State named finalist for grant

South Carolina has been selected as one of 16 finalists in a heated national competition for a portion of $4.35 billion aimed at comprehensive education reform.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the finalists Thursday. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia emerged as the top scorers in a pool of 41 applicants trying for the federal Race to the Top grant funds. Winners will be announced in April.

"These states are an example for the country of what is possible when adults come together to do the right thing for children," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

Although South Carolina wasn't one of the states that received money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help prepare its application, state leaders said they still expected to be strong contenders.

"A lot of people thought we were a very, very long shot for this competition," said Jim Rex, state superintendent of education. "We were viewed as an outsider."

Rex pointed out the irony of the Palmetto State being among the top states in terms of 21st century education reform while its lawmakers are contemplating funding schools at last century's levels. He didn't know whether or how the potential budget cuts would affect the state's chances at winning Race to the Top money, but he said other states likely would face a similar dilemma.

States vying for Race to the Top money were asked to document existing reform initiatives as well as to propose ways to improve teacher effectiveness, data systems, academic standards and low-performing schools. South Carolina hopes to secure nearly $300 million.

Applications were scored on a 500-point scale, and more than half of those points were awarded for programs or improvement efforts already under way. The federal department ranked states' applications from highest to lowest scoring, and all finalists had more than 400 points. They are: Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Tennessee, as well as South Carolina.

In its application, South Carolina cited initiatives such as a statewide system for evaluating teachers, high academic standards for students and a well-developed data system linking student performance to areas such as crime, health and social services.

Finalists will go to the nation's capital in mid-March to present their proposals, and the purpose of the in-person meetings is to ensure states have the understanding, knowledge and will to deliver what they've proposed, according to federal officials.

Afterward, a panel of reviewers will discuss each application, finalize scores and submit them. Federal officials haven't said how many winners there will be, but they have said they don't intend to award more than half of the $4.35 billion in the first phase of competition. States that aren't selected will be able to apply again.

Reach Diette Courrégé at dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546.