The second round results of the federal Race to the Top are in. We knew Maine wasn’t a finalist. It was unclear until now, exactly how Maine compared to other applicants. So, after all of the work put into Maine’s RttT application where did we finish? 33rd out of 36.
Matt Stone is reporting that Maine scored 283.4 out of 500. Maine was soundly pummeled by two other New England states. Massachusetts finished first with 471 points and Rhode Island finished fifth with 451. Stone points out that Maine’s application did not gain much support from Maine’s school districts or local teachers unions. States that finished high in the first round had high levels of district and union buy-in. It is also embarrassing to learn that Maine’s application contained “a number of typographical errors”. Grammatical errors do slip past me occasionally. However, I’m not submitting my pieces to the federal government to vie for money for the state. It will be interesting to see what comments are attached to Maine’s application once those are released.
It should have been no surprise that Maine was not an RttT finalist. However, even before the list of finalists was released, I had doubts as early as January and March. Waiting for the finalist list, news from Matt Stone and critiques from Stephen Bowen didn’t leave much hope that Maine would grab any cash. Still, finishing almost dead last is a shock to the system. Many of us figured our race car was busted, but it’s jarring to realize it was actually rusted out…And that someone had stolen the wheels.
What does Maine’s abysmal finish mean about our Race to the Top reforms? Perhaps our application just wasn’t that good. Given the fact there were grammatical errors couldn’t have helped. Also, Stone showed there was some questionable phrasing used in the application as well. This was the second round of RttT. Surely the judges had seen some similar positive spins already. They likely saw through such creative wording and the tactic may have hurt Maine’s chances. We wont know for sure until we see the comments.
The 33rd place finish could mean the reforms Maine proposed just weren’t that good. In certain areas that is true. In his final analysis, Stephen Bowen argued the DOE’s reforms on data systems, lack of alternative routs to teacher and principal certification, absence of charter schools, few hard facts to back up claims made by the DOE, and a poor track record for implementing reforms. Add in the previously mentioned problems with buy-in from the eduction community and you have a recipe for failure.
Does our score mean we should abandon reforms already established? The scores for RttT were based on the Obama Administration’s idea of what good education reform is. They are not the be all end all of education reform. There are multiple avenues to an excellent education system. It is worth exploring many approaches and incorporating what works for Maine children. This is also a good time for reflection on what the DOE has done so far. What reforms should be scraped, if any? Perhaps there are some that should be modified or strengthened to provide a better system for Maine’s students. Certainly Maine’s data systems and use of technology should be reexamined.
You would be hard pressed to find a person who didn’t want Maine to receive an injection of funds for education. We surely need it. Let’s not get so down about this. Now is not the time to lose our enthusiasm, sit on our hands, or point fingers. John Dewy said “Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” This is a teachable moment. There is a lot to learn from our failure. We know what not to do. We have a moment to rally the troops, examine ourselves, and move forward toward a better education system.
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