Background+(RTTT)

=﻿﻿ Race to the Top (RTTT) =

The Genesis of the Race to the Top initiative began with a charge by the President of the United States who said,
=== "I am calling on our nation's Governors and our state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity." Barack Obama, March 10, 2009 === ==== As a result, New York State decided to throw its hat into the competitive [|U.S. Department of Education] (USED) federal grant known as [|Race to the Top](RTTT). On August 24, 2010, USED announced that New York State had been awarded nearly $700 million as a winner in the second round of the federal Race to the Top competition. As part of the regulation of the RTTT grant, NYS also adopted the [|Common Core State Standards](CCSS) in ELA and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and other Technical Subjects as well the CCSS in Mathematics. ====

==== The Standards are an extension of a prior initiative led by the [|Chief Council of State School Officers] (CCSSO) and the [|National Governors Association](NGA) to develop [|College and Career Readiness] (CCR) standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language as well as in mathematics. The CCR Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening Standards, released in draft form in September 2009, serve, in revised form, as the backbone for the present document. Grade-specific K–12 standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language translate the broad aims of the CCR standards into age- and attainment-appropriate terms. ====

= For the latest memo dated May 12, 2011 regarding RttT and the Regents Reform Agenda, please click [|HERE]. =