Pressure for more RttT winners

Eduflack reflects on pressure to expand the number of RttT winners.  To his observations I’d add growing White House and Congressional pressure to spread the peanut butter and to make more awards in phase 1.  Patrick’s post made me re-read the application and eligibility requirements and the selection criteria (TNTP still has the best summary)–it’s a high bar but there is judgement involved in awarding points in the selection criteria.
There won’t be 35-40 winners as Eduflack predicts, but there may be closer to 20 than the 6 in phase 1 and 10 in phase 2 I’ve been predicting.  The folks at USED are serious grantmakers working extremely hard at running a rigorous fair process and I don’t see them folding to the pressure.
Read more from EdWeek about expanded support for other states seeking RttT grants–a great foundation investment that will result in progress (like we’ve seen on charter caps) in states not likely to win.
Twenty states making serious progress on the 4 assurances is better than 40 doing sloppy work.  There will be enough of that with thousands of so-called ‘transformations’ funded by T1 School Improvement Grants.