A memo exposing excessive erasures on high-stakes standardized tests of DC students during Michelle Rhee's tenure as Chancellor has emerged.
This image was created by a student whose mother is a 7th grade teacher and posted on Susan Ohanian. I can't imagine a cover more fitting for Michelle Rhee. She was hand-picked by the Billionaire Boys to be Chancellor of Washington, DC Public School, a position for which she was sadly unqualified. It's no wonder that she would resort to cheating or at least a cover-up to prove her worthiness. When she came to Seattle recently to promote her new book and StudentsFirst, our protest wasn't covered by any news outlet. So, it's good to see the light of day shining on Rhee's questionable actions in regard to cheating in DC schools.
In a PBS report, The Education of Michelle Rhee, she is shown ceremoniously bestowing bonuses on principals and teachers at high achieving, or greatly improved, schools. The enormous gains in test scores raise eyebrows and lead to questions of possible cheating.
In an amazing investigative piece, John Merrow exposes the memo that could be Rhee's smoking gun. Here's an excerpt on Michelle Rhee's Reign of Error, but read the entire story at Learning Matters.
Rhee failed to act on evidence of cheating because it undermined her success narrative, according to Merrow. He concludes his lengthy piece with:
This story is bound to remind old Washington hands of Watergate and Senator Howard Baker’s famous question, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” It has a memo that answers an echo of Baker’s question, “What did Michelle know, and when did she know it?” And the entire sordid story recalls the lesson of Watergate lesson, “It’s not the crime; it’s the coverup.”
That Michelle Rhee named her new organization “StudentsFirst” is beyond ironic.
PBS reporter, John Merrow talks further on
All In with Chris Hayes, MSNBC (Emphasis mine.):
Chris Hayes: Michelle Rhee is presented with this document. That much we know. At least her deputy for accountablility presents her with it. Presumably she saw it.
John Merrow: I know she saw it. I have a reliable source. We verified this. Incidentally, people are very afraid of Michelle Rhee. A source high in DCPS confirmed the authenticity of this. And, I have been reporting now for 39 years. When I took it to this source's home, that person was trembling as I presented it to that person. I have never seen anyone quite that scared. The other confirmation came from the DC inspector general. So, we know it is authentic. We know from reliable sources that Chancellor Rhee saw this and talked about it.
