Impact Evaluation of the Race to the Top (RTT) and State Incentive Grant (SIG) programs on student outcomes

The US Department of Education anticipates the release of the subject solicitation on or about July 15, 2010. The Government requires a contract to evaluate the impact of the receipt of funds under the Race to the Top (RTT) and State Improvement Grant (SIG) programs on student achievement; the effect of State capacity (a key assumption of RTT) in improving student outcomes; and the relationship between implementation of four broad school turnaround models and their strategies with student outcomes. RTT grants, currently authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are designed to encourage and reward States that are already implementing significant education reforms to extend their efforts and to advance comprehensive and coherent education reform in districts across the State for the purpose of improving student outcomes. Discretionary grants will be awarded to States that have made significant progress and articulate their goals in four reform areas. State applications must include a comprehensive approach to education reform. Awards made with the $4 billion in Recovery Act funding will support project periods of up to 4 years, and are estimated to range from $20 million to $700 million per state. In distributing funds, states must give priority to high-need districts, and require that participating districts sign a binding agreement or memorandum of understanding with the state that specifies the scope of the work to be implemented by the district including a commitment to implement one of four school turnaround models aimed at turning around or closing these persistently lowest-performing schools. Phase I awards will be announced in April 2010, and Phase II awards will be announced in September 2010. SIGs are authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to improve student achievement in the persistently lowest- achieving schools. The Recovery Act added an additional $3 billion to the FY09 program amount of $546.6 million. Under SIG for Turning Around Low-Performing Schools, funds go to States based on each State's share of Title I funding. States then distribute funds to districts with the lowest-achieving Title I schools that demonstrate the greatest need and strongest commitment to implement one of four school turnaround models aimed at turning around or closing these persistently lowest-achieving schools. Congress recently enacted appropriations language allowing State Educational Agencies (SEAs) to award up to $2 million for each participating school. This higher limit will permit an SEA to award directly the amount that the Department believes typically would be required for the successful implementation of the turnaround, restart, or transformation model in a Tier I or Tier II school. FY 2009 school improvement funds are available for obligation by SEAs and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) through September 30, 2011. In its application for these funds, an SEA may request a waiver of the period of availability to permit the SEA and its LEAs to obligate the funds through September 30, 2013. An LEA's proposed budget should cover a three-year period (if the SEA or LEA has applied for a waiver to extend the period of availability of funds). The Department anticipates the award of a hybrid contract (cost & fixed price tasks) for a total period of performance for 60 months.