2022 in Review: Looking Back on Our Impact

2022 Election Victories

In 2022 DFER spent $6.1 million to help elect 125 Democratic leaders, including six US Senators, 23 U.S. Representatives, Governors in Colorado, New York, and Connecticut, Mayor Bowser in Washington D.C., and legislative champions in 15 legislative bodies across the country.

Additionally, eight alumni of our Leaders of Color program proudly ran in the midterm elections in Louisiana, New York, and Washington, D.C, with six candidates claiming victory. Taken together, these newly elected leaders join 17 Leaders of Color who have been elected or appointed across program sites this year!

See a full summary of all DFER and ERNA-supported wins here.

Launched DFER Texas

In August, we proudly launched our newest state chapter in the Lone Star State. Last month, DFER Texas and its aligned PAC, Legacy 44 (L44), successfully won three of the four general election races for the Texas House, in addition to successful victories by L44 supported primary candidates in safe Democratic districts. The 2022 investments made by DFER and L44 have helped solidify and expand the bloc of pro-education reform Democrats at the Texas Capitol as we approach the next legislative session. 

Protected Public School Choice

DFER co-led an effort to protect $440 million in federal funding for public charter schools serving 3.4 million students nationwide. Specifically, when anti-charter forces proposed a $40 million cut to CSP during the Appropriations process, DFER met with and mobilized key Members to restore funding to the full $440 million including influential Members on both the House Appropriations Committee, and the House and Senate Education Committees. Similarly, during the regulatory fight over proposed rules that would restrict charter access to federal funds, we met and appealed to multiple senior Biden Administration officials directly. This group effort convinced the USDOE to roll back the most harmful rules and to respond in a way that, while not optimal, is workable to ensure that high-quality charters continue to access federal funds. Furthermore, we’ve laid the groundwork to protect an additional $440 million in federal funds for next year’s (FY23) budget. DFER partner chapters in Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut all secured wins to make funding for public charter more equitable, and our teams in Massachusetts, and Louisiana defeated anti-charter legislation.

ARP Advocacy: Reports & Resources 

Leveraging a report focused on understanding how states are allocating educational funds earmarked by the American Rescue Plan (ARP), ERN’s national team worked with representatives in five states to strengthen their ARP plans to better serve students. In the analysis, states were assigned a “traffic light” rating in five categories along with a composite rating. Only seven states earned the highest “green” rating, and a whopping 19 state plans were designated a concerning “red light.”

To help navigate important federal COVID relief funds—designated by ARP—ERN put together a curated toolkit, to highlight and streamline a selection of resources from a host of organizations, including ERN, that help state-level officials, families, communities, schools, and district leaders better understand how ARP education funds are being allocated. You can download the ARP Resource Document, or explore the toolkit for more information on ERN’s involvement and more.

Addressed Literacy Gaps

Following on ERN Connecticut‘s landmark “Right to Read” legislation last year, the team worked to ensure a strong ally was appointed as Director of the state’s new Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success, the hub of this statewide literacy effort. Implementation has now begun in earnest, with the release of a state-approved list of early literacy curricula, from which every public school district must choose next year. Earlier this month, Director Amy Dowell appeared on a panel on the Science of Reading with Emily Hanford, Dr. Kymyona Burk, and other leading experts.

Earlier this year, ERN D.C. successfully advocated for the passage of the “Structured Literacy Training Action Plan” into law. This legislation requires structured literacy training for D.C. Public School teachers, provides a $2,000 stipend for those who complete the training, and creates a task force to expand training and support to public charter schools. ERN D.C. also partnered with Decoding Dyslexia D.C. to hold a two-day Right to Read Literacy Conference with 17 speakers, including D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant, and Ward 2 Representative Allister Chang. As a result of the literacy conference, ERN D.C. and partners proposed several recommendations for improving literacy in the District of Columbia.

Maintained Statewide, Annual Assessments

ERN’s federal policy team led a coalition of civil rights and reform advocates that successfully lobbied the US Department of Education to prevent the issuance of blanket assessment waivers to states. In our states, ERN Colorado worked to ensure schools and districts could access necessary supports and interventions based on post-pandemic summative assessments; DFER affiliate ERN Massachusetts successfully lobbied the state’s Education Committee to reject all anti-accountability bills; and DFER affiliate ERN Louisiana fought to prevent a potential waiving of statewide graduation requirements.

To combat the misinformation that abounds when it comes to annual, summative assessments, ERN also created the Essential Assessment Toolkit: a go-to guide for families, advocates, district and school leaders, and State Education Agencies. The resources created were intended to support critical conversations on why students take an annual, summative assessment, why this assessment matters, and how districts and states can improve their assessment systems to better support student achievement.

Fought for Fairer College Admissions

In March, ERN National and our New York chapter joined New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker to introduce The Fair College Admissions Act (Senate Bill S8498), which is aimed at banning legacy preference and the binding early college admission policies that discriminate against racial minority, working class, and low-income students. ERN and Leaders of Color co-hosted a press conference with Senator Gounardes and Assemblywoman Walker to discuss the bill and its impact on improving access and equity in higher education, during which several Leaders of Color fellow and alumni spoke. 

ERN Connecticut supported the introduction of a bill that would put an end to the practice of using legacy preferences during the college admissions process in their state. ERN CT also advanced a bill to end the withholding of college transcripts from students with debts. Last year, ERN Colorado helped make its state the first in the nation to ban legacy preference in higher education.

In addition, ERN released a series of three issue briefs identifying areas (Early Decision, Legacy Admissions, Transparency & Accountability) of the admissions process at selective colleges and universities that demand reform. Admissions reform to expand access and opportunity for underrepresented students and to increase diversity on campuses is long overdue, but it has become imperative in light of the likelihood that United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will strike down the use of race-conscious admissions policies in its current term. The reports received coverage in USA Today, Forbes, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, NPR and Education Dive, among others.

Following the SCOTUS hearings on affirmative action, ERN hosted a debrief on the hearing, with record-setting attendance. The conversation was moderated by The Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Eric Hoover, and featured:

  • Marie Bigham, Founder and Executive Director, ACCEPT,
  • Art Coleman, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, EducationCounsel,
  • Genzie Bonadies Torres, Associate Director for the Educational Opportunities Project, Lawyers, Committee for Human Rights under Civil Law,
  • Michaele Turnage Young, Senior Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and
  • James Murphy, Senior Policy Analyst, Education Reform Now.

Advocated for Resource Equity

One big highlight of ERN’s work to address resource equity comes from ERN D.C. who successfully advocated for the passage of three pivotal bills:

  • D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson included two new concentration at-risk weights in the per student funding formula for a total of $10.4 million in recurring funding for D.C. Public Schools and public charter schools that serve high populations of students furthest from opportunity. 
  • ERN D.C. successfully advocated for the passage of the “Uniform Per Student Funding Formula Adequacy Study” into law, which studies the costs and expenses associated with operating D.C. Public Schools, and public charter schools, included and excluded from the per student funding formula. 
  • ERN D.C. advocated for ways to retain educators in the District. This work culminated in the passage of the Educators Housing Incentive Amendment Act of 2022, which expands a current homeowner financial assistance program to educators.

Hosted 7th Philos Conference

Last month, over 180 policymakers, advocates, donors, and reporters attended ERN’s seventh Philos Conference in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme, “Leading Forward: From Crisis to Opportunity,” challenged attendees to take action to turn the crisis of the pandemic and the longtime crisis of inequity in our education system into opportunity for students.

Honorees included:

  • Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser
  • National Urban League President Marc Morial
  • National Parents Union Founder and President Keri Rodrigues 
  • U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, and
  • Massachusetts Representative Chynah Tyler.

Panelists included U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein, DGA Executive Director Noam Lee, New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks, D.C. Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant, and CT Senator Patricia Billie Miller.

Above (left to right): Politico Reporter Juan Perez, Jr., CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein, DGA Executive Director Noam Lee, Impact Research Principal Molly Murphy, and Voto Latino Vice President Kenny Sandoval. 
Below (Clockwise from top left): New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, Washington, D.C., State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley.

Leaders of Color

To date, Education Reform Now’s Leaders of Color program has grown to include:

  • 210 alumni of the program
  • 82 leaders in non-elected positions of influence
  • 26 Fellows appointed to community / non-profit boards
  • 34 Fellows involved in active advocacy campaigns
  • 6 Fellows who have founded own non-profits

Leaders of Color 2022 Advocacy Highlights:

  • Leaders of Color D.C.: Charter parent and Leaders of Color D.C. alumna LaJoy Johnson-Law worked in collaboration with Vice President Harris to expand broadband access to over 11.5 million low-income households.
  • Leaders of Color Louisiana: Alumni led a successful initiative for a new property tax measure that will fund pre-K at $20 million over the next five years and create more than 1,000 early childhood seats for children from low-income families. 
  • Leaders of Color New York: Alumna Natasha Cherry-Perez led a project to inform, train, and support over 400 parents who are a part of the New York State Charter Parent Council to meet with and promote charters to elected officials across the state; testify at City Council and State hearings; and send close to 30 letters to NYS Regents (and counting) in support of charters. Additionally, Cherry-Perez’s group registered 140 voters.
  • Leaders of Color Memphis: Among many achievements, alums Sheleah Harris and Frank Johnson both fought for public school choice by voting against the closure of four charter schools in Memphis, keeping the schools open. 

Poll: Families prioritize many issues over “curriculum transparency”

Keating Research finds that families are concerned about real education issues, not Republican talking points

An education-focused poll released this week by highly reputable pollster Keating Research shows that Colorado families prioritize common-sense, student-focused issues over divisive, Republican-driven rhetoric and legislation in public education.

Keating’s “Colorado K-12 Issues” asked respondents to weigh in on the importance of issues impacting education – as well as bills in the state legislature to address these issues. The poll shows that Colorado families continue to prioritize increased resources for students and educators as schools regain their footing coming out of the two-year pandemic.

“Colorado K-12 Issues” shows Colorado families trust Democrats over Republicans on education issues. In terms of priorities within the education landscape, families first and foremost are demanding policies that address pandemic-related learning loss. They also want more resources for students, teachers, mental health and special education, as well as more funding to decrease classroom size and expanded concurrent enrollment programs.

Additionally, families want expanded free meals for students, security upgrades to schools, and policies that measure student academic performance.

The Keating poll refutes a recent Republican-backed “poll” that is really a cynical ploy to prop up red-herring arguments currently prevailing in right-wing circles. Specifically, the deeply flawed Republican poll purports to show that Colorado families are concerned with a national right-wing talking point called “curriculum transparency.”

That issue finished dead last in the scientific Keating poll.

The Republican poll – which did not provide respondents with real choices – is a weak attempt to buttress right-wing legislation that would require school districts to publicly post any and all curriculum materials. House Bill 1066, the definition of a solution looking for a problem, would be a back-breaker for schools and educators who are already strapped for time, resources, and money, and would do little to increase meaningful parental engagement.

Results of the Keating poll put out by Democrats for Education Reform and other Colorado education partners shows that families place many things above the non-issue of making school districts post every document related to curriculum.

Why would Republicans in Colorado support such wrong-headed legislation? It’s about creating confusion and controversy where there is none.

“I believe deeply in the importance of parental engagement and parental involvement in public education,” said UCLA education professor John Rogers in a recent Chalkbeat Colorado article. “What we’re seeing now is invoking that, but not for the purposes of creating a shared dialogue between parents and educators but to heighten conflict. Conflict becomes an intended outcome of a lot of these efforts.”

Families, legislators and activists must fight back against this Republican demagoguery masquerading as education policy. Let us instead focus on what families prioritize and pass legislation in the best interest of Colorado students.

Parents, residents across Colorado unite in support for statewide assessment this spring to address learning loss

A poll conducted by Keating Research shows broad, bi-partisan support for continuing statewide assessments this spring. Administering end-of-year assessments without accountability is supported by 62% of Colorado residents, including 66% of parents of K-12 students. Support of assessments is consistent across every region of the state regardless of region, race, or age. Not surprisingly, those who face systemic discrimination in our society support the administration of tests the most, with 79% of Latino and 72% of black residents supporting spring assessments.

Our organization stands with Colorado residents and civil rights organizations in supporting statewide assessment this spring.

You can view the poll’s crosstabs here, and toplines here.

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DFER Colorado Congratulates Jared Polis, Celebrates Progressive Education Victories Up and Down the Ballot

DFER COLORADO CONGRATULATES JARED POLIS, CELEBRATES PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION VICTORIES UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT

From Governor’s Race to Key Legislative Wins, Democratic Primary Voters Proved They Want Leaders Who Will Do More to Improve Public Schools for All Colorado Students

DENVER, CO – Democrats for Education Reform Colorado today released the following statement in response to Democratic primary wins for progressive education champions including the victory of Jared Polis for Governor, Alex Valdez for House District 5, Kerry Tipper for House District 28, Kyle Mullica for House District 34 and Julie Gonzales for Senate District 34.

“Congratulations to Jared Polis for emerging from a hard-fought primary in which every candidate emphasized the importance of high-quality public education for all Colorado students,” said DFER Colorado State Director Jennifer Walmer.  “Jared’s experience with Colorado’s education system – from founding public charter schools for at-risk youth to chairing the State Board of Education – will serve Coloradans well in the fight for more equitable funding and better results for our kids.  We are also proud that from the governor’s race on down the ballot to key legislative races where progressive education champions won, Colorado voters proved that they want leaders who will do whatever it takes to make sure every student has access to a high-quality public education.  Now the focus must be on coming together to send Jared to the Governor’s office and making sure we control both legislative chambers so that we can champion the needs of all families and defend our Colorado values against real threats from the White House. On to November for the sake of all Colorado public school children and families.”

About DFER CO
DFER CO is the Colorado chapter of Democrats for Education Reform, a national political organization that supports elected Democrats and candidates for office who seek to expand policies and practices that work well for America’s students, and to confront those that do not.  We are education progressives who will always prioritize students and families, especially low-income students and students of color who should be better served by our country’s public education system.  Learn more at www.dfer.org.

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DFER CO: Colorado Supreme Court Unequivocal in Support of Teacher Effectiveness Law

Colorado Supreme Court Unequivocal in Support of Teacher Effectiveness Law

In a critical ruling that has huge implications for the rights of education leaders to determine who teaches in their schools, the Colorado Supreme Court today issued a resounding decision in support of Senate Bill 191, 2010’s landmark teacher effectiveness legislation.

The court ruled in unanimous fashion that 191 did not deprive teachers of due process rights in requiring “mutual consent” between principals and teacher candidates before those candidates are hired.

Our public schools work best when school leaders have authority to manage, evaluate and ultimately hire teachers of their choosing. We support policies that allow principals and their teams of educators to make building-level hiring decisions, holding them accountable for student performance and allowing them flexibility to exercise sound, professional judgement.

Students will have access to a better education system where adults are held accountable for serving them well, and educators are empowered to make choices about employment to serve students’ best interests.

Below is the wording of the ruling:

In this case, the Supreme Court considers two questions. First, it considers whether the General Assembly, by enacting the Teacher Employment, Compensation, and Dismissal Act of 1990 (“TECDA”), created a legislative contract that it later impaired by enacting the unpaid-leave provisions of section 22-63-202(2)(c.5), C.R.S. 16 (2017).
Second, it considers whether a nonprobationary teacher who is placed on unpaid leave under section 22-63-202(2)(c.5)(IV) is deprived of due process. The Supreme Court holds that TECDA did not create a legislative contract or vest nonprobationary teachers who are placed on unpaid leave with a property interest in salary and benefits.
The Supreme Court therefore concludes that the General Assembly has not impaired a contractual obligation by enacting the unpaid-leave provisions, and that nonprobationary teachers who are placed on unpaid leave have not suffered a violation of their right to due process.

Landmark Legislative Session for Colorado’s Charter Schools

Thanks to the heroic work of our Democratic leaders like Representative Angela Williams and Senator Mike Johnston who were willing to take up this fight on behalf of our kids, as well as our committed network of education champions all across our great state, Colorado’s thriving public charter schools are stronger than ever.

This session we achieved important gains in access to facilities and resources for public charters, greater regulatory flexibility, and additional accountability for district authorizers. Taken together, this package of common-sense reforms helps open up new doors of opportunity for our charters schools and students and will ensure that the innovative spirit of our public charters remains alive and well in the years ahead.

  • Facilities & Resources. When it comes to creating more high-quality educational options for our kids, we can’t do that without the land and buildings necessary to open new schools. That’s why we pushed for new policies that require districts to not only let charters know of any vacant or available facilities that could be used for schools, but also require districts to consider competitive bids from charters to develop that unused land or property.

    This legislation also expands the Charter Capital Construction Fund program, which is used to help finance the construction of land and buildings, by another $3 million. That brings our total allocation up to $25 million for the 2016-17 school year – an exponential increase from just $7 million two years ago. Plus, school maintenance costs are now an allowable expense for these Capital Construction funds, so we can be sure our kids are learning in clean, updated classrooms and our teachers can focus on their lessons – not worry about the leak in the ceiling.We’ve also leveled the playing field for public charters when it comes to participating in the state’s top capital construction grant programs. Now charters, just like every other kind of school, are eligible after three years to apply – as opposed to five years. These may seem like minor policy changes and technicalities, but the truth is that opening up these critical resources to our public charter schools is essential to their long-term success.
  • Regulatory Flexibility. Our schools are at their best when they are free to focus on student success and student learning, rather than spending time filling out complicated and duplicative reports. To that end, we’ve secured updated policies that reduce UIP reporting requirements from once a year to once every other year for designated “performance” schools. For charter networks or charters operating on multiple campuses, they are now allowed to undergo one comprehensive financial audit. In addition, the open meetings requirement for CSI schools has changed from requiring two board members present to three.

    Getting trapped in this sort of regulatory red tape threatens the very innovative spirit that public charters are known for, which is why streamlining the process will help ensure that our charters are adequately regulated without being overburdened or held back.
  • Accountability for Authorizers. Local authorizers wield an enormous amount of power over our public charter schools. Thankfully, there are a number of fantastic authorizers across Colorado helping to nurture the growth of high-performing schools, but as it stands now, there are little to no standards for authorizers and limited recourse for charters to contest the occasional bad actor in the space. To help standardize the process and install guardrails, we pushed for expanded grounds upon which schools can challenge a district’s exclusive chartering authority (ECA). The legislation establishes common best practices for authorizers and allows for a review of any practices that might go against these agreed upon standards. It also clears up the accounting rules between district authorizers and charters to make the process more fair and transparent, so that we can be sure our students are getting the resources they’ve been promised.

These are all important policy achievements that will make a huge difference in how our charters operate and will help enable faster and more effective expansion of these high-quality options in every corner of the state. But, I would argue that our biggest win this session – and our biggest opportunity for the future – came in advancing the case for funding equity for public charters.

While we didn’t get the legislation we wanted this time around, the robust debate and tireless work of our Democratic champions on Senate Bills 187 and 188 has brought this important topic to the forefront like never before. Right now, charter students in Colorado on average receive only 80 cents on the dollar in funding compared to their traditional public school peers – largely due to unfair gaps in local funding policies. But together, we’ve laid the groundwork to advance charter school funding equity and mill sharing to combat these disparities, so that every public school student in Colorado will finally get their fair share of resources in the classroom. I look forward to building on this momentum and continuing our push for equity and common sense reforms on behalf of our students.

There’s still much more work to be done, but we can all be incredibly proud of how far we’ve come in a few short months. I cannot thank our Democratic leaders, local education advocates, and brave families enough for their continued support. It’s because of you that we’ve achieved so much – and I look forward to doubling down on this progress to ensure that every child in Colorado receives the world-class public education they deserve.

Better Schools Aren’t a Partisan Issue

By Joe Trippi

(From Huffington Post, January 30th, 2012)

How do we give our kids a better education than we’ve been giving them? It’s a question that is leading to a rare bipartisan conversation these days with some big figures in the Democratic party, like Cory Booker in Newark, Antonio Villaraigosa in Los Angeles and Andrew Cuomo in New York, actually leading the discussion. And they’re not alone in the Democratic party as I saw this past week in New Orleans and Denver.

What’s going on here?

The tough reality we’ve got to face is that too many of our schools are failing. And if you have a kid in one of those schools, you can bet that you’re going to be pretty upset that your kid isn’t getting the skills they need to live a successful life. That’s where this conversation begins — with the parents of kids in those schools who demand a better education for their child.

More people are also getting involved. After all, there are serious consequences when a kid doesn’t succeed in school, both for themselves and the community they live in. If a kid gets through high school without being able to master basic math, science and reading, that kid is going to have difficulty finding a job. And good luck finding a business that will locate in a community that doesn’t have workers with those skills. So you’re starting to see a lot of businesses get involved in this conversation as well.

The great thing about this discussion is that there’s not going to be just a one size fits all fix. That model isn’t working. So there’s room for everyone to participate and put every idea on the table. Even if you think public schools are great, can’t we improve them? The solutions may vary by town, city and state.

Many communities have decided that the key is to empower parents to choose the best school for their child rather than that child being forced to attend the nearest public school no matter how low academic achievement at that school is or how bad of a fit it is for that child. If a solution is going to work for a child, their parent has to have the power to choose that solution. That’s why instead of arguing over or promoting a particular fix, last week people across the political spectrum came together during to promote giving parents more choice in choosing what works best for their child during National School Choice Week.

Last Saturday, National School Choice Week kicked-off in New Orleans with a huge rally. James Carville, who spoke at the event, was so proud of the progress schools have made in that great city since Katrina. “You can’t have the kind of successes that we’re seeing here, the kind of improvements we’re seeing in our schools, without people taking some considerable risk,” he said.

Commentary: ASSET bill is morally, fiscally sound

By Moira Cullen, DFER Colorado State Director

(From Education News Colorado, January 24th 2012)

This commentary was submitted by Moira Cullen, Colorado state director of Democrats for Education Reform.

Senate Bill 12-015, the ASSET Bill, has its first committee hearing this Thursday, January 26th. The bill enables Colorado high school graduates — regardless of their immigration status — to attend the state’s colleges and universities at a cost between in-state tuition paid by other residents and tuition paid by students from outside Colorado.

Immigration is one of the cultural third rails of our times: Just about no one of any political party will defend current immigration policy. Rightly so. Let’s all agree that immigration policy is a huge mess that has resisted the few sincere attempts to try to fix it.

But in this burst of honesty, let’s also admit that anything that touches the third rail of immigration is an issue where emotion too often clouds judgment. And clear-eyed judgment strongly suggests that this is a bill that should be passed.

To start, let’s be clear about what is not in the bill: Taxpayer subsidies. Under the ASSET bill, undocumented students will pay both their share and the state’s share. There is zero cost to Colorado’s taxpayers, and an additional cost to the undocumented students – who will pay on average about 40 percent more than traditional in-state tuition. The cost of college for undocumented students is neither free nor subsidized.

Colorado tenure law considered at N.J. hearing

(From The Record, December 9th, 2010)

By Leslie Brody

State Sen. Mike Johnston, a Democrat who was one of the key advocates behind a new tenure law in Colorado, told the New Jersey Senate education committee Thursday that it was critical to make tenure a “badge of honor” for quality teachers.

He said Colorado’s new law, passed this spring, requires that teachers have three years of effective evaluations before they earn tenure, called non-probationary status. If they have two years of poor evaluations, they lose that job protection and go back on probation. He said the state is now developing measures of effectiveness, and the new tenure system will be fully rolled out in 2013.

Johnston, a 33-year-old former teacher and principal, was one of the national voices brought to the panel on tenure to learn better ways to ensure the best teachers are rewarded, struggling ones are developed, and poor performers who don’t improve get removed.

A spokesman for Democrats for Education Reform said her advocacy group helped arrange and pay for Johnston’s trip to the hearing.

Race to the Top losers: Why did Louisiana and Colorado fail?

(From The Christian Science Monitor, August 24, 2010)

By AMANDA PAULSON

Nine states and the District of Columbia have emerged as winners in Round 2 of the closely watched Race to the Top competition, the Department of Education’s innovative – and controversial – competition to reward reform efforts.

Together, they were competing for $3.4 billion available in federal funds.

In order of their rank, the winners are Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Rhode Island, D.C., Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio.

“We funded as many states as we could [until we] ran out of money,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a press call with reporters, noting that just a few points separated some of those states who failed to make the cut from the winners. “I can’t overstate how strong the applications were in the second round.”

Still, the big news among many education experts was who lost – particularly Louisiana and Colorado, widely considered leaders in education reform with priorities that are strongly aligned with those favored by the administration. And some of the winners – including Maryland, Ohio, and Hawaii – raised eyebrows, as well.

“What’s really going on in these states and the degree of sincerity of their reform convictions, I don’t think has made it through these review decisions,” says Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank. “I don’t think there’s a truly reformist bone in the body of the Hawaiian public education system…. You’ll find more going on in Nebraska.”

Mr. Finn, like others, was glad to see reform leaders like Florida, which has imposed tough accountability measures, and D.C., which has implemented a controversial teacher evaluation system, be rewarded. But was stymied by the omission of Louisiana and Colorado. A Fordham study of reform-minded cities released Tuesday ranked New Orleans – widely regarded as a hotbed of reform with its Recovery School District – as No. 1, and had Denver as No. 4.

Colorado, in particular, had passed a major law around teacher evaluation in Round 1, but finished in 17th place. And Louisiana, widely regarded as a leader in reforms, lost 12 points on the teachers and leaders section of their application since the state was graded in Round 1, despite strengthening that section by passing a new law to evaluate teachers based in part on student achievement.

“I have to scratch my head and wonder why,” admitted Paul Pastorek, Louisiana’s superintendent of education. “But at the end of the day, that is the process, and we’ll live with it.”

Louisiana, he emphasized, will still work to implement the reforms in its proposal.

Mr. Pastorek sounds at peace with the results, saying that “the Race to the Top process has moved all of us significantly down the pathway [to reform],” but others are more skeptical about the quality of the peer review process.

“You are hearing a lot of quiet grumbling about [the results],” says Andrew Rotherham, a cofounder and partner at Bellwether Education, which advised some of the states on their applications. “I think it’s pretty amazing that New York went from not even meeting the basic criteria to finishing No. 2.”

While Mr. Rotherham says he’ll wait until he sees the scoring, which will be available Wednesday, he tends to think that it was skewed by the same problem that occurred in Round 1, which saw some uneven scores that weren’t always in line with the goals of the administration. In that round, just two states – Delaware and Tennessee – won.

The department made the process as transparent as possible, posting all applications, scores, comments, and videos from the presentations of the finalists, a decision that helped bypass criticisms of political favoritism, but left little room for discretionary judgment.

“They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” says Rotherham. But the problems that that peer-review process can introduce, he adds, means that “people who were initially favorably inclined toward supporting more competitive grants are starting to reconsider that.”

With the Round 2 winners announced and the money largely claimed, the future of Race to the Top is uncertain.

Secretary Duncan has asked for another $1.35 billion in next year’s budget, and plans to open it up to individual districts to apply, but there is no guarantee that Congress will approve the money.

Race to the Top has been controversial among critics who charge that the reforms it encourages – including charter schools, merit pay, school turnaround strategies, and teacher evaluations linked to student achievement – are not necessarily the right ones or based on evidence. Some see it as a federal intrusion into state policy, and others are critical of the competition aspect of the program, with money ultimately going to just a handful of states.

But among proponents, even those who are baffled by some of the winners and losers, the program has been a highly successful way to leverage widespread reforms with a relatively small amount of money. Forty-six states, plus D.C., applied over the course of the competition, and 34 states changed laws to make themselves more reform-friendly.

“We’ve noted more political activity around education reform in the last 12 months than we saw in the last decade,” says Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. “This gave a green light to reformers all over the country to really push some ideas that hadn’t gotten a lot of traction in the past… I think you can only argue that this has been a smashing success.”

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