Marketers have always known that exclusivity (and its sister, scarcity) are powerful tools. What we can easily get we may not want - but what's doled out to the few and lucky (whether by connections or pricey tags) has this sudden allure.
Policy makers rarely stoop to such manipulative levels - but they should do so more often. I suspect Arnie Duncan had marketing in mind when the Education Department decided, as reported in today's Washington Post, to grant just two Race to the Top awards. Delaware and Tennessee will be turning their education systems inside out for a small bucket of cash - and they're proud of it. But when 50 states were told they had to do the same under No Child Left Behind, there was revolution in school superintendents' offices across the nation. The difference? Maybe Delaware and Tennessee were happy with NCLB too (I don't know for sure, but my guess is not). More likely Delaware and Tennessee are happier with Race to the Top and for two reasons: because they had more room to innovate their own ideas and because they get the "exclusive" pot o' money.
Could it be that by making reform exclusive, Duncan will make states suddenly hot to reform - where they once were cool?
