By Abbe Smith

In the most recent round of federal Race to the Top awards, Connecticut scored lower than every state it borders.

The state learned last month that it did not make the list of finalists, but didn’t get details about why it missed out on the $175 million it was seeking until final scores and reviewer comments were released this week.

Areas in which Connecticut did not fare well on its application included improving student achievement, developing teacher evaluations with concrete consequences, implementing statewide data systems and turning around low-achieving schools.

Where Connecticut lost points for reform efforts that do not go far enough, New Haven’s nationally recognized school change initiative would have fared much better, according to New Haven school board member and Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now Executive Director Alex Johnston.

“If the state had an application that did what New Haven did, I think we would be in a very different place,” Johnston said.

Johnston points out that the single most significant area where Connecticut struggled on its application was the section that looks at methods for evaluating teachers and principals.

Regarding teacher evaluations, one reviewer of Connecticut’s application wrote: “The section regarding decision-making based on the new evaluations is very weak.”

The reviewer went on to complain that Connecticut’s application makes no “real commitment” to using the teacher evaluation system for making decisions about compensation, tenure or removal.

In New Haven, however, teacher evaluations will attach great weight to student performance and carry real consequences for teachers who fail to meet goals.

Johnston said New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island earned top marks for teacher evaluation reforms. The three states will split more than $1 billion in Race to the Top funding.

According to the newly released data, Connecticut scored 379 points out of 500 total points. It was a 34.6-point improvement over Connecticut’s first application, which scored 344.4 points.

Connecticut got high marks this time around for articulating a clear reform plan, adopting standards and identifying persistently low-performing schools. Connecticut went into the second round optimistic that a sweeping state education reform bill, combined with widespread endorsement of the application from school districts and unions, would help the state’s chances in the competition. That reform bill imposes stricter requirements for graduation and focuses attention on core subjects such as math, history, biology and English. It also seeks to implement changes that will increase parental involvement and better track student and teacher performance.

In all, nine states and the District of Columbia were awarded a total of $4.35 billion Race to the Top funds in Round 2. Another round of awards is possible if Congress approves Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s funding request for next year.