RTTT will not go to all states

The final RTTT rules came with non-binding guidance on the budget amounts states should apply for. The guidance has separate amounts for five groups of states sorted by size. Category 1 has the largest states, Category 5 has the smallest states and the District of Columbia, Category 4 includes Kentucky, and here are the recommended dollar amounts:

Multiplying each low and high dollar figure by the number of states eligible for those amounts yields these results:

We already know the total grants will be $4,000 million: the original $4,350 minus the $350 that will be in the separate competition for new assessments.

As a result, we know that the feds are signaling, firmly, that they expect quite a few states will not be winners and grant recipients in the upcoming competition.