'Meet the Press' Tackles Race to the Top

President Obama's Race to the Top program was in the news quite a bit last week (read here, here and here), when the U.S. Department of Education announced its final set of rules for states planning to compete for RTTT funds. (Among the competitors will be our own Washington state.)

The topic of RTTT also found its way onto yesterday's Meet the Press, during a segment that featured Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and civil rights leader Al Sharpton. Duncan, Gingrich and Sharpton recently teamed up for a national, multi-city education tour, which has focused on the need to reform public education. (As they say, "Politics makes strange bedfellows.")

The panel of three had a lot to say about the many thorny issues wrapped up in RTTT. Check out the clip below for a discussion of teacher accountability. Or, to watch the panel discussion in its entirety, click here.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy