The second round scores for the federal Race to the Top competition were released today, and Connecticut once again came in 25th place – 15 spots out of the running for its share of the $4 billion in federal education funds. Connecticut’s total score was 379.0 points out of a total of 500 potential points, a gain of only 34.4 points over the first round.

While Connecticut was not even named a finalist in the second round, all three of its bordering states were named winners and secured significant federal funding for their public schools: New York ($750 million), Massachusetts ($250 million) and Rhode Island ($75 million). Connecticut’s loss was a missed opportunity for $175 million in federal funding.

Notwithstanding some key improvements to Connecticut’s education policies during the 2010 legislative session, Connecticut did not go far enough in its reforms to secure a victory in Round 2 of Race to the Top. ConnCAN’s analysis of Connecticut’s current laws indicates that Connecticut fell short in critical areas such as teacher effectiveness, data systems, and caps on charter schools. (The U.S. Department of Education’s complete analysis will be released tomorrow morning). In these three areas, Connecticut’s border states passed significant education policy reforms to secure the points needed to win the competition:

• Teacher effectiveness and data systems: Connecticut mandated that teacher evaluations include student achievement data, but left the intended use of that data in teacher evaluations ambiguous. The law also does not address consequences to teachers for low student achievement. By contrast, Rhode Island required that student achievement growth make up 51 percent of a teacher’s evaluation and mandated use of teacher effectiveness ratings in staffing decisions. Likewise, New York made student achievement data a substantial component of its teacher evaluations and required that these evaluations drive a variety of staffing decisions. New York has also dramatically streamlined its dismissal process for ineffective teachers.

• Caps on charter schools: Connecticut failed to improve its current system of funding charter schools, which both underfunds charter schools and restricts the number of students who can attend these schools of choice. Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island all significantly increased their spending caps on charter schools, creating pathways to growth for high-performing charter schools and charter management organizations. Rhode Island also went a step further by rewriting their school finance law to allow money to follow each child to the public school of his or her choice, including public charter schools.

“The full cost of a lack of gubernatorial leadership on education policy to our state and our students is immeasurable, but we now know the cost in federal funds: $175 million,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN’s CEO. “We must turn this loss into a call to action for the next governor to be a true education reformer who will put our state back on top in public education.”

ConnCAN is elevating the issue of education reform in Connecticut’s gubernatorial race through its “Vote for Ed!” campaign. The campaign features ConnCAN’s idealized gubernatorial candidate, Ed U. Cation, and his platform for fixing Connecticut’s public schools.

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The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) is an advocacy organization building a movement of concerned Connecticut citizens working to create fundamental change in our education system.