By Thomas W. Carroll

New York State’s inclusion in the 16 Race to the Top finalists announced today by the U.S. Department of Education was the big surprise of Round 1.

New York’s inclusion is a testament to the high-quality application developed by State Education Commissioner David Steiner and Regents Chancellor Merry Tisch.

But, the goal here is to win, not nearly be included among the finalists.  A staggering $700 million is at stake.

The only thing standing between New York being a mere finalist and a winner are two issues: New York’s “data firewall” and the need to raise the state’s charter-school cap.

The winners will be announced in early April 2010.

The obvious play here is for quick legislative action on the two outstanding items.  Admittedly, this will not be easy, given the state of political chaos in Albany at the moment.

Also, it’s unclear whether legislative action now will be considered in a Round 1 decision.  But, at a minimum, taking action now would position New York State for an almost guaranteed win in Round 2.

Those who urged no action — on the theory that New York would never win anyway — are contradicted by today’s announcement of New York as a finalist.

New York is in shooting range now.  Let’s not shoot blanks.

(For my prediction of the likely winners in Round 1, see my recent analysis in City Journal.  Six of the seven states I predicted made the list of finalists.  These six states very likely will be the eventual winners.)