Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr defended a Silver Spring elementary school against allegations that cheating — rather than real progress by low-income, immigrant students — bolstered students’ test scores. The article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution “not only represents irresponsible journalism, but it fosters the very stereotypes that have dogged public education for too long,” Starr said Monday. “The underlying message is that schools comprised of mostly African-American, Hispanic or poor students cannot achieve at a high level unless they cheat. We know that is not the case and are disturbed by the inference.”
The Atlanta newspaper highlighted Silver Spring’s Highland Elementary as an example of a school where a dramatic turnaround won the campus a National Blue Ribbon Schools Award, the federal government’s top education honor. Schools in which 40 percent or more of students come from low-income households and make some of the state’s highest gains in test scores can qualify.
