Today is the first RTT deadline. States seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in the first round of payouts need to send their applications in by close of business today. To be sure, lots will be written in the days to come about these proposals and the Department's process for evaluating them.
In advance of that, you might ??consider reading my new article in Education Next. Released today to coincide with state submissions and the pressing federal work about to begin, the article makes the case that the Department and its peer reviewers are going to have to work overtime to ensure that state proposals generate the reforms needed and expected.
I take a look back on the previous ARRA education spending and find that it was used to prop up the status quo. The factors that led to these disappointing spending patterns are still in play today, threatening the ultimate impact of RTT. As the article concludes, "when state proposals hit Arne Duncan's desk, the secretary must become the toughest schoolmarm in America."
If you're interested, you have several options, thanks to the tech savvy folks at Education Next.
The full article is here (text).??Checker Finn interviews me here (video).??Joe Williams interviews me here (audio)
Image from Education Next