Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Daily Kos: DC City Council will hold hearing on cheating under Rhee

Daily Kos: DC City Council will hold hearing on cheating under Rhee:


DC City Council will hold hearing on cheating under Rhee

As one can read in this New York Times story, the posting by John Merrow about the previously unreleased memo on the 2008 cheating in DC public schools is beginning to have an impact.  As the first paragraph of the article notes,
The City Council in Washington will hold a hearing next week after a memo warning officials of cheating on standardized tests during the chancellorship of Michelle A. Rhee surfaced Thursday night.
It is worth noting several things as this story continues to unfold.1.   The memo by Fay Sanford was about test scores in 2008, the first school year under Rhee's tenure.
2.  The USA Today story that first brought close attention to Rhee's tenure focused on one school in 2008, Noyes Elementary, which not only saw bonuses from Rhee, but an award from the US Department of Education under Arne Duncan.
3.  The subsequent independent investigation done by a firm other than the one that produced the memo about 2008 cheating, Caveon, was about cheating in 2009 and 2010.
4.  The investigation by the DC Inspector General only led to interviews with about 60 people, and was not done