Iowa was not one of 16 finalists for the U.S. Department of Education Race to the Top grants.

The $4.35 billion initiative aims to “dramatically reshape America’s educational system to better engage and prepare our students for success in a competitive 21st-century economy and workplace,” according to the department.

Forty states and the District of Columbia applied.

To apply, states submitted evidence of past education-reform successes. Additionally, they proposed plans to expand reform using college- and career-ready standards, to create a team of qualified educators, to support students with effective data systems, and to raise low-performing schools to a higher standard.

The finalists for Phase 1 of the grant are: Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

A winnowed list of phase 1 finalists is set to be released in mid-March, with winners announced in early April. Non-finalists will be able to reapply for the grant’s second phase this summer.

— by Nora Heaton