Frontline doc about Rhee and cheating

[Anonymous]

Bonuses at Noyes:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-28-1Aschooltesting28_CV_N.htm

[Anonymous]

Here is a whole thread dedicated to the schools where high erasure rates were flagged and bonuses paid:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/157723.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She helped cover up cheating and actually rewarded handsomely the perpetrators because it helped her agenda. No matter what else she did, these facts stand out as her legacy to me.

Have a citation for that "handsome rewarding of the perpetrators"?

Just one for the moment:

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/dc-should-decline-this-award/2011/04/27/AFymEo0E_blog.html

The article talks about how HENDERSON handled it, not how RHEE handled it.

I guess you're going to blame Rhee for everything that happened afterward, just as the Bush supporters blamed Clinton for everything to go wrong for 8 solid years.

Ummmm...The cheating happened while Rhee was in charge, and Rhee called for the lame investigation. I believe that Henderson was defending Rhee's choice of Principal of the year recommendation.

And as I recall Rhee accused those who thought there was cheating of being racist because that meant they thought that poor African-American kids were incapable of improving. Of course they can improve - but having their teachers change their answers for them - that doesn't lead to improvement.

[Anonymous]

Is there any evidence that Rhee ever actually asked anyone to change test results? And as for the "rewards", that goes to the "who knew what, and when" question. From reading any of the articles, it's not clear that she would have known what was going on with the cheating scandal when the rewards were given. Is there a concrete timeline that can establish it conclusively?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rhee came into DCPS while it was showing poor results. She could have improved school lunches and extended nap time to pre-k and she would have look like an hero. Rhee is a fraud. I'm sure she meant well but everywhere she has been, there is always controversy that follows her.

I agree with you on this but what I don't think people realize is that the school superintendent, Dr. Janey, had made some improvements that were slowly coming to fruition. I thought he was going in the right direction but I'm no expert on this so I don't know how well they would have worked. But it's important to know that it's not like Rhee came into a black hole with her reform program. There was a foundation laid before she arrived.

[Anonymous]

There we go: Cash bonuses paid to schools on this list ( J.O. Wilson, Ludlow-Taylor and Noyes among others), with ridiculously high erasure rates.

It is a disgusting demonstration of adults caring more about $$$, reputations and statistics than the kids they serve:

http://dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Who+We+Are/Honoring+our+Educators/TEAM+Awards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any evidence that Rhee ever actually asked anyone to change test results? And as for the "rewards", that goes to the "who knew what, and when" question. From reading any of the articles, it's not clear that she would have known what was going on with the cheating scandal when the rewards were given. Is there a concrete timeline that can establish it conclusively?

I'm a Rhee critic but I never would have said that she knew what was going on with the cheating. I don't think anyone has said that. But the fact that this was so widespread suggests that she didn't really understand what she was getting into when she started this testing program. And her failure to be aggressive about an investigation once it became clear there were widespread problems suggests a real weakness as a manager.

[Anonymous]

Hello people!!!! Scores jumped from 36% proficiency to 75% in one year in some cases. Anyone in education knows that kind of gain is a near impossibility. Yet, Rhee and all her cronies looked at those scores and celebrated and paid bonuses. She either knew something was up at those schools and covered it up, or else never belonged in education at all because of her ignorance. Both possibilities stink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any evidence that Rhee ever actually asked anyone to change test results? And as for the "rewards", that goes to the "who knew what, and when" question. From reading any of the articles, it's not clear that she would have known what was going on with the cheating scandal when the rewards were given. Is there a concrete timeline that can establish it conclusively?

It is common sense. It is only the lawyers and politicians who ask questions like this. The rest of us know the truth just by looking at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the ending where she says she'd rather still be the chancellor in DC. Did she forget that she quit?

I really wanted to believe in her back then, and to be honest, she did put some good in motion but her real goal was self-promotion, no question.

Agree 100%. I was a fan when the news was coming out that she was conducting a thorough evaluation of the system including enrollment data and allocation of resources, and books were getting into schools, desperately needed repairs were being done, etc. I lost faith in her completely when I realized that she was creating an adversarial climate which was simply counter-productive and damaging to everyone involved, including the students. Even then I wanted to believe she had good intentions but now I firmly believe that she was (and is) in over her head and doing everything she could to protect her position. I'm glad she's gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello people!!!! Scores jumped from 36% proficiency to 75% in one year in some cases. Anyone in education knows that kind of gain is a near impossibility. Yet, Rhee and all her cronies looked at those scores and celebrated and paid bonuses. She either knew something was up at those schools and covered it up, or else never belonged in education at all because of her ignorance. Both possibilities stink.

Worse, if you challenged her it was because you were a mean old racist who believe little black children were incapable of learning.

DC will be picking up the pieces of the mess she made for many years.

And since she's acting otherwise, she QUIT. It was her choice to cut and run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any evidence that Rhee ever actually asked anyone to change test results? And as for the "rewards", that goes to the "who knew what, and when" question. From reading any of the articles, it's not clear that she would have known what was going on with the cheating scandal when the rewards were given. Is there a concrete timeline that can establish it conclusively?

I'm a Rhee critic but I never would have said that she knew what was going on with the cheating. I don't think anyone has said that. But the fact that this was so widespread suggests that she didn't really understand what she was getting into when she started this testing program. And her failure to be aggressive about an investigation once it became clear there were widespread problems suggests a real weakness as a manager.

Not true. Many posters on this thread, while not directly saying Rhee ordered them to do so, have nonetheless repeatedly not only made the insinuation and connection between her and the changing of test results, but her also rewarding them for doing so.

Further puzzling is that they are at the same time basically suggesting she is an evil mastermind who somehow orchestrated a grand conspiracy while at the same time are suggesting she was a bumbling fool. Can't be both - take your pick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems pretty obvious that the "problem" with Rhee is that she expected results, and acted swiftly to remove people who weren't delivering results.

And what happened is that DCPS staff took it upon themselves to fudge results.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any evidence that Rhee ever actually asked anyone to change test results? And as for the "rewards", that goes to the "who knew what, and when" question. From reading any of the articles, it's not clear that she would have known what was going on with the cheating scandal when the rewards were given. Is there a concrete timeline that can establish it conclusively?

I'm a Rhee critic but I never would have said that she knew what was going on with the cheating. I don't think anyone has said that. But the fact that this was so widespread suggests that she didn't really understand what she was getting into when she started this testing program. And her failure to be aggressive about an investigation once it became clear there were widespread problems suggests a real weakness as a manager.

Not true. Many posters on this thread, while not directly saying Rhee ordered them to do so, have nonetheless repeatedly not only made the insinuation and connection between her and the changing of test results, but her also rewarding them for doing so.

Further puzzling is that they are at the same time basically suggesting she is an evil mastermind who somehow orchestrated a grand conspiracy while at the same time are suggesting she was a bumbling fool. Can't be both - take your pick.

For the record, I have always called her a bumbling fool and do not consider her an evil mastermind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems pretty obvious that the "problem" with Rhee is that she expected results, and acted swiftly to remove people who weren't delivering results.

And what happened is that DCPS staff took it upon themselves to fudge results.

+1000

And she swept it under the rug and left town