The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund, a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is the largest ever federal competitive investment in school reform. It will reward states for past accomplishments and create incentives for future improvements. The funding criteria that the U.S. Department of Education proposed to use will challenge states to create comprehensive strategies for addressing the four central areas of reform that will drive school improvement:

·         Adopting internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

·         Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals;

·         Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices; and

·         Turning around our lowest-performing schools