Michelle Rhee magical thinking or just plain lies?

[cjbgreen]

Source: Spotlight on Poverty and Education

Michelle Rhee posted a long commentary on poverty and the impact on children and she provided some figures to support her conclusions. Here are some of her statements.

"On global poverty, economist and author Jeffrey Sachs created a splash with his argument that we can solve the problem of poverty in our lifetimes. In The End of Poverty, he cites examples of success in communities all over the developing world, showing what works in empowering communities and building foundations for prosperity.

Examples of extraordinary success also exist here in Washington, DC, a district that is improving to become more competitive every year. For example, under a new principal at one school, student reading proficiency went from 24 percent to 85 percent in just four years, and from 10 percent to 64 percent in math. In another, only 9 percent of the students were on grade level, when just down the street in a successful charter school, over 90 percent of students were. Same kids, same neighborhoods and exposure to violence, same poverty, hunger, and parent education levels. At the successful schools, the primary difference was the team of adults who decided it was possible for lives and outcomes to move in other directions.

For many individuals who work with children, courage will mean changing a long-standing mindset that has excused us from holding high expectations for all children. In the DC Public Schools in 2007, performance evaluations had not been conducted for years in our central office, and teachers did not have clear guidelines about what we believed good teaching even looks like. Yet to educate all children well in any system, staff need the courage to participate in conversations about their performance that are tied to job security."

Read more: http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/ExclusiveCommentary.a...
So fellow readers, what is the truth?

Is Michelle Rhee once more espousing magical numbers and extraordinary claims to make her the "Chancellor Extraordinaire"? Did student scores at one school seriously increase from 24% to 85% in four years. How amazing that she knows this especially when there were no District Reading Tests administered in 2008-2009. Yes, if I click my red high heels three times and repeat to the press three times that test scores increased by 61 percentage points (everyone will know that failure is based on a teachers failure to believe) and realize I am the great and powerful Michelle Rhee. Okay all educators begin the chant or better yet get the mayor to chant "I do believe, I do believe, I do believe ... in every Michelle Rhee claim. These grandiose claims of miraculous mastery hurt the serious efforts of teachers and educational leaders committed to teaching and learning.

[mzteris]

1. do you bother to look up actual results

or just make assumptions based on a prejudice?

The scores in DC HAVE improved.

Of course, since they've improved that means they're "suspect". If the scores showed schools were worse, the same people screaming the "test scores are faked"!! (because they're good) would be crowing about how the scores show she's just AWFUL (and oh yeah anything NOT a traditional public school is just awful, too! hmph!)


:shrug:

I like to review as many details from as many different sources as possible when I make claims. YMMV.

Here's a little "ad" - just one thing - not an argument in and of itself, of course.

[Hannah Bell]

4. the chart from the wapo doesn't answer the questions raised in the post

like, what miracle occurred at those schools reporting 300+% improvement in a matter of years?

i'd want to check that out, cause it's pretty extraordinary.

especially given other reports out of dc you may have forgotten:

Request For Review Of D.C. Tests Languished
Official Asked That Schools Look Into Possible Cheating

By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 7, 2009

Despite two requests from the District's Office of the State Superintendent of Education, D.C. public school officials never provided evidence that they investigated possible cheating at some schools after an analysis showed high rates of erasures on standardized tests in 2008, according to newly released documents.

The analysis was commissioned last summer by then-State Superintendent Deborah A. Gist after more than 20 public and public charter schools showed gains of 20 points or more in reading or math proficiency on D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) tests.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/06/AR2009090602196.html

the op isn't about overall "scores" in dc anyway. it's about michelle's speech where she makes assertions about scores at *specific* schools in dc -- documented by nothing.

but of course, if the wapo has a nifty little graph - it's got to be gospel!

(yuck, yuk, wapo = propaganda rag)

[cjbgreen]

5. Yes please link to data

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010452

Please correct me if I am wrong, but Reading was not administered in 2008-2009. Math and reading tests are alternated.
If Rhee is succeeding more power to her but inaccurately using data in a public record should result in her firing when she is the author of an article that states as fact results that can not be substantiated or are misleading. These results are at best misleading. Also comparing a charter school to a public school is not a fair comparison. Charter schools do not have a responsibility to educate every child who walks in their door. Chancellor Rhee's rhetoric is irresponsible if she sincerely cares about educating all children.

[mzteris]

8. some info on DC Charters for you....

School Year 2008-2009 Charter School Profile
# of schools 60
# of campuses 96
# of students 25,568
PERCENTAGES . . .
% Low-income 65
%English-language learners 7
% Special education 11
% African-American 88
% Hispanic/Latino 8
% Caucasian 3
% Asian/Pacific Islander 1
% Native American 0
% Other 0



Parents interested in enrolling their students in a D.C. public charter school have many options. The D.C. Public Charter School Board is responsible for overseeing the performance and accountability of all of the city’s public charter schools. Charter schools are available to all D.C. residents, tuition free, without regard to neighborhood boundaries. Parents can simply identify the school/s that seem to meet their students' needs, arrange a visit, and if they like what they see and hear, complete an enrollment application.

Each charter school is unique and independently-operated. Parents are encouraged to learn about each school's focus, size and teaching approach, and to think seriously about what environment is the best match for their child's interests and needs. Charter schools offer a diverse array of specialty concentrations, including math, science and technology; the performing arts; government, law and public policy; character and leadership; foreign language immersion; Latin and humanities, among many others. Most charter schools prepare students for college, while others prepare students for vocational careers. Some schools serve less than 100 students, while others serve more than 1000. Some are highly structured and others less so. A few schools target special populations and communities. There is a college preparatory boarding school, and at least two schools that offer single-sex classrooms or schools. Students are best served when parents educate themselves about all of the options and find the right fit for their children. With the growing number of charter schools there are more choices and spaces available every year. However, waiting until August or September to get started could prove disappointing, as enrollment deadlines will approach and spaces will fill quickly.


Enrollment and Lottery Guidelines

According to the School Reform Act (Sec 38-1802.06), enrollment in public charter schools is open to all students who are residents of the District of Columbia, and if space is available, to non-resident students who pay tuition at the rate established by the State Education Agency. A public charter school may not limit enrollment based on student's race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability.

To ensure that children in the District of Columbia receive fair and equitable opportunities to enroll in and attend public charter schools, the District Of Columbia Public Charter School Board (PCSB) has created enrollment and lottery guidelines. Please note that these guidelines are located in the PCSB Policy and Procedures Handbook, which has been given to each school.

Enrollment and Lottery Process

School administrators will soon begin or have already begun the enrollment process. Student re-enrollment counts and school capacity should help to project the number of available slots. The following information should assist your school in developing a clearer understanding of the PCSB's policies regarding the lottery and waiting list procedures.

1.
School determines enrollment period and makes public announcement of enrollment deadlines. Evidence of school's public announcements will be verified during the PCSB's Annual Compliance Review. Therefore, these data should be collected and maintained at the school. Best Practices: Written announcement is posted in local papers, community fliers, bulletins, websites, etc.
2.
School receives completed applications for enrollment by posted deadline.
3.
If the school is over-subscribed at the end of the enrollment period, then all the applications go into the lottery.
4.
The lottery is a system of random selection of applications that identifies students for enrollment and generates the school's waiting list. During the lottery process all completed and accepted applications submitted during the enrollment period are publicly drawn in random order until capacity is reached and the remainder is placed on the waiting list. Best Practices: The public lottery should occur soon after the closure of the enrollment period.
Example: School may choose to have the lottery drawing at a publicly announced parent teacher meeting, school board of trustees meeting, or a community meeting.

. . . Reminders

1. Charter schools are required to include special needs students in its regular lottery.
2.A school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels but this practice should be consistently enforced.
Example: Some high schools have a policy of accepting only 9th and 10th graders.
3. Schools may grant enrollment preference to siblings of current students during the enrollment period.
4. If a parent submits applications for siblings within the enrollment period, if one of the siblings is chosen in the lottery, the other siblings may be enrolled as long as a slot is available in the siblings' grade levels.
5. Weighted waiting-list for NCLB compliance – "No weighted preference must be given to students coming from school 'identified' as not meeting AYP for two consecutive years."
6. The lottery drawing must be announced in advance and occur in a public forum. Evidence of the lottery drawing in a public forum will be verified during the PCSB's Annual Compliance Review.
7. The lottery must be conducted for every grade and for every space available during the enrollment period.
8. A waiting list is only valid for one school year. Schools must begin a new "enrollment-lottery-waiting list" process each school year.

New Reporting Practices for the Lottery

1.Each school's description of its enrollment process should include its policy for accepting transfer students during the school year, if it is not already included.
2. All schools must report the number of spaces available (if any), and the number of applications received by the end of the enrollment period organized by grade level. If the school is under-enrolled, they should report the number of spaces still available organized by grade level. PCSB will send a spreadsheet to schools for this reporting requirement.

[Hannah Bell]

9. again, your cut & paste has no bearing on the issues under discussion.

[Catshrink]

2. Isn't she the one who said all 200+ teachers that were let go, riffed, whatever

were child abusers? Then she had to admit that it was one teacher (which of course is still too many) but had slandered all those others teachers -- and destroyed any goodwill she might have had among the teachers (except her Teach for America rah rah crew no doubt). So, you ask if I believe her? Not when she considers facts optional.

[tonysam]

3. Well, she "claimed" it, but administrators say whatever they want.

The fact is teachers aren't RIF'd for "misconduct," which is usually fabricated anyway by school districts.

[cjbgreen]

6. Seriously

If there are verifiable facts, provide them! I am sure that teachers in the school and the reading teachers desire attention and respect. Good work deserves recognition, which is usually is more important to teachers and educators than a bonus.

[tonysam]

7. She didn't dare.

She's already in hot water over slandering all 266 teachers. It is serious business when teachers are defamed since their careers are easily destroyed.