The state of Ohio made globalizing its education a priority. The Ohio Department of Education benchmarked its practices against world-class standards, expanded visiting teacher programs, and promoted Chinese Mandarin language instruction and curriculum development in Ohio classrooms. Numerous partnerships extended and supported those practices. Two years ago, Ohio had 11 Chinese programs in K-12 schools, serving 300 students. By 2008, Ohio had more than 2,200 public school students taking Chinese in 50 programs across the state. In March 2008, Ohio was recognized for its efforts when the Asia Society awarded the state its 2007 Goldman Sachs Prize for Excellence in International Education.