"The Atlanta Public Schools system under [Hall's] guidance was a disaster"

I adore that image to the right, there. It came from The American (see below), and it's just perfect. It reminds me of one of the less obvious problems of standardized testing, one that, er, a particular educator I know told me about. Sometimes, when students have absolutely no clue what to do with the test (they may not even fully grasp the concept of "bubbling-in" the right answers), they'll make designs with the bubble patterns on the answer sheet. The teachers call this "christmas-treeing".

Well, anyway.

Investigators call APS under Hall a 'disaster' [WXIA]
APS investigators call the state of Atlanta schools under Dr. Beverly Hall a "disaster." In their first sit down interview, Mike Bowers and Bob Wilson talk about a "heartbreaking" culture of corruption.
...Wilson says he lost track of days, sitting in a conference room from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., conducting and pouring over the 2,100 interviews they conducted and 800,000 documents they examined.

*sigh* That's poring, not pouring. But they're television reporters, they can't be expected to know how to spell.

Bowers and Wilson have pretty much concluded the Atlanta investigations, so there's nothing new to add here. However, you do get a sense of the scope of the investigations, and the reality of trudging through this tragic, shameful situation. It's important to remember that not everyone named in the report is a villain -- nor are the investigators.

But it was inevitable that, sooner or later, this crap was going to hit the fan.

More Cheating To Come...& Lessons Reformers Can Take from Atlanta [Education Week]
One key lesson from Atlanta is that civic leaders and the business community threw their influence behind Superintendent Hall because, as one local paper reported, she was "fluent in the language of corporate America." In doing so, they compromised their effectiveness and sacrificed their ability to constructively challenge the school system.
A second lesson that Atlanta highlights is the problem with presuming that school systems are being scrupulous with their data or open about their processes and problems.

The culture of secrecy manifested in plenty of ways. For all that APS struggled to hide its inner workings, they were hopelessly incompetent at hiding the fact that they had something to hide. But look how many lives were damaged before someone said "this cannot continue." As I've said, the wonder is not that the AJC caught them, but that it took so long.

The Atlanta Cheating Scandal's Tough Lessons for Business Leaders [The American]
As a seasoned legislative staffer who champions business involvement in education told us, “It makes a difference when a business person …[tells us], ‘I don’t care what your [standardized test] scores or your [reports] say, the kids who come to work for us can’t read.’” This valuable reality check was compromised in Atlanta when the business community threw its influence behind Superintendent Hall regardless of results, just because, as one local paper reported, she was “fluent in the language of corporate America.”

Mn. That phrase "fluent in the language of corporate America" keeps coming up. Because "The American" is a publication of the American Enterprise Institute, they may be looking to blame everything on Beverly Hall using her corporate wiles to delude the innocent businessmen of Atlanta. I'm not so sure. I can't say they're wrong, but I fear that willing co-conspirators may go unexamined.

Teachable moments

Hall invoices district for $127K in legal fees [ajc]
Rhoda Spence, a mother of two APS students, has been watching the continuing fallout from the cheating scandal and the mounting financial commitments the district is having to make as a result.
“I’m sorry this happened," Spence said. "I just want the focus to be back on the children.”

I think we're all sorry it happened, Ms Spence. Some are sorry they lied; others are sorry they got caught.

I believe the interim superintendent is doing everything he can do to return the focus to the children. But if dishonest teachers are not investigated and (when appropriate) prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows, what will the children learn from that? The response to this situation really isn't optional: Actions must have consequences, or else nothing teachers say matters at all.

"The names of all employees paid bonuses..."

Despite cheating scandals, testing and teaching are not at odds [Washington Post]
The Atlanta cheating scandal has been described as the worst known incident of systemic cheating, so it is worth noting that even there investigators found cheating in 44 out of 2,232 schools in Georgia.

They were only looking for cheating in 56 schools. They found it in 44. What if 4:5 is representative of the rest of the state? (The same investigators are now looking in Dougherty County.) Who's responsible for this misleading piece of... Oh, no. Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education! We're in deep trouble if SecEd is trying to cover for us.

Well, maybe I should be optimistic. Maybe he isn't trying to cover for us. Maybe he's just... stupid? Oh, I feel so much better now.

Fulton grand jury subpoenas APS records [ajc]
A Fulton County grand jury has subpoenaed Atlanta Public Schools, seeking among other things the names of all employees paid bonuses for improved student test scores, as well as a list of those disciplined since 1999.
...Another point seeks a list of all teachers, principals and administrators “fired transferred or demoted since 1999, along with reasons for their status change.” It previously has been reported that employees who reported test cheating risked retaliation by school administrators.

Bring it on! Let the sun shine in! Hey, Grand Jury? Better also look into who they chose to replace "disciplined" employees. Ah, it's a grand new day!

When Teachers Cheat, What About The Kids? [npr]
What [previous Governor] Sonny Perdue did after just another one of these blue ribbon commissions that produced nothing is he said he wanted to get to the bottom of it. And he appointed three people. And I think this was the key.
Michael Bowers was a former attorney general in the state or about 15 years, so - Robert Wilson, who was the DA for DeKalb County for about 12 or 14 years, and Richard Hyde, you know, really a great investigator. And he basically said - left them alone. He said I'm not going to read the report ahead of time. I promise you I'll give you the manpower you want, you go do and what you need.
And they spent 10 months, and by the time they were done, they had about 60 or 70 investigators working with them and over 100 people altogether.

Mark the calendar, I'm going to compliment NPR. This is a very, very, good interview. It summarizes the story for anyone new to it (there might be some), it explains how the cheating was done (fairly ineptly, as it turned out, but it was in everyone's interest to cover it up), and it explains why the story is a big deal (the sheer scope and effrontery of it).

And an "A" in self-esteem

Maureen Downey: Teaching punctuality 101
[ajc] Many people lament the spotty interpersonal skills and work ethic of the millennial generation, the media-savvy teenagers who can command MacBooks and PhotoShop but apparently can’t figure out an alarm clock.
...Millennials grew up in a society that rewarded them for just showing up, said Deborah Covin Wilson, senior adviser for career support Georgia Tech, at a town hall meeting Thursday at DeKalb Technical College in Clarkston.
“On a soccer team, everybody gets a trophy whether you win or lose. Because you came, you get a trophy,” she said. “If you grow up like that, you think that if you just barely got to work and didn’t do anything, then you have the right to stay there.”

But I have to think that if schools were actually teaching the knowledge they're supposed to be teaching, the rest would take care of itself. If you never fail, you never really learn what success feels like. And Kia can't find employees who will actually show up on time.

"It was all about greed"

Atlanta school cheating scandal presents valuable ethical lessons
[Spartanburg Herald-Journal] Several students said the following: "They're selling us short. I think they're really taking education away from us. It was all about greed — ‘to make sure the money is there.' " In other words, I would apply the egoism principle here to say that Atlanta Public Schools was only looking out for itself to ensure its funding and status as a successful school district instead of building its success upon bright, well-rounded and aspirant students, especially as they matriculate in order to become active public servants for our world.

When Atlanta students speculate about the scandal being "all about greed", they're not talking about school funding, prestige or what I might call "abstract" rewards. Teachers and principals got bonuses, direct financial incentives, for high test scores -- and public humiliation among their peers for poor ones.

I do not blame solely the Atlanta Public School District for its role in the cheating, for I believe that "it takes two to tango," which is where our households come into play. I am from the household that education begins at home.

"I am from the household that education begins at home"? I believe I know what Mr Wilder is trying to say, but his inability to say it clearly is troubling. He seems rather less comfortable expressing his thoughts in print than I would like my college-level political science instructors to be.

Schools happy program being left behind
[Pekin IL Daily Times] School districts are pleased that President Barack Obama signed an executive order this week granting states the option of requesting a waiver of No Child Left Behind requirements if they pursue other education reform efforts.

Which districts are pleased? Are some ambivalent? Perhaps my district is fraught with ennui. "Districts" are not entities capable of being pleased: People can be pleased, but when they are, they should be quoted, or at least attributed anonymously. What do they teach kids in journalism school these days?

It's also too soon to claim that "No Child Left Behind" is being "left behind", and yes, *sigh*, I saw what you did there.

No cheating on tests should be tolerated
[Charlotte Observer] School officials had revealed last month, as the Atlanta scandal swept headlines, that [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools] conducted 11 investigations into test cheating or security violations last school year and found seven incidents involving misdeeds.
...The most troubling incident - the kind that has the Atlanta Public Schools reeling - involved a teacher assistant at Lake Wylie Elementary who was showing students the correct answers. She was supposed to be acting as a monitor to make sure the teacher was following test rules.
...The 11 CMS breaches may be the only ones that occurred. But all we actually know is that those were the only breaches uncovered and reported.

Surely seven positives out of eleven investigations is enough to widen the scope of the inquiry. I have a sinking feeling that the problem is far larger than any single school system.

How many billable hours is that?

The hottest story in the ongoing APS scandal is how much taxpayer money Beverly Hall spent on her own legal defense. The Freedom of Information Act makes those records public, an event that one must assume Dr Hall did not anticipate.

Once you hear "$125,000 for March, April and May" (that's her last three months in office, after the scandal hit -- I would say "while she was still insisting nothing was wrong", but she still says that), there really isn't anything for me to add.

Reporter's Notebook: Dr. Hall & how much she spent on legal defense [WXIA]

Well, I guess there is one more thing: Perhaps she didn't consult the right lawyers.

Beverly Hall: "I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona..." [Eric Wearne]
Former state official says Dr. Hall’s defense rings hollow [ajc | "Get Schooled"]

And now I've found one reason why my RSS feed seems to fill up with stories I think I've seen before: I have seen them before. A Kansas City Star commentary I saw Tuesday and commented upon on Wednesday has just shown up again, word-for-word reposted on Saturday with no hint that it's a rerun. That's far from scandalous, of course, but in this age of search engines and archived internet stories surely it's unnecessary?

On the other hand, I guess it generates fresh page-views for no cost. I mean, I looked again...

"It Is Tiring To Make This Point Over And Over Again"

Can Teachers Alone Overcome Poverty? Steven Brill Thinks So [The Nation] The research consensus has been clear and unchanging for more than a decade: at most, teaching accounts for about 15 percent of student achievement outcomes, while socioeconomic factors account for about 60 percent. It is tiring to make this point over and over again.

I'm sure it's no more tiring for Dana Goldstein to say than it is for me to hear. But there's so much more that needs to be said.

For instance (assuming the data are reliable), is this across all 13 classes of primary school (K-12), is she trying to convince idealistic young teacher graduates out to Change The World that their efforts are better spent almost anywhere else than in the classroom?

Is she saying that because it's been true for ten years, it will always be true? And if it is true, why is it true?

Now, APS had a reported graduation rate of 69% in 2009 (since questioned, but let's leave that for now), which is depressing enough. Is Goldstein saying that IF every one of those teachers was doing the best she could, and IF they had instead just been counting days until retirement, the rate would only have dropped to 66%? Then what accounts for the 43% graduation rate -- yes, less than half -- in 2003? Did 25% of APS families suddenly get rich?

I really need to see the source.

Yes, it is certainly true that a child's home situation is more important than his schoolteacher. But it's also true that children can overcome pretty much anything they want to overcome.

You have to catch them very young. If you wait until high school to start moaning about low graduation rates, there's nothing to do but count the bodies. Even middle school is far too late. You have to surround them from pre-k to grade 2 (and beyond) with people who demonstrate that those little ink marks on paper mean something, and that it's important to learn how to figure out what they mean.

The academic damage done in a lower-income household has almost nothing to do with money per se. It happens because the parent (statistically, there's only one) doesn't read and doesn't see any reason why anybody should. She (again, statistically, it's a woman) may have reasons that look pretty good to her, biggest being she doesn't have time. But if this environment is allowed to stand until the child reaches, say, third grade, there's no recovery.

But because teachers with seniority get to choose where they teach, the schools who need experienced quality teachers the most are almost guaranteed not to get them. Low-prestige elementary schools in lower-income neighborhoods are nobody's first choice. The cycle continues.