Recess round-up: August 24, 2010

A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break!

Race to the Top: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. are winners in the competition and will share $3.4 billion in phase 2 funding. (Associated Press)

Higher education: Remedial math often hinders community-college students from earning degrees or transferring to four-year schools. (Lansing [Mich.] State Journal)

Reform: Which big cities in the U.S. provide the best environment for school reform? Which don’t? The Fordham Institute weighs in.

School improvement grants: Secretary Arne Duncan’s ambitious plan to overhaul low-performing schools is “off to an uneven start,” writes Sam Dillon of The New York Times. Delays have arisen because of “negotiations between state officials and superintendents over drafts of proposals. But it also took many months for federal officials to process all the state applications.”

Stimulus funding: EdMoney.org, a project of the Education Writers Association (with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), lets you track spending on K-12 education from the federal economic-stimulus law in states and school districts nationwide. On a similar note, ProPublica is keeping an “Eye on the Stimulus” with Recovery Tracker. (Education Writers Association and ProPublica)

Study habits: There’s Room for Debate when it comes to looking at what students are learning, and how much they’re studying, in college. (The New York Times )

Technology: It’s back to school. Bring your laptop. (USA Today)