In a March 29, 2013 news article headlined Ex-Atlanta Schools Chief Is Indicted in Testing Scandal, the New York Times reported that former Atlanta School Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall and 35 of her fellow educators were indicted by a Fulton County (Georgia) grand jury for “… racketeering, theft, influencing witnesses, conspiracy and making false statements.” The grand jury indictment alleges that those charged were involved in “the most widespread public school cheating scandal in memory.”
The mechanism was simple. Seven teachers nicknamed “The Chosen” were sequestered together in a room. There, they erased incorrect answers from student tests and marked the correct answers.
The story came to light because of very solid fundamental news reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.
The sad but true outcome of the efforts alleged to have been made by Dr. Hall and her alleged co-conspirators is painfully clear: Students who should not have been advanced to higher grades were.
But does inappropriate advancement of unprepared students happen in Idaho? Apparently so.
In a September 15, 2011, IdahoReporter.com article titled Remedial education courses cost Idaho students millions of dollars, writer Mitch Coffman reports:
Every year colleges and universities throughout the state assess millions of dollars in tuition expenses to students for remedial education. For the 2009-10 school year, according to records obtained by IdahoReporter.com, more than $9 million was spent at Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, College of Southern Idaho, North Idaho College and College of Western Idaho.
Remedial courses are necessary because high school graduates do not test well enough in some or all core subjects – math, English, reading, science – to qualify for acceptance into an entry-level college class.
Here in Coeur d’Alene, the North Idaho College Office of Institutional Effectiveness generated a one-page document dated March 12, 2013, and titled Placement data for first-time students enrolled at NIC. The document is self-explanatory. It is based on data from the academic year 2011-2012 and appears to show the percentages of students from Coeur d’Alene High School, Lake City High School, Lakeland High School, Post Falls High School, and Sandpoint High School who enrolled at NIC during AY 2011-2012 and who needed placement in remedial mathematics, remedial English/reading, or both. Missing from the NIC report is data from any area charter schools.
The indictment of the former Atlanta school superintendent is an extreme case. Criminal indictments and convictions can identify and punish those who allegedly exploit the deficiencies in school systems for their own personal gain, but they will not remedy the underlying deficiencies. And ultimately, the real penalty for allowing the deficiencies to continue will be levied on the student who is inappropriately advanced until he leaves the system bereft of basic math, reading, and writing skills.
For those interested, Georgia’s then-Governor Sonny Perdue appointed a trio of investigators – former Attorney General Mike Bowers, former DeKalb County District Attorney Bob Wilson and Richard Hyde, a former Atlanta police officer who investigates judicial misconduct — to administer and conduct the investigation. Aided by 50 of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s 240 special agents, they conducted the years-long investigation that led to this indictment.
Comment by Bill — March 31, 2013 @ 10:07 am
My guess is that their investigation was not easy and probably had all kinds of political push back. Good for them to have seen this through. More than 50 people working for years to bring out the truth!
Comment by mary — March 31, 2013 @ 10:46 am
Mary,
While there was certainly political push back, the Governor was behind the investigation pushing it forward rather than trying to impede it by pushing back from in front. I suspect in large part that is because of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s ongoing, timely, accurate, and complete coverage. With that kind of news (not opinion) coverage from a credible newspaper, I suspect Governor Perdue could sense the public wanted the problems exposed and corrected.
Conversely, here in Idaho I have the very distinct impression that our Governor is more than happy when newspaper owners and publishers, editors, and reporters don’t do the kind of reporting done by the AJC in this case. An uninformed public is a compliant public that doesn’t demand the Governor and his staff take much action.
Comment by Bill — March 31, 2013 @ 12:17 pm
Use the NIC “placement data” as a report card for our local government schools. If their goal is to prepare kids for college – they get an F. Not even a D-, but a FAIL. What business could survive if half of their customers did not get what they paid for?
Comment by Granny — April 1, 2013 @ 11:56 am
Granny,
As I read the NIC data, the people who write the checks may be writing check #001 to SD 271 with the expectation that the students who are graduated will be able to read, write, and do math at a high school senior – college freshman level. Then they are writing check #002 to NIC to spend college money and time bringing a significant number of incoming applicants up to college freshman level before even beginning to teach at that level. The need for remedial courses in math, reading, and writing at NIC means that NIC is costing us more than it should, and it also means our dollars that go to SD 271 are not delivering the expected results.
Comment by Bill — April 1, 2013 @ 12:24 pm