Anonymous wrote:10:18, Rhee shook things up. And she made things worse.

That's the issue. Despite virtually unlimited money, unchecked power and rampant cheating, NOTHING has changed in DCPS.

Read the report. It's sobering.

+1000

Change is about the only promise Rhee delivered on, and it was largely the wrong kind of change. And as someone self described as data driven, she would have been left with the sobering realization that she failed to deliver quantitative academic improvement based on test results. On a more positive note she probably would have delighted in firing herself.

Anonymous wrote:The schools that my children attend are dramatically better than they were 10 years ago. I would not have remotely considered Deal 10 years ago.

Why does Michelle Rhee get credit for that? You should thank the PARENTS either IB or active in feeders who supported the school and helped it evolve. Nothing Rhee did had any postive impact on Deal.

The schools that my children attend are dramatically better than they were 10 years ago. I would not have remotely considered Deal 10 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:The executive summary of the research that the Examiner discusses is here:

http://www.epi.org/files/2013/bba-rhetoric-trumps-reality-executive-summary.pdf

It's well worth reviewing. Heavy on the infographics, so it is a fast read, but truly an indictment of the brand of school reform we have here in DC.

As someone who doesn't have a particular dog in this race, I think there's pretty obviously some motivated thinking and cherry picking going on here. If the results were truly as bad as they claim, they wouldn't have to be so selective in their comparisons. It's possible that this executive summary just looks biased and there is intellectual rigor at the next level, but where there's smoke...

The final paragraph is particularly rich, where they hold up affluent MoCo as the model and point to its high test scores as proof, while simultaneously trying to make the point that test scores aren't how you should measure success and that the problem with DC NY and Chicago is SES, not teachers. WTF?

Fair enough 10:30. I've been a DCPS parent for 10 years now and I'm looking from the perspective of when my kids started in the system.

It's true that things are better for certain pockets of affluent parents of very young children (free PS3 and PK4!) overall, things are the same. (The report highlights how Rhee grew the achievement gap.)

It's all incredibly disappointing.

I will certainly read the report but I have lived in DC for the better part of the last 20 years and, while I'm sure she got a lot of stuff wrong, the getting rid of dead weight and putting a fire under some folks was absolutely necessary. My kids are currently in DCPS and there is no way in hell I would have been open to that 10 years ago. Again, I was not in the area when she headed the system. I'm simply looking at DCPS from the perspective of where it was when I left and how I found it when I returned.

10:18, Rhee shook things up. And she made things worse.

That's the issue. Despite virtually unlimited money, unchecked power and rampant cheating, NOTHING has changed in DCPS.

Read the report. It's sobering.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry - did anyone read the Examiner article about Rhee being NOT good for DCPS?

Yes. And while I agree with the general tenor of the article (Rhee did not produce results) I do think she deserves some credit for shaking things up and putting tenured teachers on their toes.

+1. The system needed a shaking up. Whoever did the shaking was going to be nailed to the cross and their tenure short lived. That's the reality. BTW, I was out of the area during all but the last few months of Rhee's post so I really don't have an opinion about her. I've just lived in DC long enough to know that a change was absolutely necessary.

The executive summary of the research that the Examiner discusses is here:

http://www.epi.org/files/2013/bba-rhetoric-trumps-reality-executive-summary.pdf

It's well worth reviewing. Heavy on the infographics, so it is a fast read, but truly an indictment of the brand of school reform we have here in DC.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry - did anyone read the Examiner article about Rhee being NOT good for DCPS?

Yes. And while I agree with the general tenor of the article (Rhee did not produce results) I do think she deserves some credit for shaking things up and putting tenured teachers on their toes.

Sorry - did anyone read the Examiner article about Rhee being NOT good for DCPS?

Anonymous wrote:I don't read links unless there is a comment. Stupid titles trying to be clever or snarky don't count as a comment.

Actually, our guidelines ask that you not post links without some commentary. If I had found this before the above replies, I would have removed it.

If you want to post a link, you should provide some information about what the links goes to so that we can decide if it is worth our time to click on it.

I don't read links unless there is a comment. Stupid titles trying to be clever or snarky don't count as a comment.

The title of your thread was so loaded, I won't fight or enjoy. Be a little less obvious next time.