Reply to Highland Elementary -- fact or fiction

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[quote=Anonymous]I think this is very suspicious and deserves more scrutiny.  Starr's response is probably more troublesome.   He says a couple of things that bother me:

1.  He calls it irresponsible journalism.  Well, frankly a big spike, followed by a big drop, that includes lots of incentives for cheating (avoid school takeover, win award) is suspicious.  I think it is a valid concern worthy of reporting.  Methinks though dost protest too much.

2.  He says resources have been cut over the years and provides no specifics.  Well, Parents Coalition is showing specific budget and resource data from MCPS that don't show a decrease for these particular years.  If Starr is going to stick to a vague pronouncement, then I think he loses this battle.  This looks really bad for Starr.

3.  He misdirects.  He says the journalist in question could walk the halls today and see quality teaching.  Well, the question isn't about teaching on a given day it is about whether why test scores in 2007 experienced this abnormal increase followed by a dramatic return to the previous levels. Further, he also says the article implies students and teachers must have cheated.

Further, I think dragging sympathetic elementary students into the cheating is a bit much.  No one thinks 5th students are organizing and passing cheat sheets so they can do well on the meaningless MSAs.  This may not even be tied to all the teachers.   In any case, if you want to protect reputations, put out a verifiable and credible explanation for the spike.

4.   Finally, this leads me to my last concern.  He never directly addresses the main question.  Why would test scores rise so dramatically and then fall.  It is a fair question.  It might have valid reasons, but it is a fair question that deserves an answer.

If Start can't even honestly address this question that does not have any bearing on his tenure, then how can I trust him with information about his own tenure.  He seems to just reflexively protect the MCPS bureaucracy.

I am very disappointed in Starr here.

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