Rhee Cheating Sh*tstorm: Part I
by teachbad
There was an intensely-guarded internal memo about possible cheating on the DC CAS during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as chancellor in Washington, DC. After nearly five years, the memo has been freed. Learning Matters reporter John Merrow had been trying to get it for a long time. The work he has done in the run-up to this has been fantastic.
The memo in question is an internal DCPS communication summarizing the results of studies conducted by outside organizations hired to look into test irregularities indicative of cheating on DC’s city-wide test, the DC CAS, in 2008. The memo discussed the results of the reports, reviewed possible implications of the findings, and urged secrecy. It also began to map a strategy for moving ahead.
You should read it for yourself so I’m not cherry-picking quotes for you, but it seems clear the writer deems the existence of this information an emergency and warns of different ways it could break badly. It’s 4 pages long and interesting to read. Merrow spent a long time trying to get this. You can spend two minutes reading it. Think of it as a primary source you would want your students to read.
The memo provides evidence that cheating on the DC CAS was very likely much more widespread than had been
