Race to the Top Finalists

San Francisco (GaeaTimes.com) – The Race to the Top, the ultimate education game show is gathering some heat. The State Finalists are being chosen this week. According to some officials, the competition has spurred some innovation in public education by luring funding during these tough financial times. Several States are now lifting limits on charter schools and an overhaul is made on the ancient teacher evaluation system taking steps toward performance pay. Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, announced at 10:30 a.m. that 16 states have been selected as finalists in the  federal Race to The Top education stimulus for money. The news was received with a cautious welcome when the districts are dealing with huge deficits and continuously slashing their budgets to get state education cuts. $4.35 billion will be awarded to states that promise to implement innovative education reform plans over two rounds.

Without further ado, lets take a look at the list of Race to Top Finalists.
The finalists are:

1. Colorado
2. Delaware
3. The District
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Illinois
7. Kentucky
8. Louisiana
9. Massachusetts
10. New York
11. North Carolina
12. Ohio
13. Pennsylvania
14. Rhode Island
15. South Carolina
16. Tennessee.

Twenty Five State Applicants were sent back to the drawing Board. They may join Maryland and many others to apply for a share of the money in the second round. The deadline for that is till June.
The announcements carried some political risks because most of the governors or state education leaders want that their name to be told as a vanguard of reform. The announcement was also a test of President Obama for his resolve to push major changes in the public education.