Why would a state as large as Texas skip out on a windfall of national funding to help fuel it’s schools? According to Texas Gv. Rick Perry (R) and Brook Dollens Terry of the Texas Public Policy Foundation there were a few holes in the Race to the Top.

• Education has historically been a state issue, with power in Texas delegated to the Texas Legislature and the State Board of Education; Texas lawmakers control funding and school requirements, and the State Board makes decisions about curriculum so all of these are elected positions directly accountable to the voters at least once every four years.
• States such as Texas may have to spend state funds to access the federal dollars; the Texas Education Agency estimates that Texas will have to spend $3 billion just to have the chance to access, at most, $750 million.
• The federal funding will dry up; as we are seeing with other stimulus funds, states and local school districts would need to find funding for the reforms after the federal money goes away.
• What if the “reform” could be a step backwards for quality of a state’s education system?

The final point is totally valid. Education across America varies so much that I can’t help but question who would set the national standards, and how they would be assessed.