It was a good day for politicians and educators in Albany as Gov. David Paterson was joined by the U.S. secretary of education to explain exactly what a $700 million education grant will mean for the empire state.

New York was one of several states awarded similar grants under President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" program, designed to help states that take up ambitious changes to improve student performance.

Two-hundred and sixty new charter schools will be opened as a result of the new grant, in addition to helping fund new curriculums, testing and assistance for students who are failing.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says the U.S. has gone from first in the world to number 12 with regard to college graduation rates, calling the decline economically unsustainable and morally unacceptable.

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