USA Today reported Monday that abnormal erasure patterns coincided with leaps in performance on exams for D.C. Public Schools students under Michelle Rhee. While the paper is a little late to the party (see: Examiner last week, and the Post first reporting), the story’s full of interesting nuggets, especially when it quotes and parents and teachers who say the alleged progress their children made was far from real.
USA Today examines Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus, which was nationally recognized for huge progress on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System. In 2006, just 10 percent of students scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the math section; by 2008, that number was 58 percent.
At the same time, Noyes was one of several D.C. schools investigated over the last few years for having an unusual number of wrong-to-right erasures on these exams.
Meanwhile, many parents and teachers came out of the woodwork to say they suspected something was amiss. Long before Rhee took office, former Noyes parent Marvin Tucker said he was confused when his daughter, Mariana, brought home test scores in 2003 that showed she was proficient in math.
Following the story, DCPS spokeswoman Safiya Simmons released a statement. The gist: “DCPS adheres to stringent training and test administration guidelines, and begins the thoughtful process of ensuring test security long before the first tests are given. Employees on every level of DCPS assist, from school-based to central office staff. When we are informed of possible test improprieties, we work closely with [the office of the state Superintendent of Education], and third party partners when necessary, to carefully and promptly investigate and take appropriate next steps.”
Simmons points out, as reported by The Examiner, the independent firms brought in to investigate the erasure findings and the actions taken against schools at fault. For example, a classroom at Burr Elementary had its scored invalidated because the teacher had cleaned up stray pencil marks on the exams.
