Me: Rheeally? How is the evidence “clear”? And “because you said so” doesn’t count. Evidence overwhelmingly indicates the opposite.
Rhee: The reports, however, unfairly leave the impression that district
leaders unduly influenced or avoided an investigation into possible
cheating. Further, it implies cheating was widespread.
In D.C. schools, hundreds of classes flagged for 'erasures'. From 2008 to 2010, 103 public schools in the District of Columbia were flagged for having at least one class of students with statistically high rates of wrong answers that were erased and replaced by correct answers on their standardized tests. That represents more than half of the schools in the system.
Jack Gillum and Marison Bello
USA Today, March 27, 2011
Me: Well, considering that 103 DC public schools, representing more than half of the schools in DCPS, were flagged for uncommonly high erasures from wrong to right answers, I’d say that’s pretty “widespread”.
John Fremer, president of Caveon Consulting Services, the company D.C. hired, says the investigations were limited. ...Parents and some State Board of Education members say they were never told which schools had high erasure rates or other irregularities. ...D.C. officials declined to let USA Today visit schools or talk to principals.
Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello
USA Today, March 27, 1011
Me: Michelle, you’ve got Caveon admitting that the investigations were limited. Since parents didn’t even know an investigation was happening, and the press was denied interview access, I think it’s disingenuous to say the process was “transparent”.
Rhee: …we secured an outside test security company, Caveon, to investigate unusual rates of erasure marks on tests in 2009. ….It is simply not true that district officials avoided doing an investigation.
Me: Gee, what about 2008?
In 2008, the office of the State Superintendent of Education recommended that the scores of many schools be investigated because of unusually high gains, but top D.C. public school officials balked and the recommendation was dropped.
Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello
USA Today, March 27, 2011
Rhee: I believe that the vast majority of teachers in our district and across the nation would never compromise their professional and personal integrity to falsify the results of a student's test. That said, there certainly may be exceptions. In such instances, swift action must be taken.
Me: I wouldn’t qualify 103 schools being investigated as ‘exceptions’. It is interesting, however, that you didn’t say that the “majority of administrators in our district would never compromise their professional and personal integrity to falsify the results of a student’s test.”
Rhee: Educators are used to being under tremendous pressure. That pressure doesn't come from test taking.
Me: RUFKM??? I mean, seriously, what planet have you been living on????
BOTTOM LINE: Anyone who argues that that many rheerasures from wrong to right answers does NOT constitute cheating is not being honest. Gee, what a surprise… [sigh, eyeroll]
