NCTQ President Kate Walsh writes that Colorado can win a hunk of the $4.35 billion in school-improvement money that the feds are doling out to states, but not if the Rocky Mountain State proposes more of the same. "There is no such thing as too bold," advises Walsh in a paper published at the request of Colorado's Piton Foundation.

The paper lays out "good bets" for the state as it goes after the money, including the best bet of tracking the hiring, retaining, evaluating and terminating of teachers. Neither the recommended approaches nor the steps that Colorado could take to maximize its credibility before the proposal is submitted are for the faint of heart.