Arizona has not been getting much love from the federal government these days. From SB 1070 to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, it seems Washington, D.C., enjoys challenging the Grand Canyon state.
But minimal attention was paid to the narrowly missed chance for Arizona to receive education money from the federal government to improve on that 49th ranking in per-pupil education spending.
The Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” initiative allocated $4.35 billion to be handed out to states that submitted applications demonstrating enacted or planned far-reaching reforms. Eleven states and the District of Columbia won money in the contest, with Arizona finishing only two spots short of receiving money in the second and final phase of the race.
Yet students and educators in the 46 states that participated benefited from the race, regardless of if they received money or not. All participating states have implemented plans for reform called for by the initiative, which will help their schools improve.
Major education reform is needed; the United States has slid down in the international education community. According to a 2008 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, America was ranked No. 22 in science, and scored below the OECD average of all countries participating.
Furthermore, in a 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, America finished No. 9 in eighth grade math scores.
Countless valuable reform measures were included in the race, which attempts to curb some of these discouraging statistics, from recruiting and retaining effective teachers to turning around failing schools that now have plans to help students succeed.
In such tight economic times, detractors have been questioning whether precious money should have been divided up evenly among the states.
Ann-Eve Pedersen, president of the Arizona Education Network, is one of the initiative’s antagonists.
“The Race to the Top initiative is fundamentally unfair because federal education should benefit [all] children in the country” not only students who live in states that received money, she said in an e-mail.
When looking at the numbers though, an unequal allocation of money is justified. The Department of Education has $650 billion at its disposal, so using less than 1 percent of that money as motivation for schools to employ practical reforms is a highly effective way to use a tiny fraction of their allotted money.
The initiative does have its flaws, which must be corrected if Congress acts on President Barack Obama’s call to institute another round of this contest next year.
A geographical analysis of the winners supports the “East Coast Bias” theory. With Hawaii being the only Western state to win money, some states are calling foul.
Pedersen points out charter schools and an over reliance on testing as ineffective mandates in the race.
Each state needs a fair shot at capturing some of the cash if Congress approves another contest and ensures all mandates will be effective if implemented. But a step in the right direction has been taken.
Reach Zach at Zachary.Levin-Epstein@asu.edu
