APPENDIXB.SCORINGRUBRIC-USDepartmentofEducation.pdfVIP

APPENDIX B. SCORING RUBRIC Corrected based on the January 2010 correction notices published in the Federal Register. These notices are available at /programs/racetothetop/legislation.html. I. Introduction To help ensure inter-reviewer reliability and transparency for State Race to the Top applicants, the U.S. Department of Education has created and is publishing a rubric for scoring State applications. The pages that follow detail the rubric and allocation of point values that reviewers will be using. Race to the Top grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to States in two phases. The rubric will be used by reviewers in each phase to ensure consistency across and within review panels. The rubric allocates points to each criterion and, in selected cases, to sub-criteria as well. In all, the Race to the Top scoring rubric includes 19 criteria and one competitive priority that collectively add up to 500 points. Several of these criteria account for a large number of points; others account for a comparatively small portion of a State’s score. It is important to emphasize that over half the points that reviewers may award to States are based on States’ accomplishments prior to applying—their successes in increasing student achievement, decreasing the achievement gaps, increasing graduation rates, enlisting strong statewide support and commitment to their proposed plans, and creating legal conditions conducive to education reform and innovation. Finally, it bears underscoring that reviewers will be assessing multiple aspects of States’ Race to the Top applications. States that fail to earn points or earn a low number of points on one criterion, can still win a Race to the Top award by presenting strong applications and histories of accomplishments on other criteria. Notwithstanding the guidance being provided to reviewers, reviewers will still be required to make many thoughtful judgments about the qua