HONOLULU -- Hawaii is one of 18 states and the District of Columbia that were named finalists Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, giving them a chance to receive a share of $3.4 billion.

Hawaii has applied for the maximum amount of money allowed in the program for a small state: $75 million. But Hawaii might not be chosen and could end up with nothing. Only ten to fifteen states out of the 19 that are finalists will win the money from the federal education department.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan revealed the names of finalist states in a speech Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. He said there's a “quiet revolution” underway in public schools driven by parents and educators.

"It's driven by great great teachers and educators and administrators who are challenging the defeatism and inertia that has trapped generations of children in second-rate schools," Duncan said.

Hawaii's interim schools superintendent, Kathryn Matayoshi, is happy Hawaii was one of 19 finalists out of 36 states that applied for the money.

"It's not gonna solve our budget woes. But it does re-affirm, that the strategies and reforms we're looking at are the right things and it gives us some support financially to pursue them even in tough times," she said.

Parent activist Jo Curran of Hawaii Kai said Hawaii's schools accomplished something in a year that was dominated by news about public school furloughs because of budget problems.

"We're creating awareness of public education in Hawaii. And we've proven by getting this far, that 'Yes you can.' We are the proverbial little engine," Curran said.

If the Hawaii Department of Education gets some “Race to the Top” funds, it plans to use them to set up systems to collect grades, test scores and attendance information frequently throughout the school year.

"Also not finding out at the end of the year that a student had a problem, but really finding out early so you can intervene, you can give them that little extra tutoring, that extra help to get them over the hump. That's really important," Matayoshi said.

The Hawaii plan would also introduce new ways to evaluate teachers. But details still need to be negotiated with the teachers' union.

"It's evaluating teachers based in part on student growth," Matayoshi said.

Matayoshi will lead a DOE team of five people to Washington D.C. the week of August 9 to present their plan and answer questions from federal education officials.

The U.S. Education Department will announce the winners of the competition in September.

The other finalist states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.

"Hawaii's finalist Race to the Top application outlines clear and bold reforms to ensure all students succeed. The board commends the Department of Education and all educational stakeholders for collaborating on a strong blueprint to streamline operations, and provide teachers, school leaders and staff with the support and tools they need to prepare our graduates for college and careers," Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi said.

In all, 35 states and the District of Columbia applied for the second round of the application. The 19 finalists have asked for $6.2 billion, though only $3.4 billion is available.