NEW YORK -- First the city, now the state. Just hours after the news broke that New York City Schools Chancellor Cathie Black was stepping down, t...

The prospect for the granting of a waiver to Cathie Black so she can serve as New York City's school chancellor may have dimmed a bit in the last two days.

No one is going to jeopardize his or her bonus or job to teach topics that are not being tested.

In an unintended consequence of Race to the Top, as states seek to implement its highly prescriptive set of favored policies, charter school autonomy may become an innocent victim.

This past week the New York State Education Department released the scores of proficiency tests in math and English. The "proficiency" level of students in New York has plummeted through the floor.

You would expect the members of the New York Board of Regents to have some experience with and commitment to public education. Well, they don't.

This week, as the deadline approached for filing New York's application for $700 million in federal Race to the Top Dollars, the New York State Legislature did nothing. That's right, nothing.

The governor's inaction -- perhaps disinterest -- in whether New York has a shot at hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education aid underscores the current vacuum on educational issues.

For months, rumors have circulated Chuck Schumer has received assurances from the administration that New York will receive a "round one" grant -- as much as $350 million for the cash-strapped state.

Given New York's fiscal troubles -- Governor David Paterson has warned that the state could run out of money as early as December -- this is not a competition the state can afford to lose.