The majority of Massachusetts charter schools are high-performing, with many surpassing their districts in terms of student achievement, said Mr. Chester.

WSJ: New Front in Charter Schools

To receive the funds, the states had to prove that they were progressing in specific areas including turning around low-performing schools, adopting college- and career-ready standards, and using data systems to support student achievement.

CNN: Tennessee, Delaware schools to get Race to the Top funds

Inaugurated in 2010, with major underwriting from the World Bank, the ANIM is the brainchild of Ahmad Sarmast, Afghanistan's first citizen to hold a doctorate in music, and his achievement is all the more remarkable in a nation where the overthrown Taliban regime had declared not just performing but even listening to music a crime against Islam.

WSJ: Making Music Against the Odds | Ensembles of Afghanistan National Institute of Music