Race to the Top Racing

Race to the Top

Racing to the Top: The Plan to Lift the Hopes for American Public Schools

According to the White House, "Providing a high-quality education to every young American is vital to the health of our nation's democracy and the strength of our nation's economy." The newly proposed Race to the Top grant program is designed to improve the standards of public schools nationwide, but on a state-by-state basis. The ultimate goal of Race to the Top is to help emerging generations of students to perform better not just in school but in the global marketplace. Race to the Top provides federal funding to states that meet key educational requirements. Those requirements are built around four key areas: educational standards and assessments; data systems; human resources; and revitalizing the nation's lowest performing schools. States choose their initiatives according to their individual needs. Some may, for instance, demonstrate reform by freeing up funds for charter schools. Although it is flawed, Race to the Top ensures a judicious allocation of federal and state funds; implies reasonable performance measures for educators and administrators; and also encourages students to reach their highest potentials.

The Race to the Top grants represent an ideal financial incentive, one that will encourage state school systems to improve from the bottom up. As a financial incentive, Race to the Top represents a judicious allocation of federal funding because the money is allocated only to states that demonstrate clear initiative. This is like rewarding students who try hard in school, even if their grades have not improved over night. The United States Department of Education points out that funding will be allocated to the states that provide "ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform." Race to the Top is designed to offer stimulus funding to states that show the most initiative.

Moreover, the $4.35 billion in the Race to the Top budget is relatively small. It represents "a tiny percentage of what the U.S. spends on education," which was in the ballpark of $667 billion in 2009 ("Obama's Race to the Top"). Toppo of USA Today agrees, calling the Race to the Top budget "relatively small by Washington standards." If Race to the Top proves successful, President Obama and future administrations can raise the incentives if necessary, offering more reasons for states to improve their public school systems.

One of the only foreseeable drawbacks to the financial incentive model is that some states will naturally miss out on the money even if their school systems are deserving. Recently, California was denied eligibility. California was "disqualified from competing for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal school reform funds," (Levister). Levister notes, however, that many members of the California teachers' union did not want the Race to the Top funds anyway. This is because Race to the Top emphasizes achievement on standardized testing. Not all educators agree that pushing test achievement scores is a meaningful way to improve the public education system in America. "The union had opposed for example, basing teacher evaluations on standardized tests they say are flawed," (Levister). It is likely that even some states with more solid proposals for reform will not be eligible for the Race to the Top funds. Governor Schwarzenegger had hoped that the funding would come through for his state. Race for the Top is in many ways like a pool of athletes, only a few of which receive corporate sponsorship. The sponsored athletes are almost guaranteed to come out ahead in the long run, as their performance will be linked to increased access to top quality training facilities, gear, and coaching.