Recovery Act Recipients Report Funding Continues to Support over 300,000 Education Jobs
On Jan. 30, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board released job numbers showing that Recovery Act education funding played a significant role in stabilizing the nation's economy and in staving off a major fiscal crisis in 2009.

For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, grant recipients reported over 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors. In total, the Department of Education funding supported approximately 400,000 positions including corrections officers, public health personnel, and construction workers. These numbers are consistent with the data submitted in October during the first round of Recovery Act reporting.

The consistency of these jobs numbers reflects the steady and profound impact of Recovery Act funding that is being used to fill over $40 billion in projected state education budget shortfalls for FY '09 and FY '10. State and local budgets remain strained, but the second round of ARRA reporting makes clear that most school systems throughout the country would be facing more severe fiscal situations without this funding.

A detailed analysis of the reported data shows a slight decline in SFSF jobs this quarter, reflecting that a significant portion of this funding was used in the previous reporting period as states filled immediate funding needs. Conversely, the number of jobs attributed to IDEA and Title I Recovery Act funding increased significantly between the first round and this reporting period – a 47% increase for IDEA and 41% increase for Title I. The accelerated use of these funds suggests that in the first quarter they were used to lay the groundwork for meaningful reform programs and now are generating the jobs to support the these programs while continuing to fill positions threatened by state or local budget cuts.

The data posted on Recovery.gov represent the second quarterly report of Recovery Act spending. As part of the unprecedented transparency requirements of the ARRA, all prime recipients of over $25,000 in funding are required to report quarterly on their expenditures. Approximately 98% of the 2,514 Department of Education Recovery Act grant recipients required to report for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, filed reports on time.

The Department of Education will continue to provide additional transparency beyond the reports posted on www.Recovery.gov by aggregating and presenting data on a program-by-program and state-by-state basis to allow for easier tracking of education dollars. This information will be posted on www.ed.gov/recovery in the coming week.
To summarize the distribution of funding, the Recovery Act provided approximately $100 billion to the U.S. Department of Education with the initial goal of delivering emergency education funding to States. Thus far, $69 billion of these funds have been awarded to states and other eligible recipients through the following grant programs:

U.S. Department of Education Releases new Report on Use of Data Systems to Support Reform
States and districts are making significant progress in building educational data systems and are starting to use that valuable data to change classroom practice and improve student achievement, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Education.

But school leaders are still searching for the best models to mine the data to discover the best instructional methods for students, the report says.
“Data should be part of a feedback loop used to drive improvement at every level of the education system. This study helps us understand the kinds of data that need to be available for teachers and school leaders if they’re going to use data to improve their practice,” said Carmel Martin, assistant secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

In “Use of Education Data at the Local Level: From Accountability to Instructional Improvement,” researchers surveyed officials from 529 districts, conducted in-depth site visits to 36 schools in 12 districts leading the way in data usage, and analyzed secondary data from a survey of over 6,000 teachers to obtain a national picture of current data use practices at the local-level.

Major findings from the report include:
Data-driven decision making is an ongoing process rather than a one-time event centered on the acquisition of a data system. Districts will get more out of their investments in electronic data systems if they think about data-driven decision making as a system-wide innovation and develop a long-term strategy for its implementation as part of a continuous improvement process.

To influence teachers’ day-to-day instruction, data systems must provide teachers with information that is both timely and relevant to their instructional decisions. To be useful to teachers, systems need to provide data from recently given assessments that provide diagnostic information on students’ learning needs

Human and organizational supports for data use are just as important as the technical quality of the data system. Professional development around data use is widespread, but only a small minority of districts and schools have made data use a regular part of teachers’ practice.

Districts can promote data-driven decision making in schools by providing time for teachers to meet with colleagues to discuss and use data, funding positions for instructional coaches who help teachers connect data to alternative instructional approaches, and by modeling data-driven decision making for continuous improvement in their own operations.

Districts’ greatest perceived area of need with respect to data-driven decision making is for models of how to connect student data to instructional practices. Among teachers, there is a need to enhance their assessment interpretation and data use skills.

Building and expanding state data systems is one of the four areas of reform under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The ARRA provided $250 million in money to help states improve their data systems. The money is supplementing the $65 million available in fiscal 2009 and the $58.2 million in fiscal 2010. States that win grants from the competitive $4 billion Race to the Top state grant program will have additional dollars available to improve their capability to use data to drive student achievement.

40 States, D.C., Submit Applications in Phase 1 Race to the Top Competition
Today the Department of Education announced that 40 states and the District of Columbia submitted applications to be considered for Phase 1 of the Race to the Top competition. Race to the Top is the department's $4.35 billion fund to dramatically re-shape America's educational system to better engage and prepare our students for success in a competitive 21st century economy and workplace. States' Phase 1 applications were due to the department today, Jan. 19 at 4:30 p.m. EST.
Earlier today, President Obama announced his intention to propose in the FY 2011 budget more than $1.3 billion to continue Race to the Top. The announcement came during a visit with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Va.

Designed to incentivize excellence, spur reform, and promote the adoption and use of effective policies and practices, the Race to the Top is a comprehensive vision for school reform backed by a historic, $4.35 billion investment. Winners of the first Race to the Top awards will be announced in April 2010. A second round of applications from states will be due in June 2010, with winners expected in September. States that apply, but do not win in Phase 1, may reapply for Phase 2.

The following states and D.C. submitted applications for Phase 1:

Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Michigan

Minnesota Missouri Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming