Obama said, “Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids,”
According to the president’s speech, the idea of R2T was developed by both Republican and Democratic governors throughout the U.S. The program is funded by the ED Recovery Act to the tune of $4.35 billion. R2T is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
States apply for funding by earning points in a variety of categories. There is a total of 500 points, all told. Because of the competitive nature of the funding, many states have taken action to ensure that they do well enough to receive their share of the money.
Meanwhile, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) delivered her own rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night despite Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) being tapped to give the official Republican response.
Bachmann suggested she's "not in competition with Paul Ryan," according to CNN.
The Atlantic relays advanced excerpts of Bachmann's remarks.
