A good overview of the wave of reform across the country catalyzed by RTTT:

Democrats backed by the state's largest teachers' union nicknamed legislation overhauling Colorado's tenure and evaluation rules the "teacher scapegoat" bill, and several lawmakers wept in public sessions during their monthlong battle to stop it.

But other Democrats joined with Republicans to pass Colorado's law, the most comprehensive of a dozen similar bills passed around the nation this year, in part to increase states' chances in a $4 billion federal grant competition.

Louisiana, Oklahoma and New York also approved bills modifying their tenure and evaluation rules in the last week, just in time to meet Tuesday's application deadline for Round 2 of the competition, known as Race to the Top.

This flood of legislation, along with new rules in many states allowing for more charter schools, pioneering union contracts in several cities and a state-led effort to rewrite the nation's academic standards, have made this spring a watershed period, said Jon Schnur, an education adviser to the Obama campaign who helped design Race to the Top.

"It's been one of the most important seasons for education reform in American history," Mr. Schnur said.

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