After earlier embracing school choice, accountability, and testing, Diane Ravitch explains her change of heart in her new book The Death of the Great American School System. Unfortunately, Ravitch offers only the broadest outlines of what she favors. While reading, I couldn’t help but wonder what specifically she would do if she was appointed New York City Schools Chancellor.

According to FERA’s Tom Carroll, the 16 Race to the Top finalists do not have an equal chance of actually winning a Round One grant. Like a presidential candidate who interviews many more vice presidential candidates than actually are under serious consideration, the U.S. Education Department may have been intentionally over-inclusive. A likely scenario is for a half dozen or so winners in the end, with the rest invited back to apply in Round Two.

This week, the U.S. Department of Education will announce the finalists for Round One of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program.  Thomas W. Carroll’s opinion piece in the City Journal handicaps which states actually will be among the winners announced in April 2010.

In the aftermath of this week’s failed attempt by the New York State Legislature to strengthen the state’s charter-school law and better compete for millions in federal education funds, a survey of state legislators found that Democrats responsible for killing the expansion of choices in public education were themselves beneficiaries of school choice.

While President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan strongly support the growth of charter schools, access to facilities is hindering their growth and the tightening credit markets have dramatically slowed the pace of tax-exempt financing for charter school facilities.  This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s charter school bond market and explains the characteristics of highly rated charter-school transactions.  Analysis of the Charter-School Bond Market