DC public schools, under former Chancellor Michelle Rhee, has become obsessed with testing. Teacher pay is tied to test scores. Principal bonuses are tied to test scores. Teacher evaluations are tied to test scores. School funding is tied to test scores. Students are pulled from their regular classrooms for days or weeks each year, to be prepped for the tests. What's this got to do with a quality education? Chancellor Rhee used to ask each principal, individually, to name the percentage point gain they would produce on test scores each year. She’d follow up with an email, reminding them of their commitment. Principal’s jobs were on the line if they didn’t produce.
In such a system, cheating is nearly inevitable. Sure enough, USA Today recently broke a major investigative story about apparent cheating in DC public schools, on standardized assessments. It wasn’t the kids who were cheating. It was the kids who were cheated.
Teachers and Parents for Real Education Reform DC has initiated a petition campaign for a thorough investigation and a moratorium on the test-crazy practices in DCPS.
The petition calls on the General Accounting Office (GAO), which has jurisdiction over DC, or the U.S. Department of Education's Inspector General to investigate the DC testing scandal – and to determine how DC’s test-obsessed culture contributed to it. In addition, we’re demanding that DCPS immediately place a moratorium on all high stakes attached to the tests. Read the petition. Sign the petition. Help stop this craziness.
Sign the Petition Here.
