The Daily Churn: Wednesday

Updated: Detailed scores and reviewers’ comments for all Race to the Top, Round 2 applicants are now available on the U.S. Department of Education website here. Check it out. If you’re just interested in what reviewers said about Colorado, that’s here. We’ll compile some comparison tables and post them shortly.

What’s churning:

Colorado’s beat-down at the hands of federal Race to the Top evaluators not only cost the state $175 million in education reform funds, it set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination that looks likely to continue for a while. The Denver Post’s lead editorial this morning leveled a blast at the Colorado Education Association for opposing the state’s second-round R2T application. Term-limited State Rep. Michael Merrifield, a Colorado Springs Democrat and teachers’ union stalwart, told the Post that supporters of last spring’s teacher evaluation bill should apologize to the Democratic caucus. He also sent a gloating email to EdNews. Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien mused about potential bias against western states among the evaluators. Today, the U.S. Department of Education will release evaluator comments, which should give a more complete picture of why Colorado fared so badly.

On tap today:

The Higher Education Strategic Planning Steering Committee meets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Department of Higher Education and is expected to consider a staff-produced rough draft of a report. The state Capital Construction Assistance Board, which administers the BEST program, convenes at 1 p.m. at the Department of Education, 201 E. Colfax Ave.

Good reads from elsewhere: