Folks at the NC Department of Public Instruction are used to receiving unwavering support from the mainstream media.  When they don’t, they complain publicly.

At today’s NC State Board of Education meeting, Race to the Top director Adam Levinson complained about a December 30 News & Observer article titled, “Race to the Top spending hasn’t translated to most classrooms.” N&O reporter Lynn Bonner wrote,

As the Race to the Top grant period ends – it’s set to conclude next summer, though the state is asking for an extension – some goals for broad improvements in student performance have fallen short. Incentives such as vouchers for systems to lure better teachers got little use.

While graduation rates are up and above targets, proficiency on national standardized tests has not risen as quickly as promised. The percentage of high school graduates enrolling in post-secondary programs went down rather than increasing. Some achievement gaps actually widened.

I thought that Bonner’s article was a fairly evenhanded assessment of the state’s $400 million Race to the Top program.  Levinson obviously expected the N&O to be a cheerleader for DPI.  Of course, the N&O made up for their momentary lapse into journalism by publishing a glowing January 1 editorial, “Federal government backs NC schools’ progress.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/29/3492758/race-to-the-top-spending-hasnt.html#storylink=cpy