I'm catching up on education news and blogging after some well-spent time with our family in New York and Vermont last week.... Both successful Phase One Race to the Top (RttT) states -- Delaware and Tennessee -- plan to conduct a statewide teacher working conditions survey. Was this the secret to each state's victory? Well, not exactly, as the states of Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio also built such a survey into their applications. Of course, each of those states were among the 16 Phase One semifinalists. So, maybe there is something there. Independent of RttT, however, such efforts are in line with President Obama’s recent Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act , which would require states and districts to collect and report teacher survey data on available professional support and working conditions in schools biennially. Research has demonstrated a connection between positive teaching and learn...

Today the U.S. Department of Education announced [video] that 16 states have been selected as semifinalists in Phase One of the Race to the Top (RttT) competition. Forty-one states (including DC) applied in Phase One. States selected as semifinalists are: COLORADO DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA GEORGIA ILLINOIS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MASSACHUSETTS NEW YORK NORTH CAROLINA OHIO PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA TENNESSEE These states will be invited to bring a team to Washington, D.C. this month for formal presentations before RttT reviewers. From those presentations, Phase One finalists will be selected. Non-selected states as well as those that did not apply during Phase One will be eligible to apply for funding in Phase Two, applications due on June 1, 2010. I am somewhat surprised by the inclusion of New York , Pennsylvania and South Carolina , but that surprise is tempered significantly by the fact that 16 states(!) were selected as semifinalists. If there's any sta...

Thomas W. Carroll, the president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, provides a sound analysis of states' chances of winning Race to the Top funding in phase one. [Hat tip: Alexander Russo ] I would agree that Florida and Louisiana are the likeliest winners in phase one, and would be surprised if Delaware and Tennessee were not, at least, semifinalists. I'm not as keen on Colorado and Michigan , but agree that Georgia is a likely semifinalist as well. Here are some other possible phase one semifinalists from my vantage point: Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Massachusetts, North Carolina , Ohio and Rhode Island . Much will depend on how many states make the cut (Rick Hess says 10-15) and where Secretary Duncan draws the cut line. Semifinalists are expected to be announced this coming week, possibly as early as Monday. Teams from those states will be invited to make a formal presentation before a panel of reviewers in Washington, DC sometime in M...

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick can finally agree on one thing: O'Malley's proposal to make the state competitive for Race to the Top round two. Score one for Grasmick? Before Maryland decided not to apply in the first round of the Race to the Top competition -- making it one of only 10 states not to -- O'Malley said that no legislative changes were needed, while Grasmick insisted that they were if Maryland was to submit an application that had a snowball's chance in hell of being successful. It looks like the Governor has come around. The Baltimore Sun reports that the Governor "wants to add a year to the time it takes public school teachers to achieve tenure and to tie their performance evaluations to data on how well their students are doing" and that Grasmick is "very happy." A draft of the governor's Education Reform Act of 2010 shows that it includes: •Lengthening the teacher tenure t...

It's not often I agree with the Wall Street Journal editorial page, but I guess pigs are flying today. The WSJ 's take, in today's editorial (" Race To The Middle? "), on how the Race to the Top selection process should occur is on the mark: To qualify, Mr. Duncan said states had to, among other things, lift caps on charter schools and remove barriers to using student records to identify good teachers and reward them. He's also said that "there will be a lot more losers than winners." That's a good sign, but Mr. Duncan will be tempted to give more states less money in order to minimize political blow back and in the name of getting all states to make at least some, minimal progress. This is the Lake Wobegon school of education reform, where every state is above average.... But Race to the Top shouldn't be about rewarding a state for its grant-writing. It should use federal leverage to help remove barriers that stand in the way of state and l...

NATIONAL Creative RttT Lawmaking (Politics K-12) RttT Hopefuls: Clear The Week of March 15, 2010 (Politics K-12) States Struggle With Pk-20 Data ( Education Week ) CALIFORNIA State senate passes RttT reform bill (AP) Bill addresses failing schools ( San Francisco Chronicle ) Final bill could be passed "before the holidays" ( Los Angeles Times ) Assembly Speaker: Race is 'on track' ( San Jose Mercury News ) FLORIDA Teachers union says 'no' to state plan (Teacher Beat) Unions balking on Race ( Orlando Sentinel ) Florida Dems cry foul ( St. Petersburg Times - The Gradebook blog) 63 of 67 school districts sign on ( Miami Herald ) HAWAII Failure to address teacher furlough could jeopardize RttT chances ( Honolulu Star-Bulletin ) IDAHO State supe stumps for RttT ( Times-News ) Luna: Charter school cap to stay ( Times-News ) ILLINOIS RttT funds could target lowest performing schools ( Chicago Daily Herald ) INDIANA DoE rolls out RttT proposal summary ...

UPDATED! NATIONAL List of Contending States Grows ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) 37 States to Apply in Round 1 ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) Will Local Teachers' Unions Sign Off On State RttT Plans? ( Education Week Teacher Beat blog) A RttT Scorecard (National Council on Teacher Quality) A Race to Nowhere ( Education Week - Bridging Differences blog) FLORIDA Editorial: Districts should embrace teacher merit pay and RttT ( Orlando Sentinel ) KENTUCKY Districts sign off on RttT ( The State Journal - Frankfort) MAINE In for round 2 (Maine School Management Association) MASSACHUSETTS RttT bill weakened, critics charge ( Boston Globe ) Commentary: Whose needs come first in schools? ( Boston Globe ) MINNESOTA Teachers' union may withhold support for state application (Minneapolis Star Tribune ) NEVADA Legislative attempt to qualify for competition ( Las Vegas Sun ) NEW YORK Governor Paterson: Raise charter school cap ( New York Post ) OHIO Troubled wat...

NATIONAL Is Race to Top an Urban Game? ( Education Week Politics K-12 Blog) Some state officials have a sneaking suspicion that Race to the Top is an urban state's game and that has made some question whether they should apply, at least in Round 1. For instance, Vermont had originally planned to apply for Round 1 of the competition, but is now going to hold off for Round 2.... The state decided to sit out the first round because of the competition's rules on charter schools. Vermont, a largely rural state, doesn't have them, but it does have some other innovative public schools, Knopf said. But, under the RttT regulations, the state can only get up to eight points for its innovative schools, out of a possible 40, since it doesn't have a charter school law. In North Dakota , state education superintendent Wayne Sanstead told Michele that it can't move quickly enough to make the Jan. 19 deadline for Round 1. Still, when the state applies in Round 2, it will develop...

NATIONAL: Who Would Have Guessed The Race Would Look Like This? (Democrats for Education Reform) 36 States to Apply in Round 1 ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) CALIFORNIA: Campaign cash from charters driving Governor's, state's goals? ( Contra Costa Times ) Editorial: Schools race to -- where, exactly? ( Los Angeles Times ) Politics, politics (AP) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: DC gets to apply, too ( Washington Post) GEORGIA: State a 'frontrunner' ( Gainesville Times ) LOUISIANA: State bid would impact teacher evaluation, pay ( The Advocate - Baton Rouge) Educators wary of state plan ( The Advocate - Baton Rouge) MARYLAND: Editorial: Gates rejection a 'wake-up call' ( Baltimore Sun ) MASSACHUSETTS: Op-ed from Stand for Children, Black Leaders for Excellence in Education ( The Boston Globe ) MICHIGAN: Race to the trough in Michigan? (Ann Arbor.com) Editorial: Legislature's 'racing', but to where? ( Lansing State Journal ) NEVADA: Editorial:...

NATIONAL: New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles ( Education Week ) ALABAMA: Governor touts charter schools ( Andalusia Star-News ) CALIFORNIA: Guvinator will 'veto' Assembly-passed RttT reform bill ( San Diego Union-Tribune ) Assembly passes reform bill ( Los Angeles Times ) Editorial: 'Assembly failed California's schoolchildren' ( San Jose Mercury News ) COLORADO: Educator evaluation changes focus of bill, Race ( Denver Post ) DELAWARE: State targeting students at risk of dropping out ( The News Journal ) FLORIDA: State is a serious contender ( Eduwonk ) Op-Ed: Ed commish calls Race 'a defining moment' for Florida's schools ( Miami Herald ) School districts asked to line up for Race ( St. Petersburg Times ) IDAHO: Community meetings focus on RttT (KPVI-TV) ILLINOIS: Advance Illinois advances RttT blueprint ( Catalyst Chicago ) KENTUCKY: State ed dept wil lseek authority to remove superintendents, school board members in struggling d...

CALIFORNIA: State can't seem to put one foot in front of the other ( Education Week ) District officials wary of Race to the Top ( The Press-Enterprise - San Bernardino) HAWAII: ED official pushes solution to teacher furlough debacle ( Honolulu Advertiser ) ILLINOIS: State 'fine tunes' application ( Chicago Current ) INDIANA: Disagreement over using student test scores to evaluate teachers ( Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ) LOUISIANA: Teacher evaluation reform central to state proposal ( The Advocate - Baton Rouge) MINNESOTA: Star-Tribune editorial says state 'must compete' ( Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune ) NEW JERSEY: Led by lame-duck governor, state now WILL apply in round one (NJ.com) NEW YORK: State senate ed chair asks for clarification of state's eligibility (NY1) WISCONSIN: Gov. Doyle meets with ED counsel, former Boston sup Payzant on mayoral control ( Chicago Tribune ) --------------------- Past "Updates on the Race"