Check out this story from The Washington Post that just went up this afternoon about the possibility of cheating on standardized tests at several traditional public schools and charters in the District of Columbia. The tests in question were given to students in the spring of 2008.
According to the Post, large gains in reading and math proficiency scores at 26 schools caught the eye of Deborah A. Gist, who until April was the state superintendent of education. Gist requested an “erasure analysis” more than a year ago. She is now the state commissioner of education in Rhode Island.
Only today did Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has had control of the school system for two years, and Kerri Briggs, who replaced Gist, disclose that the analysis had been done.
No word yet on what Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee thinks. It will be very interesting to see where this story goes.
